I Love Fall!

Oh, I love Fall. I love the weather, the leaves, the smells (like leaves burning or hay from a hay ride). Tonight we got the pleasure of going to Daystar's Fall Festival. It was such a good time for the family:) Probably what was very enjoyable to me is this is the first year in a long time where Numero Uno and I were able to do a church function without being involved in the production of it. Please do not get me wrong - I firmly believe that every part of the body of Christ has a role to play in service; however, in this time in my life I believe God has me in a growing and receiving encouragement role. The People Pleaser in me feels like I need to justify my actions but I'm not. I know where God has me and I'm not going any further in that. I will say as a side note that He is revealing to me that I am way too judgemental of others and I am working on acceptance of everyone and everyone's need for a Savior. There is a song I don't know the name to it but the words make me tear up every time..."Your name is Jesus, Your name is Jesus. Your the Wonderful, Counselor, my Friend. ... I know You have brought me through all the days of loss to the cross, You knew, oh You knew, I need a Savior" How true! I need a Savior.

Okay, that was a big tangent. Uno was not with us since he was at his mom's house but Dos and Tres had a fun time. We all took our time, let the kids pick out which rides they wanted to go on and they completely enjoyed themselves. Tres only rode the cars and the carousel but Dos was more adventursome. Although he did climb back down the slide ladder after realizing the height of the slide:)

I would say the doozy ride for me was the Orbiter which I had to ride on with Dos. Too bad Numero Uno didn't get to appreciate the full effects of the Orbiter. Tres experienced a sugar high halfway through the evening. Finally we put a stop to the candy consumption and they packed the rest up in their plastic pumpkins.

On my list for the rest of the week? A lot of fall functions. Tomorrow is the Pumpkin Party for little miss at MOMS group then in the afternoon I have to go up to the school for Auction work. Tomorrow evening we're having some of our good friends over for a grill out (or in depending on the weather). Friday brings the Fall Carnival at Dos' school and Saturday we have grandparent visits, trick-or-treating the neighborhood, hay rides and a bon fire to cap off the night. To say the least we will be busy and you know what? I'm lovin' it!

Shhh...Did you hear something?

What you hear is the sound of seven boys screaming, running, yelling, and wrestling on a 30 acre farm! Uno celebrated his 9th birthday in Camp Out style. I can not believe he is nine. I can still see his cute chubby cheeks and his mischievous grin. He has lost the chubby cheeks but still has the same grin. It's more of a twinkle in his eyes which he shares this common characteristic with his Daddy and his sis:)

We partied Saturday night at Granny and Pawpaw's. The boys ages ranged from 6 to 10 (not including Dos who got to tag along for a short time) and surprisingly they all got along great. Uno got to pick his guest list and thankfully each one was able to come. I picked up the cake which was a hunting theme as requested, got the burgers and dawgs that were grilled, wrapped all the presents that came from us and grandparents, and yet I still forgot to take pictures of the cake. This is what I have.

Yeah, better Moms have come before me and I am sure there will be more to follow:) Uno had given me a list of "wants" and we tried our best to provide. He really did get some good stuff. He asked for a Nerf Dart Tag gun and Bruder toys. Let me just say if you have never viewed Bruder toys for your boy(s), do so! They are great and detailed. Uno has always and I mean always been fascinated with construction equipment. I mean the real deal stuff. I remember when he was 4 or 5 asking Numero Uno if he could get a dump truck (the real thing like you see at a construction site) when we got "rich". Every year I would think his likes would change and every year they have remained. Last year Nana and Pop got him a cement truck. So far he has a bob cat, a fork lift, a utilities truck, and now a crane and a cement roller. The look on his face conveys how he feels about Bruder toys:) http://www.brudertoys.com/ Numero Uno and I took Dos and Tres present shopping Friday to help pick out big brother's gifts. We found Smith's Variety Shop in Mountain Brook Village (http://www.smithsvarietyshop.com/) and we loved it! The cutest store with lots of great gift ideas. I have already vowed to come back for some Christmas shopping and all their gift wrapping is free!

Here are some last highlights of the fun-filled birthday party:) Here's to another year with an amazing boy.

-The List Maker

I Simply Remember My Favorite Things...

What to do when you and your Numero Uno exchange unpleasant words or you realize that although you showed your house twice today it still is not selling? I think of things such as my little girl is currently fascinated with her Cabbage Patch baby and "feeding" her her bottle (or should I say bottles?)

Or I think of my lovely boy who is completely intrigued with a Spiderman puzzle he got for his birthday and has literally spent everyday putting it together then tearing it up and reassembling it. He is so proud of himself and honestly I am proud of him for the way he sticks with it. It is a challenging puzzle for his age.

