Green Eggs and Ham

Victoria likes for me to read her the book, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. So, the other morning she asked me if we could make green eggs. I thought, "Sure, what a fun memory to have! She was so excited as we stirred the green food coloring in and watched them turn green."

The Pumpkin Patch

On Monday we went to a pumpkin patch with some people from our church. We got to go on a hayride, pick out a pumpkin and play on huge haybales. The kids had a great time!

Playing with Elaina

Victoria and Carson enjoy playing with their new friend, Elaina!

Laura's Pampered Chef Wedding Shower

OK, so I realize it has been weeks since I have blogged. I am very religious in checking everyone else's blogs, but haven't seemed to be able to find the time to upload pictures to my own. Here are a few of what we have been up to lately:

Last Saturday I hosted a Pampered Chef Wedding Shower for my friend, Laura. We have been friends since we were 5 or 6 years old. The Pampered Chef lady had her get up and learn how to use some of the tools. I enjoyed getting to visit with several of our friends from high school and then some of her friends from where she went to college. The other pictures is the girls who grew up together.

Story Time at Church

Yesterday the kids and I went to our first story time at church. It started at 9:30 and I was very proud of myself for successfully getting us all dressed, fed, and there on time. We are not experienced in having to get up early and get going, so it was a good practice for us. I wasn't sure if Carson would sit still during the story and singing or if I would have to chase him around. Luckily, he sat in my lap and never moved. I think that it was really good for him. When I try to read him a book, he pulls at the pages, etc. and it is almost impossible to get through a story. Since he could not reach the book that the teacher was reading, he just sat in my lap and listened. It was only his first time, though. So, when he gets more comfortable with the whole situation, I may have a runner on my hands. Here is a picture of us making our craft.

The Flower Girl

Two of my best friends from growing up are both getting married in the next couple of months and Victoria is going to get to be a flower girl in both weddings. She is very excited and I was also excited that they wanted her to do it. Last week we went up to David Bridal's to try on her dress for one of the weddings. She looked so pretty--not that I'm biast at all!!! She thought she was a princess and danced around the whole time she had it on. She gets shy in front of lots of people sometimes, so I hope that when it's time for her to go down the isle, she doesn't get scared.

Raising Godly Children

Before I had children of my own, I was very confident in my expertise in raising children. I have great parents who I feel did a great job raising me and I have a degree in elementary education. That must qualify me to be an expert in the area of children. I can remember sometimes seeing a mom at the mall or at a restaurant and thinking how she obviously was uneducated, because of a certain way she was reponding to her child. I can recall the phrase, "When I have kids......" coming out of my mouth more times than I care to remember. And then it happened. I had kids of my own. My clear view of the right and wrong way of raising children started to get fuzzy. It is so easy to sit back and look at a someone else's situation and decide objectively what the most educated course of action would be. It is quite another to be tired, frustrated, hungry, hot, "experiencing monthly hormones", or any other distraction and be able to respond in a Godly, wise way in every situation. Dealing with my own children has not been objective. It is extremely subjective. I have often wondered if my intense love for them has sometimes hindered my ability to discipline them with a sound mind. Love makes a person blind. So, I pray that God will allow me to see my children as they truly are. I also pray that he will give me wisdom to teach them the things that will have eternal value. If I fail to teach them how to go to sleep in their own bed, how to eat their vegetables, how to be polite and mannerly in every situation, but succeed in teaching them that God is big enough to create the world, but kind enough to stop and whisper in their ear, then maybe that will be enough.

While I was visiting with my friends, Robert had the kids. Victoria loves Chuck E. Cheese, so Robert decided to take them to eat pizza and play while I was gone. I think they had a great time. Then Saturday night we cooked at the the Gonzalez's. The kiddos had a blast running through the sprinkler.

Hangin' out with Old Friends and New Friends

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time with some old friends. I was lucky to have graduated from high school in a class that had lots of good, quality girls. There was a group of about fifteen girls that went through all the advance classes together. Some have now moved to different states, some still live in Nashville, but a good number have moved to Central Arkansas. We even have a doctor among us, that just started her residency at AR Children's Hospital. So, one friend, who now lives in Conway, decided that it would be fun to try and get us together. Everyone ended up having something to do that weekend except four of us. It was so much fun to catch up and visit! I had never seen Mica's house and she is expecting her first child in two weeks, so we had tons to talk about!

Long White Cars

Have you ever noticed that many elderly people like to drive long white cars that look like police cars? This past weekend we went home to Nashville to visit our families. I was driving the last little leg of the trip which is a normal two-lane highway. I was on a straight-stretch, but way up ahead I could see a car that looked like a police car waiting to pull out of a drive. So, of course, I do what any person instinctively does when you think there's a cop. I slowed down to the speed limit and became very cautious of following every road rule. When I finally past the car, it was an elderly couple waiting to pull out--not sure what they were waiting on, but they were waiting. I laughed at myself for being so cautious of this nice, harmless, elderly man, and then it occurred to me maybe that's why elderly people choose to drive long white cars. When people see those cars, they slow down and drive safely. I know that with my own grandparents, the older they get, the scarier it is for them to get out and fight traffic. I wonder if when a person goes to renew their license at 65, it is recommended to them. I don't know. My papa loves his big black Chevy truck, but maybe I'll suggest a big Cadillac or Lincoln. Just food for thought.