halloween has come early

I heart Halloween.

I'm just not one of those people that believes Halloween damages kids. I'm not condoning going out and dressing like demons or monsters, but some good fantasy fun where your kids dress up and pretend to be something else for a night is fun. I have fond memories of trick-or-treating at the neighbor's house and then going up to church for a Halloween party. That was back in the day when they actually called it a Halloween party instead of a "harvest carnival" or whatever term is "church correct" at the moment. I still don't understand the use of the alternative name. You are having your "harvest carnival" on or around October 31 and you are giving out candy and playing games while dressed up in costumes. In my books, that makes it a Halloween party.

But, alas, I digress.

So I pulled out some things that I was planning to sell on eBay and come across a couple of old Halloween costumes. Emma was an octopus 2 years ago and a flamingo (or as Emma says, flamenco) last year. Well, the girls got into my eBay pile and decided it was time to play dress up. Octopus and Flamingo may be making a comeback this Halloween.

I love the pics of Emma trying to stand on one leg like a flamingo. I also love the pics of the Octopus attacking the Flamingo in the tail:)

lazy saturday fun

Last Saturday Jason took the girls out front to play in the sprinkler while I had some alone time. I couldn't resist the fun and the cuteness going on outside. Oh, also because Ava had a blowout in her swimsuit. Of course I didn't put a swimmer on her since we have run out and I refuse to buy any more because it is the end of the summer. Good times.

"blessed"

I've been working through Beth Moore's bible study, Stepping Up ( and yes, I have been working through this for 6 months:) The Psalms that we worked through today was Psalms 128. I was really hit over the head with what "blessed" really means. So many times we equate the word blessed with prosperity. I can't tell you how many times I have looked at someone and based off of their material wealth I have said, "God, sure has blessed them." And while I do believe that God can bless us with material things, He is a God who wants so much more for our lives. He wants us to blessed through a relationship with him, the only way that we can truly have fulfillment and wholeness.

"Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his life." God does tell us in Matthew 5:4 that "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." "Blessed Bliss" does not mean that a person will not have difficulties or even sorrows. I love what Beth writes about blessedness.

"Blessedness describes the condition of a person who reveres God, steeps her life to Him, and follows His ways. She doesn't just look to God in spiritual or religious matters. She looks to Him in every matter. He's not just the most important part of her life. He is her life."

Psalm 127

Psalm 127

1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain;
unless the Lord watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain.
2 In vain you get up early and stay up late,
eating food earned by hard work;
certainly He gives sleep to the one He loves
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
children, a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons born in one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
Such men will never be put to shame
when they speak with enemies at the city gate.

I think that says it all:)

playground fun

After dinner on Friday, we headed over to the playground of the school that is right behind us. The girls had so much fun playing. The playground was probably a little too big for them, but they loved the challenge. As we were leaving, the football team was out practicing. Or as Emma says, "They're playing catch-a-ball!" I love the pic of the girls watching the scrimmage game.

family fridays

I'm so sad that are family fridays are coming to an end with the start of MDO and Preschool. Today we made "Rich Chocolate Brownies". The girls were quite the mess after eating them since the brownies have icing on them. Since Emma would not be still enough for us to get her wiped down, Jason and I were getting on to her. She looked up at us and said, "Chill out, guys!"

Oh, no she didn't.

It's amazing the attitude that has started ever since she became 3. I feel like on her birthday someone flipped a switch inside her and turned on the "sassy" in her. It's like I'm living with a 3 foot teenager. The really sad part of all this is I so hear myself in her. Payback is fun.

Ever since the sassiness has begun, I have felt so convicted about my words and my motives. I just don't want my words and my tone to rub off on my girls in a negative way. They are a sponge. They soak up everything, whether it be good or bad. On the way back from Memphis I popped in a message in to listen to. It was about Psalm 24. This passage just stood out to me, and I have been praying over this scripture ever since.

3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not set his mind on what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

trip to memphis: memphis zoo

Tuesday, we drove the girls down to the zoo. We all had a great time. You would think that the zoo with all the different exotic animals would be interesting, but my children would rather hang out with the farm animals.

I love this pic of Jason and Emma. We have the same pic of them together in the same pose at the zoo when Emma was 9 months old.

Ava and Daddy

I would love to say that Ava was enthralled by the animals in the water, but she really thought that her reflection was way cooler.

The girls were actually still for a second, literally only a second

My 3 favorite people

Emma's friend

Emma in an egg. Ironically, that is her initials EGS. Egs is in an Egg. (sorry, inside joke with the hubby)

Ava with her duck. Right now, the only animal sound she knows is a duck and she shouts it loud and proud when she sees one!


I think this face is saying it's time to go.

trip to memphis: swimming and chuck e. cheese

The girls and I packed it up last week and drove to Memphis for a week and a half. We had so much fun seeing friends and family. Unfortunately for us, the rain had made the weather cooler than usual and Nana's pool took a temperature dive as well. We love to spend our time at Nana's pool during the summer, but this time we had to settle for only swimming a couple of times. The first time we tried it the girls were just shaking! Here's some after swimming pics.

Nana trying to warm up Ava

Emma shivering in her Little Mermaid towel

For lunch we met up with Grammy, Aunt Bekah , Aunt Anna and Ella at Chuck E. Cheese, Emma's favorite place to be. This is, of course, my least favorite place:) Emma and Ava cry and scream because they do not want to eat when there is way too much fun to be had, and then I have to drag my kids out the door kicking and screaming because they could party all day at Chuck E. Cheese. The girls were running around so fast that I was only able to get a few pics of Ava.

Spaghetti Night!

Last night we had spaghetti for dinner. Ava was eating like such a big girl! She was using her fork and doing a good job at getting the food in her mouth. Of course, as soon as we grabbed the camera she stopped eating with her fork.