Happy Halloween Y'all

We are totally pooped and our tummies are full of sugar. We had a night of fun that started at church and then ended with some trick or treating around the neighborhood.

Here is a picture of our princess, hillbilly and Elvis(this is an encore, it was just as popular this year).



It is time to go raid the kids' bags in search of chocolate...

Road Trip

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Last week the kids had a couple of days off due to Fall Break so we decided to hit the road. Sea World was on our list of "must see" places and thanks to Anheuser-Busch we could all get in for next to nothing.

I want to publicly thank Anheuser-Busch for their continued support of active duty military families. Each year every active duty member is eligible for up to 4 free tickets at the Anheuser-Busch park of their choice, what a treat. They even had a short segment at the beginning of the Shamu show to honor military members and their families, it was very meaningful and made the kids beam with pride. We tell them all the time that they are sacrificing for their country too by having to spend so much time without their dad. The support from large companies in such a tangible way is so appreciated, it means a lot.

So we loaded up the minivan, which by the way we have no idea how we lived without it, and headed south. After a couple of outlet malls, snacks, and numerous potty breaks we arrived in San Antonio. Our hotel was within walking distance of El Mercado, the Mexican part of downtown, so off we went to feast on Adam's favorite food, MEXICAN. Yumm!!! We had a great meal then let the kids run around at a local park before we went back to the hotel for a quick dip. Is it possible for kids to stay in a hotel with a pool and not swim? Not ours. It seemed awfully hot on our drive down there but when we were watching the news that night we realized San Antonio had a record high temp that had stood since, 1895. It was 93 degrees that day, whew it wasn't my pregnancy hormones after all.

The next morning we were off to Sea World. We got there right when the gates were opening and didn't stop until the park closed. The big kids rode the roller coasters time and time again with Adam. Laura rode all of the rides she was tall enough for. I rode a couple of the kiddie rides and took pictures of all of fun. I knew that my delicate condition would prevent me from riding many rides but I still had a great time. The shows were right up my alley and all of the sea animals were impressive, especially Shamu. When the park closed we headed back to our hotel and crashed.

The next morning we got up and had a leisurely start to our day. On the way out of town we stopped by the Alamo, the kids had been there before but we realized that the last time we went Emma was Laura's age...weird, it didn't seem that long ago. I may try to post an old picture of that.

When all was said and done we had a great trip...but as always, there is no place like home.










Here it is I found the photo, this was in January 2003.

Blast from the Past

This past weekend we took a little road trip down to San Antonio. I will blog more about this later. However, as we were driving along I got an inspiration for the perfect Musical Monday selection.

We were driving along feeding DVDs into the dashboard as often as necessary. The kids take turns choosing the next movie but at times there is arguing that one of the girls is not interested in some boyish film or that Andrew would rather not watch another Princess flick. Well, I decided to make it easier on everyone... I would choose. I merely mentioned watching "School House Rock" and there was a lot of moaning, "Mom, that is booooring". Adam was so excited he insisted that I put it on so we could all sing along. He then told the kids all about what Saturday mornings were like when we were kids and how much we LOVED these short episodes. For the next half hour or so we sang, "Conjunction Junction", "I'm Just a Bill", "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get your adverbs here", "Interplanet Janet"etc.... I could go on and on but I won't. I suppose if you weren't born in the early 70s you might be bored too. The funny this is the kids were singing the songs for the next day or so.

What does this have to do with my musical choice today? If you remember "School House Rock", you might remember this.

Pictures as promised

Big Night

Tonight is a big night for Emma and Andrew. They will be getting baptized at our church. The part that makes it extra special is that Adam gets to baptize them. They are both excited and it should be a special night for our family. Our church allows dads, grandfathers or other spiritual mentors to baptize during the Wednesday night service. This just makes it a little more personal, especially in a church the size of ours with thousands of members.

I know there are many schools of thought on baptism and when and how it should be done. Our church being "Baptist" believes in the good old fashioned dunking. The Greek word used for baptize in the original New Testament text is the same word that would be used to submerge, like dunking your donut into your coffee. So tonight Adam will have the opportunity to "dunk" Emma and Andrew and share a few things about them and then pray for them. We believe their baptism is not what saves them, instead this a public profession of the faith they have in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I hope to post some pictures later tonight or tomorrow.

