When Best Friends Visit

Our sweet friends, Roger and Dianne, have been our dearest friends since college. We have seen each other through joys and sorrows, premature babies, adoptions, and more. They are truly friends for life - we love you guys!

They stopped by for an hour or so today on their way to the big Tech/Texas game. The little ones and I had a fun day getting ready for our friends to arrive. I have been convicted lately that I need to focus on hospitality in my home. Teaching children to lovingly prepare for guests is a fun thing to do. We made scrumptious cupcakes, swept, mopped, vacuumed, and dusted together. How I pray that Molly, Mason, and Madelyn grow to be gracious adults. Today was a good start!

Molly and Mason showed off their new reading skills, and even Scruffy the dog got in the picture!

Pumpkin Carving!

I have mentioned before that we are not a Halloween family, but we love the pumpkin part of Fall. Tonight was the big night - we carved our pumpkins! The little ones drew the faces on, and then I tried to carve exactly what they drew. Madelyn drew the tiniest face on hers, and the candle wouldn't stay lit. Other than that little problem, it was a precious family night together.

We ate a delicious home-cooked meal , monitored the dish washing (Mason and the girls are learning how to wash plates and load the dishwasher), ate ice cream, carved pumpkins, played games and read books. What a perfect evening!

We also had a first - when we opened Madelyn's pumpkin, there were several seeds sprouting inside. Apparently her pumpkin was a little "old" - lol!

As the days get cooler and the nights get longer, we will enjoy this season of family togetherness - what a blessing.

Mason the Mighty Wheat Grinder

Our Mason loves being all boy. He is rambunctious, loud, and full of energy all day long. One of his favorite things is to show us how strong he is :) We got out our brand new grain mill today and tried to grind our first batch of wheat. It is hard work!!!! Fortunately, I have a strong, loud, and rambunctious 7 year old boy who worked for almost 30 minutes helping me grind one little bag of wheat. This bread better be very, very good!

Here are some pictures of mighty Mason, the world's best wheat grinder. Notice the sweaty head - lol!

Fun Day With a Couple of "Bubbleheads"

After a fun dinner together at home, Randy and Mason left for soccer pictures. It was a beautiful, warm October evening, so the girls and I got ice cream and headed to the playground. I love to watch our children play together. Molly is the ring-leader, and Madelyn and Mason love to play along. Tonight the girls named themselves the "Super Sisters" and proceeded to to "super" things on the playground equipment. They rescued an invisible person trapped under the slide and practiced sliding down the fireman pole just in case they need that skill to rescue someone in the future - lol!

We left the playground a little dirty and sticky, so we came home and the girls took a long bubble bath. More photo ops for mom!

Randy and Mason had a fun evening together that ended with more ice cream and a bath for Mason. Those guys love spending time together doing......."guy" stuff. How thankful I am for our 6 children. We are blessed, blessed, blessed.

Granddaddy's Birthday!

Yesterday was Granddaddy's birthday, and we celebrated with him and with Meemaw by eating homemade cupcakes and a wonderful meal at our favorite Mexican food restaurant - yummy!

Our fall weather is finally here! Cool mornings and a few rainy days make me want to brew a big pot of tea and read a good book. We are counting down the days until Thanksgiving - the next time our big brood will be together. I am a little "homesick" to be with all of our children. Dallas and Oklahoma seem to get farther and father away.

I will be SO thankful when Halloween is over. Is it just me or are the masks, yard props and costumes getting gorier every year? Our little ones are nervous everytime we go into a new store because they are afraid of the scary displays. Hurry up November!

Have a blessed week!

Pumpkin Time!

Every year we make a trip to the pumpkin patch and search for the perfect ones to paint and carve. We are not a Halloween family, but we love, love the pumpkin part of Fall. This year we painted on an 80 degree day - not very Fall-like but lots of fun anyway!

Uncle Rod!

