A quiet morning of reflection

I'm in the middle of reading the famous "Baxter" books by Karen Kingsbury. This is at least the third time I've read them. I love the new things I notice each time I read one. The stories in these books are so real and personable. I was particularly touched by the last book, Reunion, which tackled the subject of losing a parent.

The anniversary of my Daddy's death is coming up this January. Since my Daddy died six months before Matt and I got married, I feel such sadness when I think about all we've missed not having him here. I like to think back over the past almost 7 years and imagine him as a part of those memories. Walking me down the aisle, praying for me as I endured the heartache of endometriosis, welcoming his first grandchild, encouraging Matt as he started his business, praying for us during the difficult times, cherishing little Ava, and overall being a constant source of love in our lives.

But the lesson I learned from the book Reunion is that we can't waste our energy feeling sad or angry over the times we won't share with the people we love. Instead, we should focus our thoughts on remembering the time we did have together. What a shift in perspective! And a freeing one too!

I only had 20 years with my Daddy, but what a gift those 20 years are! I will never be able to answer the "why?" question that is in my heart, but I can relish the wonderful memories I hold of my Daddy.

This morning I am captivated by memories from high school. We often found Daddy sitting in his chair at the kitchen table, reading the paper or talking with Momma while she cooked dinner. I breezed in and out of the house, busy with the busy-ness of being a teenager. After hugging Mom goodbye, I would stop and give Daddy a brief kiss on the cheek and tell him that I loved him. Didn't matter if I was just running up to Wal-mart for a bit, our family always left with an "I love you".

I'd give anything to kiss him on the cheek one more time.

And I will one day. One day we will be reunited in Heaven. I am confidant of that. Not because of anything we've done, but because of our belief in a Savior named Jesus and what He did for us. My brain can't wrap itself around the concept of Heaven, but I know my Jesus has made a way for me to be there and I know my Daddy will be there waiting for me.

I read some verses a few days ago that I think are very fitting in light of the holiday season. And I want to share them with you!

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all the wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
--- Colossians 3:15-17

Happy Turkey Day!

I don't have time this morning to play catch-up, but I will ask for your prayers. I'm headed out in about 15 minutes to go to an interview. My first in 5 years! I'm hoping to become a substitute teacher at Lucas's preschool! The Lord has truly made this possible, and He is clearly leading me down this path, so I feel pretty confidant going into the interview! November has been a very challenging month, but has also been a month of great hope and growth. I am constantly being reminded that His ways are not our ways and that He has a plan for me. And I can trust Him.

So please pray! I'll let you know how it goes!
love!

Fun Day

Peter Pan and Miss Lovebug

Here are some photos from our exciting night of trick-or-treating. Lucas asked me 3 weeks before Halloween if he could be Peter Pan. His class had watched the disney classic on a rainy day at school. I loved the idea, but I did not want to invest any money into it. Sorry, but I'm cheap and especially when it comes to an outfit only worn once or twice. So with frugality in mind, I put his costume together for only $3.50! Thanks to Aunt Amy, Ava dressed up as a Lovebug and looked quite adorable! After walking a friend's neighborhood, we ended up at Matt's parent's house where Lucas got to pass out candy to kids who came to the door. He loved that!

Fall

I am so inspired by the scene outside my window. Leaves in an array of colors have blanketed our lawn, courtyard and cars. We hear their crunch as we play outside (which we've been doing a lot more of!) and we've marveled as the leaves seemingly float off their branches as we lay under the Oaks. It is truly a breathtaking season.

But, as you know, this season is simply the intro before a season of dark grays are ushered in. Winter can be so harsh on the soul. As much as the crispness in the air energizes me, I am never too distracted to forget the possibility of a melancholy season ahead. In early January of 2003, my Daddy passed away unexpectedly. January 2004, Matt and I embarked on our long and painful journey with endometriosis. In fall/winter of 2005, I was rejoicing over the tiny infant in my arms, while at the same time wrestling with the tangles of post-partum depression. The short days of light and the gray skies have a way of reminding us of our vulnerability.

But take heart.

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except for our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give your shield of victory and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn."
Psalm 18:30-36

So much Hope. So much Love. So much Peace.

Our Lord knows exactly where you are; in fact, He probably put you there. So take heart.

The Faces of Ava

Can you see why I can't get enough of this girl? Oh my, she's a cutie!

Candy Overload

Check out the loot we scored last night! It pays off to have a baby old enough to "trick-or treat' but not old enough to eat the candy! :)

Granted, my marshmallow belly says otherwise.

