My Two GuatTots

Friends, Grizzlies, and Circus

2012-02-26T16:44:00.006-08:00

The past few weekends have been pretty boring so I told Kevin I want to have some fun this weekend! The fun actually started last Wednesday when Carol and I went to get our nails done. We splurged a little and did our toes too since spring is just around the corner! I am the toenail Nazi after all and I will call anyone out who has on open toed shoes and no polish on their toenails! I went with a neon orange color for my toes!

Wednesday night was the girls' special night where they get to sleep in our bed. Ava loves to bring all her stuffed animals with her and arrange them all around her. It is cute but sure doesn't leave much room for anyone else in the bed.

Elia had a friend come home with her from school Friday afternoon. Elia and Anna Garris were in the same class in 1st grade and now in 3rd grade. We went to Yogurt Mountain after school along with everyone else from Arlington Elementary. Carol, Dalton, and Cami joined us. It was almost like a party in there! Then I took Anna Garris, Elia, Cami, and Ava back to my house to play. We ordered pizza and the girls had a great time!

Saturday brought even more fun! We started out at Elia's basketball game! Anna Garris and her mom came and so did Elia's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Henrikson. That is going above and beyond for a teacher to take time away from her family to come to her student's weekend game. It was very sweet of her to come and it sure made Elia's day!

After Elia's game, the girls wanted to go to Ashely Furniture to meet Zach Randolph who plays for the Grizzlies. When we got there at 2:40, the line literally wound around the store. It seemed to be moving pretty fast in the beginning so Kevin went next door to Dick's to get the girls a basketball for Randolph to sign. By the time he got back, the line was creeping along. At this point, we had been waiting 45 minutes and we had basketballs so we were committed! We ended up waiting in line for over two hours!!

The girls enjoyed testing out the furniture at Ashley Furniture while Kevin and I waited in line.

When we finally got to meet Zach Randolph, the girls were so excited. Of course, it lasted about 3 seconds but it was fun while it lasted.

After our adventures at Ashley Furniture, we went to the Flea Market at the Agricenter. We left with a t-shirt for me and a power band for the girls.

Then we made a quick trip to Target before the circus got started. It has been almost 6 years since we took the girls to the circus. Ava was 18 months old and in a pink leg cast the last time we went. Elia was 3 and a half so neither one of them remembered anything about the circus. Of course, once we got there they both wanted a $15 light up sword. Then came the $5 cotton candy, the $6 funnel cake, etc. It was well worth every penny though.

While we were waiting for the show to start, a clown came into the audience and sat down to talk to the girls. Both girls decided they were scared of clowns and did not like anything about them. LOL!

I tried to take more pictures of the actual circus but the lighting didn't work out so well. I did get a couple of pictures of the elephants though.

We spent Sunday morning going to church, eating lunch, taking a nap, and playing in the cove. This has definitely not been another boring weekend!

February Theme Dinner: Washington and Pancakes

2012-02-19T17:53:00.006-08:00

It is time for our February theme dinner! The obvious choice for February would be something related to Valentine's Day. However, we did that last year and I wanted to do all new ideas this year. I struggled with what to do for February but then I realized it is also President's Day during February. I googled George Washington and discovered his favorite meal is pancakes! How easy! The difficult part of this theme dinner was finding decor and plates related to Washington. We decided to keep decor out of it for this month and focus on our pancakes.

We started with easy microwaveable Ego pancakes. They come in a packs of three and you stick them in the microwave for a little over a minute.

Then we added several toppings to add on top of our pancakes. We had syrup, butter, whip cream, Nutella, sprinkles, chocolate chips, strawberries, and powdered sugar. YUM!

Of course, you can't forget the Yoohoo to drink with your pancakes.

Here is a picture of our plain, boring pancakes before we added the fun:

Here are the girls adding their toppings:

Here is Ava's final product:

And Elia's final product (with much better table manners than her sister):

I tried to add variety to each one of my pancakes.

I think Kevin wins the prize for the prettiest pancakes.

What's on Your Nook?

2012-02-18T17:01:00.010-08:00

Kevin bought me a Nook about this time last year. I absolutely LOVE it! My favorite time to read is right before bed. It is my "me" time after the girls have gone to bed. Here are some of my favorites I have read this year:

1. Jesus Calling

This is a wonderful devotional book that I highly recommend. This may be terrible to say but I like it because the devotionals are short. I know that is not a good reason to like a devotional book but it is to the point and I always get a great message from it every night. It takes about 5 minutes to read it but I LOVE how it always speaks to me.