Randy's brother, Rodney, lives with his sweet wife in Tennessee - far, far away. We are always thankful when we get to spend time with him. He came to town last week and was treated to a "home-cooked" meal of take-out pizza and store bought cookies. Hey, give me a little break - it was a crazy day!

Here are some sweet pictures of Uncle Rod with his cute nieces and nephew.

Busy Days

I thought the craziness of the last two months would finally subside and life would return to normal. Well....normalcy has returned - I had just forgotten how crazy our normal life is! It seems to take longer every Sunday afternoon to get our homeschooling together for the upcoming week. I don't think it took me as long to get lesson plans done when I taught 28 fifth graders! I am really not complaining - I love teaching Molly and Mason, and Molly tells me everyday that I am her very, very best teacher:)

We had a little accident with the garage door on Friday night, and we didn't want to pay the overtime rate to have it fixed on the weekend. A broom handle got caught in the track, and when Randy tried to close the garage door the whole thing fell off the track on one side. I am sure our neighbors have had a good chuckle at our very skewed door.

Even though we haven't started any remodeling yet, we love our new house and feel at home here. It has an open floor plan, so the various array of wall colors does bother me a little. I can sit on our couch and look at the red kitchen, yellow kitchen countertops, the green dining room, and the orange glazed living room. Quite a combination! Our new windows have come in and will be installed in the next week or two. As soon as the windows are done, we will kick into high gear with wall mud and paint. If I even hint at moving again in a couple of years, I give you permission to come and shake me!!

I love these pictures of Madelyn - she was so excited that she got her bicycle helmet on by herself - lol!!!

We are looking forward to a sweet and blessed week. I am praying the same for you.

Birthday Boy

Mason is 7! After not-so-patiently enduring Molly and Madelyn's birthday celebrations, his finally came. We have chosen to forego the usual birthday parties amd instead have small family vacations to celebrate birthdays. The cost is probably about the same, but the memories are much better for us when we spend the time together as a family. I had previously posted about our trip to the mountains - a perfect birthday trip for an outdoor-loving boy! He fished and fished, and he also loved being outside and running wild.

We came home on Saturday, started moving on Sunday, the movers came on Monday, and Mason's birthday was Tuesday :( Fortunately, we had friends and grandparents who helped us make the week fun for Mason and the girls. Two of my sweetest friends took the three little ones on Monday and Tuesday and played, made cupcakes, had birthday parties, and more. Then Meemaw and Granddaddy took Mason shopping for Webkins. We ended the birthday with a dinner at their house complete with cake and balloons. What a whirlwind!

Mason is such a blessing. His smile and rambunctious spirit keep our house lively. His sweet and gentle heart make him a joy. Mason, we love, love, love you!

I'm Back!

It has been a crazy month of packing, coughing, vacation, coughing, birthdays, coughing, moving, coughing, and unpacking. I felt cruddy due to an unexpected respiratory infection, but life went on. I have lots of fun and pictures to share, so it will take a few posts to catch up.

The weekend before the big move, we took the three little ones to Angel Fire, NM for a fun, relaxing weekend of hiking, fishing, campfires and junk food. I can't even describe how beautiful the mountains were in late September - the trees were changing colors and the weather was absolutely perfect. We gave Mason an early birthday present - a new fishing pole and lots of bait. That boy loves to fish! Angel Fire has a small stocked lake just for children next to a beautiful playground. Mason, Molly and Randy fished, and Madelyn and I played on the playground for hours. Such a sweet time.

We stayed in a great cabin that had a wonderful wrap-around deck. Randy and I sat on comfortable chairs and watched the little ones play. The big excitement came when Mason found a small snake. We have a picture of it, but the little thing was so tiny that it looks more like a worm. Still exciting though!

I had forgotten how much fun it is to make a campfire and eat gooey marshmallows at twilight. It was a blessed weekend full of sweet memories for this mommy. Enjoy the pictures - I especially love the one of Madelyn "fishing." She apparently likes to lie down on the job :0)