Payless Coupon

If you haven't made it to Payless today, you should drop what you're doing, click on this link for a 50% off coupon, and drive to your nearest Payless Shoe Source. Prepare yourself for no available parking spaces and a long line, but as you can see in the photo above, it is totally worth it!

Three pairs of shoes for $25! Now, that's what I call savings!

The coupon is for today only!

Have fun!

Are You Awake, Mommy?

The past two nights, Lucas has woken me up, several times, for the most seemingly random conversations. The first time, I woke up to a couple pats on my arm and the face of my sweet Lucas hovering nearby. "I'm scared, Mommy," he said. "My room is too dark".

I stumbled out of bed, bleary eyed and drowsy to find a nightlight; after all, Mommy can fix any problem. Once the soft glow calmed Lucas fears and I had him tucked safely back in bed, I reminded him that when he is scared, he can pray to Jesus, who always hears him. Lucas then asked me where Jesus lives. Then he said, "Why did Jesus have to die on a cross?" I did my best, at 3:30 in the morning, to explain our need for salvation in a way his 4 year old mind could understand. Lucas then asked me if we will die one day, to which I replied, yes. Lucas had a look of fear in his eyes, and then said, "but we won't be together anymore". I was touched by his love for our family. Again, I told him that because Daddy and I believe in Jesus and have accepted his gift of salvation, we will go to heaven when we die and I pray that one day Lucas and Ava will accept His gift.

Lucas seemed okay with my answer. I was rather shocked by this deep, random conversation. I didn't know what to expect next, when Lucas looked at me and said "Do you think God has a really big lollipop?"

I kissed him goodnight and went back to bed marveling at the amazing conversation we just shared.

Last night, I was woken up at 12:47, 3:31, and 6:44. Each time, Lucas asked me to find his stuffed kitty cat. The first time, I walked through the house looking for the beloved animal. The second time, I told Lucas I couldn't find it and the third wake up call, I told him to go find his Daddy.

As much as I'm enjoying this interesting and endearing time with Lucas, I really hope he lets me sleep tonight!

Banana Bread Fail

I guess I didn't cook it long enough.

The week has been full of fun and family! My Mom, sister Melanie and her baby Anna came for a visit! We had a great time taking the kids to the Fall Festival at Lucas's preschool! Friday we were a part of a baby shower for dear friends, Ben and Skye.

I am still trying to get myself back on track after being sick a couple weeks ago. I'm struggling to get my thoughts into words and onto paper, or the blog. So instead, I will bombard you with photos of the busy-ness of our lives the past couple weeks. It's been wonderful to be so busy!

Over the weekend, we attended a birthday party for a girl in Lucas's preschool class. The party was at Callaham's Orchard - a wonderful, family owned place in Belton, SC. Great place to visit!

Dinner Tonight

On this cool, rainy fall afternoon, I'm craving something warm and savory for dinner. So tonight we're having Chicken soft tacos!

This super easy and yummy recipe comes from my friend Kathryn. Thanks girl!

Chicken Tacos:
Chicken (I'm using 1.25lbs of chicken tenders still frozen!)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning Mix
1 Cup Water
1 Can Chopped Green Chilies

Throw chicken in your crock pot. Don't worry about thawing it if frozen! Mix together taco seasoning and water. Pour over chicken. Pour in can of chilies. (These are not spicy) and stir to mix. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Serve in taco shells (soft or hard) with all the fixin's!

We're having yellow rice with corn on the side!

Silly Girl

Being sick can't stop the silliness.

Miss Piggy

Ava has the swine flu. Please pray for us.

Oh Boy

Proof that a 4 year old boy lives in our house.

Busy

That is the word to describe this week at our house. So instead of taking time to write a blog post, I'm going to direct you to a short video by a great pastor that I believe will make you think.

It fits right in with what Matt and I've been talking about a lot for the past few months: holiness.

So check it out and tell me what you think.

How do you like them apples?

Our impromptu trip to the apple orchard today in Mountain Rest, SC started with Lucas and preschool. Several weeks ago, Lucas came home from preschool begging me to take him apple picking. The theme for that particular week in his class was apples, so they made apple sauce, created apple stamps and apparently talked a lot about apple picking. I brushed him off with some lame excuse about apple orchards being too far away, but my ever-clever little boy was too smart for me when he suggested that we plant an apple tree in our yard instead -so we wouldn't have to travel far at all. He talked about that idea for at least a week.

Sometimes I have to be reminded that he's four, and I can't distract him as easily as before.