2. Fat Chance

This book is about a former Biggest Loser contestant who also happened to adopt a baby. She is very inspiring because she makes it seem like if she can exercise and lose weight, then anyone can. She just seems to be one of those normal "moms" who I can relate to. She mentions the spiritual side to her journey as well.

3. The Kind Diet

This book was written by Alicia Silverstone. She is a little far out in her "vegan thoughts" but she did have some good things to say about meat and the important of eating healthy.

4. Kisses From Katie

This book is a MUST READ!! Katie is an 18 year old girl who decides to move to Uganda rather than attend college. She is the most remarkable person I have ever read about! She ends up adopting 13 Ugandan girls and her faith is simply amazing! She will make you feel like you should drop what you are doing and sell everything you own to serve in another country. She is simply amazing and I highly recommend this book to everyone!

5. Escape

This book is about the group of Mormons who arranged marriages, had multiple wives, and many children. The woman in this book is very courageous as she tries to escape this life she is living. Very good and interesting book.

6. Skinny Bitch

This is another book like the Kind Diet. It gives advice about how to eat healthy. It also gives details about how animals go from the farm to the grocery. It is very graphic and could turn anyone into a vegetarian. My favorite chapter is called Meat is Nasty. I love it because it is so true. LOL! This is a good book because it is straight to the point and does not beat around the bush as you can tell from the title.

7. Stolen Innocence

This is another memoir about the Mormon religion. The poor girl in this book had to marry her first cousin when she was only 13. She does escape this lifestyle in the end but it was heartbreaking to hear all she went through during her childhood.

8. Secrets in the Cellar

This memoir is about a crazy father who locks his daughter in a cellar for many years. She ends up having several kids by him. The girl and her children do eventually come out of the cellar but it is after many, many years down there. This is a very good book that will definitely bring tears to your eyes.

9. Left to Tell

This is one of those books you stay up half the night reading and cannot put down. I think I read it in about 2 days. It is about a young girl who is in the middle of the Rwanda Holocaust. She and 7 other women spend over 90 days hiding in a pastor's bathroom just to survive. I highly recommend this book! Her faith in God becomes so strong as she realizes the power of prayer during those terrifying days.

10. Jesus Land

I am not sure how I felt about this book. It is also a memoir where a white family adopts a couple of black children. The children end up getting sent to a reform school in the Dominican Republic. The book is more about the bond between the siblings and how they don't let color keep them apart from being family. It was a good book, just really sad.

11. The Color of Rain

This is another memoir about a husband who loses his wife to cancer and a different wife losing her husband to cancer. The surviving spouses find and support one another through it all. This book was a little slow at parts but a very good book.

12. My Life Deleted

This book is about a man who slips and falls at work hitting his head. He ends up losing his entire memory. He doesn't even know his wife, parents, or his kids. It is a great story to read. My favorite thing about it is that this man had so many material things such as a boat, many cars, a big house, expensive watches, etc. Since he has no memory of any of those things, he realizes that material things are not important.

13. Forever Lily

This book is about a woman adopting a baby from China. Her husband cannot make the trip with her to China so her friend goes along with her. The woman ends up not bonding with the baby but the friend feels an immediate connection to her and ends up adopting her. I cannot imagine being on either side of this story.

14. Water for Elephants

I am sure most people are familiar with this book. I read the book before I went to see the movie which actually made the movie a little boring. I knew everything that was going to happen. It is a good book that I do recommend.

15. Not Afraid of Life: Bristol Palin

This book was an easy read since it was written by a young Bristol Palin. It was a good book but not wonderful.

16. Thin Places

This book is about a girl who has a terrible childhood. However, she calls these horrible experiences that she goes through "thin places". These thin places are the times when she felt closest to God.

17. A Stolen Life: Jaycee Duggard

This is the story about Jaycee Duggard who was kidnapped as a young girl and kept in a sick man's backyard for years and years. She even birthed 2 children in a tent in the backyard. This is another one of those books you cannot put down. However, it was very detailed and graphic in some places which made it difficult to imagine all that happened to her.

18. Daddy, Come and Get Me!

This book is about an adoption from Guatemala so you know it had my attention. The interesting thing is it was written by the dad so it was all from his point of view. The dad had a dream that his daughter was calling him from a mountain top to come and get him. This is what inspired him to pursue the adoption of his daughter from Guatemala.

