ta - da

As expected, we had such a great time at my moms last Friday night. As I mentioned, and teased, I made a little surprise for the three of us! I thought we needed something... so I made these!

My mom and sister have such cute pictures from the night on THEIR cameras, but they have not sent me the photos... so this is all you get to see for now. We looked adorable! I got this easy, cute pattern from One More Moore. She has a great blog!

I made one with scrap material just to test out my ability to make these... this is how it turned out...

Pretty cute, I just don't love the fabric.

On Sunday, Ethan and Travis were building legos, so Olivia wanted to sew. She decided she wanted to make a few things for her dollhouse. These are a few of her creations - and her first sewing experience. I thought we made a great team!
So they are a little uneven...

Notice the rug, we lined with flowers, that she insisted on, the "quilt", the soft fabric "sheet" and the pillow stuffed with cotton balls... that does not match ANYTHING else. But it was hers and she chose the fabrics, and so it is. Fun day.

Girls night!

Tonight my mom, sister, and I are having a girls night! I am so excited. The plan is to cook together, (one of my favorite things to do with these girls!) play a few games... Speed Scrabble will likely be in the mix, and watch movies while we do some little hand crafts. Did I say how excited I am? Only a few months until Jen moves to Portland, OR, so we have to soak up this time with her!

I made them a little gift for the night... actually I made one for all three of us!

I will post a picture of what it is later... it is a secret! ;)

I

New hobbies and stuff...

I have ALL these new hobbies and things I want to do, I just can't find the time to do all of them! I LOVE to quilt... not a little, but A LOT! It is like a good book I just can't put down. Pictures of Ethan's quilt soon to come! He wants a space room, so his quilt is a wonky log cabin, space inspired quilt... not what it sounds like, but way cooler.

I see great clothes that I want to buy Olivia, but can't bring myself to spend the money on, so I have been attempting to make them. Now, I am so new at this that I am sure that I spend as much money making them as I would if I just bought them... and they usually don't turn out quite right, but I try and enjoy it, so... A picture of Olivia's almost finished, but not quite because I messed up and had to rip seams and make creative folds, pinnafore with coordinating pants soon to come as well. And a magnificent apron that is too cute for words...

And I have been following some REALLY great blogs, that I have come to love. I love the pictures they put on with their blogging. They are great pictures taken with great cameras, I'm sure... because my photos never turn out that way! So my new request and desire is a nice camera. I could capture so many great memories! I think the money spent would be a great investment... not in my blogging, but in my family's lives. (I am working on arguments to convince Mr. T.)

And, finally, my house is pretty much done! I cannot believe it! It has been so long that we lived on concrete floors and with one toilet, and a torn up kitchen. I actually enjoy and thank God when I sweep and mop! So I am trying to decorate. Our house is SO not normal, that it is not exactly easy to decorate, for a non-decorator type. I did find something in Canton that I think is gonna look great hanging on my wall though! ... pictures to come.;)

Yea for school! Yea for Lawson Rd!

We "officially" began school last week. Can I tell you that it is so much fun?! I just LOVE school with these two kiddos. Our year is starting off so different than last year. I have LOADS more confidence in my decision to homeschool this year. That in itself is a huge relief. Last year at this time I think I went through mild depression, just so unsure if I was ruining my child by not sending him to public kindergarten. I think he may just survive - he may even thrive! Honestly, the fact that it is not what the "world" does makes me all the more sure that we have made the right decision.

Olivia is such a little learner. She loves to sit and write... her cursive is already awesome, for only having learned it for a couple of weeks. She loves to sit and work. This is easier for her than Ethan, but I have to say she struggles with memorizing, isn't as quick with math, and is learning to read completely different than Ethan. He was able to see the word ended in '-at' and trust that it would say '-at' every time. Olivia HAS to sound it out EVERY time. Kinda drives me crazy, but I love to see her mind work. She is also SO independent and does not want me standing over her shoulder. Ethan has an incredible memory, and is pretty quick with math, but he does not like to write and gets discouraged very easily. He shuts down so easily that I have to watch how I correct him. He is so absolute too... I wonder if that is an age thing - everything is 'ALWAYS' or 'NEVER'.

August 22nd was Love of Lawson. Can I just say that it was AMAZING?! First of all, we had SO many clothes, it was unreal... many brand new, with tags. We had 78 pairs of brand new shoes, school supplies, toiletries, free hair cuts. Around 340 people were able to go through. Each family had a host to walk through with them one on one. I was so excited to be a host. My favorite part was seeing the kids get a brand new pair of shoes. Their faces just lit up! They got a Bible, played in bounce houses, had snow cones, hot dogs, watermelon, popcorn, heard devotionals... in English AND Spanish. AMAZING... And the playground that had been repaired the month before was put to use. God provided so many people and ...just everything. Words cannot describe. The future is looking exciting... Richard is going to start an after school program in some of the neighborhoods around the church, with lots of cool things going on. I can't wait to see!

Next week is our first week at Lawson Rd. baptist Church full time. While I am sad for the change, I am excited. We have already seen so many incredible ways God has worked and provided, I crave to see more! And to be a part of it is such an honor, I don't understand why everyone would not want a part of it... and HIM! With all that being said, I have loved First baptist Forney. It has allowed me and Travis to grow and be nurtured through extremely trying times. We have some of the dearest friends because of FBC, and it is a place that God is alive and active for sure. Who knows the reasons why we are being taken from one place where we are able to serve God to another... maybe we are being removed from our comfort zone, being challenged to trust Him, and only Him... who knows, I for sure don't. But what I DO Know is that if this is obeying God, it is what I wanna do.