But fate was on Lucas's side when Matt came home with a bag of "magical mountain" apples from his racquetball partner, Rose. Okay, I'm only kidding about the fate part, and no, the apples did not contain a special power, except for their exceptional taste. Matt was so enthusiastic about these particular apples, we spent the evening discussing why grocery store apples are so lame versus these oh-so-delicious-and-crisp-why-can't-I-stop-eating-them-apples. Multiple apple consumption later, we decided a visit to this apple promise land was required.
Now, I said our trip was impromptu and that's because while we talked and talked and talked about these apples, we didn't put any forethought into actually putting a trip together, until today. This morning, after stealing a loot of clothes for Ava from yard sales in a local, upscale neighborhood, and then visiting with some friends who dropped by for a bit, we decided that the time had come for us to go!

Two hours later, we arrived to our destination, that is incidentally, only 45 minutes away.

No, our GPS did not fail us. You see, we first had to pack snacks, round up jackets and a missing baby shoe, remind Lucas 18 times to go to the potty before we leave, get gas in the car, check air in the tires, print out directions in case GPS did fail us, and pick up lunch.

Don't you just love how long winded I am today??

Lunch. Well, that's a story in and of itself. A coupon promising half-off prompted us to try a new place in town called Coach and Jo-Jo's. A weird name, but super great food! Bird dogs, sloppy joes, hot dogs and fresh-cut fries are just 4 reasons why you have to go there! We watched them take a large spud, cut into the perfect size fries and cook it. Fresh, I tell ya!

So that is why we arrived at the Bryson Apple Orchard with two very sleepy children (and a slightly cranky Mama). Don't you just love their faces in our "family photo"? Priceless.
The apple picking was a huge success, enjoyed greatly by everyone. Ava entertained herself by emptying our buckets of spoils and delightfully throwing the apples back in. Transferring objects is her favorite activity right now. Along with tackling her brother.
Our wonderful, long, and adventurous day ended with a batch of Momma's Apple Dumplings and an early bedtime for the kids. I'll share the recipe soon! Delightful!

Lucas's First Trip to the Dentist

I'm so proud of our big boy, Lucas! He did great at his first trip to the dentist! He sat through the cleaning, flossing and fluoride just fine! The dentist did not find any cavities!

In the car on the way back home, Lucas informed me that he wanted to throw-up. After a second of panicking, I asked him why he wanted to throw-up. He said the yellow stuff (the fluoride treatment was in a yellow tray) was icky and needed to come out of his body. When I told him to not throw up, he shrugged and said, "I guess I'll have to tee-tee it out".

Who can argue with that logic?

I'm so thankful Lucas had such a positive experience; as we all know, the dentist can be such a stressful place! I was a little surprised at the amount of anxiety I felt as Lucas got his teeth cleaned. Images of past trips to the dentist (painful ones) kept flashing through my mind until I found myself breathing a little faster and tapping my foot on the floor. Thankfully Lucas was too distracted by "Mr. Thirsty" to notice my anxiety.

Spaghetti Pie

If you want to make this easy, amazing, feed a large crowd or have lots of leftovers, dish, check out the recipe for Spaghetti Pie here. Loved by adults and kids alike!

Prayer Works!

Update: Good news from the doctor! No change - Amy will continue treatment and go back in 6 months! Thanks for praying!


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Please pray for my precious sister Amy and her honey Brock. She has a big doctor's appointment this morning at Emory. Healing, comfort, peace, strength. All from Jesus.

And please pray for my mom who is keeping their kids back home. She's the best!

Update

For the sake of my thighs, I must make a confession this morning. Remember my goals for September weight loss? Something like "lose 6-10 pounds"? Well ever since I quit WW, I have stopped losing weight. In fact, I've gained a pound.

Now before you respond, I will add that I have lost a couple inches over my body, so I'm pretty sure I'm gaining muscle from working out consistently.

However, my jiggly thighs and gooey tummy have reminded me that I have not reached my weight loss goals yet. And it's time to get back on the diet plan!

Instead of counting points this month, I spent my time analyzing why I like to eat so much and why I feel so happy when I'm not dieting. (I do have to use my degree in Psychology sometime!)

Wanna hear my excuses, um... I mean thoughts?

I really hate feeling hungry.

For 3 months, WW kept me from feeling "full" and now that I've gotten that feeling back, I don't know how to let go.

I've never been good at following through. Seriously. I'm great at ideas, brainstorming ways to reach a goal or accomplish something great, but when it comes to making it till the end, I stink.