This is what I get to enjoy daily and enjoy I do. Also, one of my favorite things is a wonderful fall day which was today! As I stated earlier, we had two different showings today so we were out of the house from 12:00 to 4:00. We picked up McDonald's and went to Sportsman's Lake Park. If you ever come to Cullman, please check this park out. We greatly enjoy it. It is not real fancy but the scenery is beautiful especially on a fall day.

We had a picnic at one of the picnic tables. Miss Maybelle was able to go with us since we could not leave her at the house for the showing. After the picnic, we took a walk half way around the lake (because last time we realized Dos and Tres could not handle the distance), played on the playground, walked to the duck pier, and finally carved a Jack-O-Lantern out of a pumpkin we purchased from Wal-Mart earlier in the day. Which if you had the chance to hear Dos you would know that we carved a "Jack-a-Lacker" today:)

Yes, even when tempers flare or there are momentary upsets, a few of my favorite things put it all back into perspective.

How to Draw a Crowd

I wrote that title as if I know the answer to that dilemma, which is what it is right now. A dilemma. In less than 3 (count them) weeks I will be in charge of the first ever Holiday Auction for Cullman Christian School in which 250 people are to be in attendance and right now I have only 75 tickets sold. Ouch!! So, how do I draw a crowd? I mean the food is going to be great, the entertainment just right , and all of our volunteers have been busting our behinds to get great stuff donated and we've done it. Now, we just have to get warm bodies in the seats. Incentive levels have been given out to kids but it doesn't seem to be working. The crazy thing is that if each of our students would only sale two tickets a piece we would meet our quota.

Any ideas? I'm open to suggestions. Preferably in a "Step 1,2,3" format:)

Impressive

So, I'm completely impressed with Mckmama. There are moments I would like to capture and write down but then I think no I don't have time or either I don't make time. Then I read of mamas who are doing a darn good job of capturing the moments they have with their kids on paper. Hats off to Mckmama.

So, as I always do, I will piggyback on this great idea and let you in on a really great day I had with my kids. I woke up today with a feeling that I was going to accomplish my "list" for the day and pretty much I did with wonderful extras. I was able to get my morning routine accomplished without a hitch (bed made, laundry washed, dishes unloaded). Me and the kiddies enjoyed breakfast together with Tres' hair looking too cute cause I gave her a haircut last night.

Since me and Numero Uno have been Dave Ramseyin' it, I have actually had some cash to spend on myself. So I loaded my babies up and we went to Wal-Mart where count em' - I got TWO bottles of scented hand soap. You so have got to know the tight wad in me that never buys anything nice. This was a treat!

After Wal-Mart we went to Sportsman's Lake park where I had every intention of bringing my camera but of course forgot. The weather was perfect. Tres had her hat on that has points on it to look like a crown. And Dos made friends with every single kid on the playground. It was a lot of fun and I actually ran around and played with them. We laughed and swung and ran and slid and seesawed and fed the ducks. While feeding the ducks and geese old bread, I look over at Dos and he is EATING the old bread. Days like today are awesome little windows of Heaven. One thing I would like to replay over and over after my kids have grown is their laughter!

This afternoon we all got to load up and see Granny and Pawpaw. Once we left their house, Numero Uno, myself, and the kiddies went to Sweet Peppers where kids eat for 50 cents on Monday nights - yeah!!

Dos is looking more and more like a little man. Sissy is nothing but a big mess. Her smile can cover "a multitude of sins".

Auction

I am still working on the Holiday Dinner and Auction. It is three weeks away. Number one on my list? To get 60 more items procured by October 26. Number two? To get all 200 invitations sold. Both doozies in my book. But besides the big stuff there are details to be hammered out like: The Teacher's Table is going to have a treasure box that everyone has to buy keys for to try and open the box. Where am I to get a lock on a treasure box and 200 keys to sell? Also, the friends that I have invited only five have responded back. I still have to make contact with the other 10. Oh, which reminds me that Number Three on my list would be to follow up with the student incentives and see which students sold the most and which class had 100% participation.
I think I will have to wait back and hear from my Auction Team and the school secretary on Numbers 1 and 2. So I will tackle Number 3 first thing:)
Lord, please let this auction be a success.

Children

I have said time and again - every day is like Christmas with my children. The opportunity to be a mother has been my greatest success and sense of worth. Even now as Dos and Tres are still not asleep, I would do anything in the world for them.

So, what do you do when you want more kids and your spouse does not? Well, the truth is he only wants one more and I feel like I want three more. Is it crazy that I'm secretly praying I get pregnant with twins? No, I think the heart of the matter is I'm having to wait on God's timing and right now that is killing me.

These pics are too sweet. It was a sunny fall day and I had just decorated the front porch. Fall is my favorite time of year.