Music Monday

Thanks to Rocks in my Dryer for this link.

I can really never get enough of this song. This kid is amazing!

Shirley?

Surely, if this little girl can do this... how much more are we capable of?

Let this encourage and convict.

Some of my favorite things

Musings of a Housewife has inspired me this morning. It has been hard to think of things to blog about when I am feeling so tired and nauseous. Really, you would not want to read any of my whiny ramblings.

But this morning after reading about a Mom's favorite things, I was excited. I have some favorite things too!

First things first.

Diet Coke

Now that I am in a delicate condition I have switched to Caffeine Free Diet Coke, it is not the same but will have to do for the next six months. I will splurge every few days and get a Sonic Diet Coke, yum. Hey, Maybe that is why I am so tired, not as much caffeine. Hmmm...




Dyson

I have already devoted a whole post to this item but I can not tell you enough how much I love this thing. It makes vacuuming fun, if that is possible. I am always amazed and grossed out at what can be pulled out of my otherwise seemingly clean carpets. If you have kids or a dog and definitely if you have both, you NEED one of these.





Burt's Bees Lip Balm

I keep one of these in my car, my purse, my bathroom, you get the picture. I love the way it smells and feels and it really does a fantastic job moisturizing your lips. I have turned Adam on the this product and he even keeps one in his flight suit pocket. Apparently high altitude wreaks havoc on lip moisture. :) Just a quick tip, do not buy the lifeguard's choice with red cap unless you want your lips to have a subtle white frosty sheen. I bought this one for Adam once because it had SPF in it and I know all of those hours sitting in a cockpit you can actually get burned through the window. Well, one day at work one of his friends said, "what do you have on your lips?" Oops!




Reef Sandals

These have become my uniform for my feet. If I am not heading to the gym wearing my tennis shoes(why do we still call them that? I can't think of the last time I have played tennis. ) I am wearing these. I now have a black pair and a brown pair, I don't know why I need all of the other shoes in my closet when I wear these 85% of the time. Don't forget I live in Oklahoma where it is still in the high 80s in October.

Clorox Wipes


I LOVE these things. I keep one of these under all of the sinks and they come in so handy. Some of the most helpful uses of these. After little boys go #1, enough said. After kids brush their teeth and spit into the sink and there seems to be a cement of dried toothpaste lining the sink. Those are just a few but these things can clean up just about anything, quickly.



I really could go on and on but I think the top 5 is a good place to start. I am sure I will think of other things as the day goes by..

Better yet, what are some of your favorite things, products you could not live without?

Future Author?

Last year one of our kids was required to keep a journal in class at school. It was not an easy year for our family. I had been gone a lot for the Navy and it was taking its toll on our family. One day, our child's teacher called Charlotte and asked if there was anything wrong at home because our child had written some disturbing stories in their journal. The teacher was alarmed and asked that Charlotte read the stories and see what she thought. I remember being away (again) as Charlotte narrated the story to me. I was disturbed but I was also surprised. This child seemed to be fine and seemed to be doing well. Charlotte and I were both concerned.

Charlotte sat down to talk with our child about the stories in their journal. They were very imaginative and very detailed. When asked what they meant the child replied, "they're just stories, I like writing stories." Charlotte asked if they were worried that what was written in the stories would come true? And the child replied "no, they're just stories." Charlotte asked why they wrote such sad stories and the child replied "happy stories are boring." And isn't that the truth. From the mouths of babes......

How many movies have you seen or stories have you read that don't have conflict, that don't have a hero and a villain? Life is a conflict, it is a struggle between good and evil. I am amazed that even at such a young age our child sees this conflict. They enjoy seeing good prevail. The more we talk with this child the less I am disturbed by their journal. I'm still a little disturbed because I want my baby to still be a baby, but they are no longer babies. My babies are growing up whether I like it or not. I pray that as they grow up we maintain open lines of communication with our children and that they trust us enough to bring the conflicts of their lives to us. I pray we're able to discern when they need help, when they need someone to talk with or listen to them.

It's true, "happy stories are boring" we may have a future author in our midst.