It's a simple lack of self-discipline. A theme I'm seeing in lots of areas in my life.

So what am I going to do about this? I can't afford therapy, so that means it's time for me to get over myself and kick it in to high gear. It's time to start counting points again and paying attention to what I put into my mouth. I want to lose 2 pounds this week!

Wow. Even as I type this, I'm struggling to believe I will actually follow through with my lofty goals.

We are our own worst enemies, right?

Okay, here's the new plan : pray. Pray for self-control and discipline (two qualities not in my human nature) to keep track of my food.

And stop thinking/obsessing about food and my jello-belly. There are way more important things in life, and one of them is crawling on my feet right now!

Hello Sunday Morning!

I Wanna Be Like You

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

Apparently we don't have enough "girl" toys in our house as Ava is busy sorting L's trucks!

"I'm a pilot!" - L's explanation for wearing a pen clipped to his shirt. Where he got this idea that pilot's wear their pens in their shirts, I have no idea! But I do know a certain Daddy who likes to clip his pen, along with his keys, phones and multi-tool to himself!

I have a Job for You

That's what I've been saying to Lucas for the past couple days. This whole job idea fits in with the concept I've been teaching Lucas for the past year; that Mommy has a job - tasks that must be completed every day that don't include race cars or playdough. I think it's important for Lucas to respect my "job" as a stay at home mom and to foster independence in him to play by himself.

Good stuff, I think! As a result of my passion for our son to respect SAHMs and to teach him responsibility, I've come up with a weekly chore chart! As you can see, the tasks are pretty simple, but important. Taking care of the dog teaches ownership and responsibility and takes a load off of me! That is one less mouth I have to worry about feeding!

Getting dressed should be routine, but the little green monster called jealousy has a way of rearing it's ugly head that results in a little boy who wants to lay on his bed and be dressed because "that's how Ava does it".

I am most excited about the habit of daily cleaning the playroom. This room is one I often like to pretend doesn't exist because it can feel really overwhelming with all those toys. I am slowly chipping away at an organizing system for the millions of tiny toys that young boys love to play with; a system that is easy for the kids to use and clean up! So far (it's only day two) I am thrilled at the attention to detail Lucas is displaying in this area. This kid doesn't miss anything when it comes to cleaning up , and I just love that about him!

Several friends have offered suggestions for more tasks to add to the list, but for now, I'm sticking with these four. We are still figuring out a reward system; I know there has to be a token given everyday to keep him interested, but I don't want to hand him a Hershey kiss every afternoon.

How do you motivate your kids to help around the house?

A Jolly Good Day

Happy thanks to Meg for the delicious strawberry jam I'm enjoying this morning! I was cleaning out my freezer yesterday and came across an adorable container marked "freezer strawberry jam". You know it's good stuff when you can still enjoy it a year after it was made! :)

I've never made jam or jelly, but I have enjoyed some particularly good ones in my lifetime! My love of jam started on my senior trip to London back in 1999. Every morning, Emily and I, along with her parents, would walk down the narrow flights of stairs, or take the claustrophobic elevator, to the bottom floor of a private inn, to enjoy a hot english breakfast. Scones, topped with jam and served with hot tea, of course, completed the delightful meal. Sounds glamorous, doesn't it! Actually, I did feel a bit glamorous as a naive, tender 17 year old staying in another country for the first time.

10 years later (wow - has it really been that long??) I still enjoy sitting down with a cup of hot tea (or coffee) a scone (or toast, like today) topped with thoughtfully made jam (thanks Meg!). It's nice to slow down in the midst of preschool, dirty laundry, clean bathrooms, and clutter to savor this gorgeous fall morning.

You should do the same! Even if you only have five minutes for yourself, take some time to savor the little things like forgotten jam and tea!

Smoky Black Bean Soup

Smoky Black Bean Soup
serves 6 (4 WW points each)

3 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 pound bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. ground chili pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (2 cans)

Spray a large saucepan with non-stick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 6-7 minutes. (I removed the bacon with a slotted spoon to let it drain on a paper towel. And I removed most of the bacon grease from the pot. Just leave enough to saute your veggies.) Add peppers, onions, garlic and cook till softened. Add the cumin and chili pepper, cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat; let cool about 10 minutes. Pour 4 cups of the soup in a blender and puree. Return pureed soup to the saucepan. Cook about 2 minutes until heated back through.

** I've made this recipe several times, but this time, I followed the advice and pureed about half of the soup. It made such a difference! Just a warning - make sure you do the pureeing in batches - if you overload your blender with hot soup, it will explode all over you, as evidenced by the scars on my right arm.