All for now, hopefully with school here I will update with school happenings more often.

Time flies...

I don't know why I haven't posted anything in like a million years... plenty has been going on, I just haven't taken the time to sit and type it out! Shame, shame.;) Our summer has been good and busy. Lots of swimming, a family reunion, two VBS's, a "mini-mission trip," home remodeling, the birth of baby goats, I could probably go on, but I won't.

Our house has taken a large amount of energy and time, but blessings abound through it, so I won't (or I try not to) complain. About 8 weeks ago we had a huge rainstorm in which my downstairs flooded and ruined our carpet and popped up a few tiles. So this prompted us to get new floors all over the downstairs, build on to our downstairs bathroom, receive new kitchen cabinets, change the doors to wooden doors, and paint all downstairs. I know this may not sound huge, but it has been. One story of how God has worked through our remodel... I was stressed about how we were going to pay for all this, since we had not planned for it and don't have lots of extra cash floating around. Travis felt confident it would come in when we needed it and we decided to pray specifically for the things we wanted to fix up. Well, let me just tell you that ALl the things we have gotten have been greatly discounted and good deals, but the hugest blessing of all has been our kitchen cabinets. Travis' business partner had some nice wooden cabinets just lying around from his mom's home remodel. They are in GREAT condition, come with a stove, microwave, oven, dishwasher, all much nicer than ours, and hardly looked used. He just GAVE them to us. How amazing is that. He just didn't want to throw them away! Crazy good! Then when a "friend" installed them, FOR FREE, he was amazed at how these cabinets just fit in perfectly without any cutting down... almost like they were made for our house. I'm pretty sure that was not just luck!!!

This last month we have been at Lawson Rd Baptist church. It has been so much fun to be a part of this little church and to experience these people. There is such a need in this little community, right down the highway. It has opened my eyes to the need of ministry and mission work right here. I have always thought of going far off to do mission work, and it is certainly more glamourous, but I have seen that God loves these people surrounding Lawson Rd and they need the love of Christ brought to them as well... and if that's is what God has for me, well than what could be better? Next week, my kids and I are going to youth camp with this church at False Creek, OK. I pray that God works in these teen lives and that they commit their lives to Him at this young age. I pray that they can be the extra hands within the neighborhood to help share that love. I also pray for Richard Harris and his sweet wife Kim, that they would be encouraged and given wisdom in the direction they should go. (They have a wonderful family of 7 kids... seriously great kids!)

And on a more carnal note... I have begun BOOT CAMP. I am so excited to get this ol' body in shape. I have only gone through week one and am going to miss week two, but will double up on week three... get ready for one fit mamma! (I hope! Haha!)

May "the grace of our Lord be poured out on you abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 1:14

He is Mighty to save

Ethan is being baptized this Sunday! What a wonderful mother's day gift, huh? I know he seems REALLY young to be making this decision, but I truly believe he understands what this decision means. I know times of trial and hardship will come. I also know most likely he will stray at some point, only to be brought back by the Shepherd.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30

Ethan prayed to become a Christian on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. He is so excited about Sunday, when his daddy is going to baptize him.

I pray God will use Ethan in a mighty way to glorify Christ. Ethan is bold and confident and unashamed of his faith and love for Christ. I pray that never changes... no matter how much the world tells him he is wrong or different. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10

My words of encouragement wherever Ethan might go in life are echoed throughout scripture, "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord our God is with you."

He is Mighty to save!

A hard lesson learned

There are some GREAT coupons and sales (at Target) right now for all the Leapster hand held games. Ethan has been wanting a Leapster DIDj for awhile now. So this last Tuesday and friend and I went to Target to get a few things, but on my list was to look at these Leapsters... and ultimately to buy a few Leapster things. Well as I am adding all these games up I am realizing to myself that these games are still, even on sale and with coupons, going to be quite a nice hunk of change. Ethan has his arms wrapped around the Leapster DIDj and is picking out a Star Wars math game to go with it as I explain to him that he is going to have to pay me back for these by giving me the money he has saved and then by doing more chores to work it off.

Well, I never really told Travis of my intentions of buying these games... so when the phone rang with his familiar ring tone, I have to admit the impulse to hit the 'end' button did cross my mind. Travis is much more sensible about these things and I was really counting on explaining my reasons for buying these games and my idea of Ethan paying us back AFTER we got home WITH the games. I didn't though. I answered and explained what we were doing. He of course then told me that Ethan needed to learn to save his money and THEN buy the wanted item... not the other way around.

He of course was right, dang-it! So I made Travis explain this to Ethan, (I wasn't about to be the one to break his heart!) I won't go into all the details of the next hour, but over all, I thought Ethan handled the lesson really well. He wasn't at all happy about this decision and wanted it so badly right then. He even shed a few tears over leaving it at the store. But we all three learned a valuable lesson. I think not allowing Ethan to have it was just as hard for me and my friend!

Ethan is going to be SO proud when he takes his hard earned money to the store and picks out his game! And, for the next few weeks, I have a little boy willing to do just about anything for a dollar!

(I am purposely leaving out the fact that I was also going to buy Olivia a Leapster 2 with a game... I know, what is the holiday?!)