** As you can see in the photo above, I added some yummy toppings to my soup to make it extra special - shredded cheese, sour cream and chopped green onions. Matt likes to eat this soup with tortilla chips, but I think it is great on it's own!

**I plan on making this soup a lot this fall. Both kids gobbled it up. I think it would be fun to serve this as a dip or a topping for nachos.

Enjoy!

Family Fun Day

I love it when we do something special on a Saturday. Since I'm a SAHM with kids who aren't in school all day, boredom can set in quickly if we don't shake things up a bit. This past Saturday, after canceling our yard sale due to the impending rain, the kids and I joined Matt at a Family Fun day for Camperdown Academy at Furman University. Matt's company had been hired to run sound for the event, so we tagged along as roadies.

As you can see, I didn't dress my kids for the 64 degree, wind blowing, mist falling weather. Thank goodness Matt had a blanket in his trailer. Matt and I both wore jackets and shorts, but failed to realize that our kids needed jackets too! (I know you're shaking your head in shame, Grandma!) Don't worry, I did remember to put shoes on Ava!

There were a lot of fun things to do at the event, including feeding goats, bouncy slides and playhouses, face painting, a magician, great music :), hot dogs and a 5K race. Apparently there was even a celebrity there - a guy from last season's Biggest Loser ran in the race!

Goodbye for a bit

I'm taking a mini-break from blogging. I need to unplug and figure a few things out.

So I'll be back in 3-7 days!

Until then, I'll be enjoying the candy corn I picked up at Big Lots today.

Do you hear the whining?

Here's what I've learned about whining lately. If you ignore it long enough, it will go away! I'm not kidding you - this tactic really does work! (Are some of you rolling your eyes and saying, DUH?)

So that's what I've been doing this past week. Ignoring my kids.

Okay, so not really. I mean, how can you completely ignore a high-pitched whine accompanied by tugs on the pant legs and a couple pudgy-handed pats? But I am doing my best to not acknowledge the whine.

Some days are better than others.

Time for a Check Up!

Lucas and I went to the doctor today for his 4 year well-check. While we had to wait forever to see the doctor, we at least got to wait in an exam room, away from the possibly flu-infected children in the waiting room. I told Lucas before we arrived that he wasn't allowed to play with any of the toys in the waiting area and brought a book from home for him to read instead.

Yeah, I'm a little paranoid about my kids catching the swine flu or any nasty virus. My life is complicated enough without sick babies around!

Here are Lucas's 4 year stats:
Height - 41. 5 inches (78%)
Weight - 41 pounds (82%)

He is a big boy. And for some reason, this makes his Daddy really proud. I'm guessing it's a man thing, not sure.

It was a great visit with a great report. All looks well. We apparently have a healthy, growing, smart boy on our hands. Not that I needed a MD to tell me that, but it certainly was nice to hear!

The shots at the end of the visit were not well received. Lots of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. But as I knew it would, the McDonald's chicken nuggets we picked up afterwords worked wonders to soothe Lucas's hurting pride and sore limbs.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

I added a new button to my side-bar for Southern Savers and you must check it out! Last night I had the privilege of attending an "Extreme Couponing" seminar taught by the ultimate Southern Saver! (Seriously, this girl is amazing!) For two and a half hours I learned the steps, tricks, and strategy to save money in a ridiculous way! Our teacher, a fellow stay at home mom of three, spends $50 a week on groceries and personal care items for their entire family! It is common for her to take home $100 dollars worth of items at a drugstore and pay less than a dollar for it!

No, I'm not kidding you!

I've been a coupon clipper for a couple years now, and I thought I was doing pretty good at it. But apparently I was really wrong. I've been buying my groceries at Ingles and Walmart, but as I learned last night, these two stores are some of the worst at helping you save money. Publix and Bi-Lo always beat out Ingles, and Walmart never puts anything on sale. Our teacher last night recommends Publix (groceries) and CVS (personal care items) as the places to save the most!

Are you surprised at Publix? I sure was! But I'm thrilled because I love love love Publix! You can always count on great customer service, clean stores, and great sushi! :) Their Buy One Get One Free deals are the best in town! And now that I'm learning how to shop the sales and where to find coupons, it's going to be the best at helping our family save money!

If you're in the area, Jenny is teaching another class tonight at Hope Fellowship Church (located next to Books a Million.) The class costs $10.

As I learn more and begin to implent these strategies, I promise to share!

But seriously, check out the website! They do all the hard work!