19. Secret Daughter

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was a true story. However, it was not true but still a very good story about adoption. It is about a girl adopted from India. Her parents let her travel back to India to discover her roots. It was a great book with a great story line.

20. Food, Inc.

So this is the book that started it all with my switch to being a vegetarian. It was actually the movie that did me in, but the book helped as well. If you don't want to know the details about how that chicken got on your plate, I suggest you do not read this book.

21. Mamlita

This was one of the most powerful and difficult books to read. It is about a girl who travels back to Guatemala with her mom to meet her birthfamily. It left me with very mixed emotions about the whole adoption process from Guatemala. It also left me feeling like Guatemala did the right thing when they closed their doors to adoption. I just wish they could straighten things out so babies will not continue to be stolen or continue to grow up without a mom and dad.

Wow, I have read a lot of books in the past year. I think it is interesting how you can tell so much about a person based on the books on their Nook. I think it is obvious that my passion is God and adoption. I also have a new passion about not eating meat. So, what is on your Nook?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T16:30:00.003-08:00

I have to be honest and say I am not a fan of this day as a teacher because the kids are bursting with excitement from the moment they walk through the door in the morning. It can make for a long day for teachers. Of course, the kids have a blast exchanging Valentine's cards and eating cupcakes! I think my favorite part about this day, as a mom and a teacher, are the Valentine's cards the kids pass out to each other. I think it is so cute how my own kids spend 20 minutes at Target picking out just the right cards. This year, Elia chose Angry Birds and Ava chose Kung Fu Panda. I also love how they spend hours trying to decide which card to give to which friend. My students also love passing out their Valentines to each other. It is serious business in a 2nd grade classroom! My students spend about 30 minutes decorating their bags with just the right paper hearts and stickers. They take such pride in their bags and they are so fun to watch. I think it is the innocence and simplicity of Valentine's cards and bags that I love so much!

Kevin and I like to get the girls a little something on Valentine's Day. This year we got them a Club Penguin Puffle, some art books, and some candy. Elia's favorite candy is her Reese's heart and Ava's favorite is her heart shaped Peeps.

Kevin got me a box of chocolates. I got him some Reese's and a framed wordle. I had never heard of wordles before I read a teacher friend's blog. The website is wordle.net and they are completely free and easy to create. I entered words that mean a lot to us. Then I clicked print. I bought a cheap frame at Fred's and had a nice but inexpensive gift for my hubby!

Of course, you can't forget the teachers on a day like today. I hit the dollar spot at Target and found some cute boxes with matching notepads. I put them in the box along with some candy, a candle, and a gift card to Starbucks. Hopefully, the girls' teachers will enjoy their goodies!

Made it to February!

2012-02-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

I have never been a fan of the month of January. It always feels like such a depressing month. It comes right after the excitement of Christmas so that is somewhat of a downer. It is cold outside and it gets dark so early. This January has been especially sad because we have not had one single snow day! It is true that February is also cold, and it also gets dark very early. However, the month after February is March which brings spring break and a little warmer weather! So, I am happy to say that we have finally made it to February! We have not been too busy at all this month. In fact, things have been a little boring which can be a good thing. Here are some things we have been doing the past few weeks:

Elia has been busy playing basketball for Upwards. Kevin is her coach and she is loving it! Here are a couple of pictures of Elia and Dalton playing ball in the cove:

Miley has been enjoying the lazy days of winter. This dog is so pitiful, but we love her so much!

Elia had to do a big project for Black history month. She chose Michael Jordan for 2 reasons: She loves basketball and it was easy to find something to wear the day they had to dress up like the person they chose. She just wore her basketball uniform.

One exciting thing that happened so far this month is that Kevin and I both finished our evaluations! This new teacher evaluation system is a little extreme and a lot stressful. We are so glad to be finished! We celebrated with a night out to Cracker Barrel (Ha!) and dessert at GiGi's cupcakes.

Here are a couple of random pictures from this month. One is of Jake and me outside at recess. The other picture is Elia at my mom's house. She actually let my mom curl her hair and I think she looks beautiful!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2012-01-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

We had a fun but laid back weekend. It started Friday night with our trip to the mall. We walked around, shopped, ate dinner, and rode the carousel. It has been a couple of years since the girls have wanted to ride the carousel, but Ava saw it and wanted to ride. Elia acted like she was only riding it to be with Ava, but I think she secretly wanted to ride it as well.

Here is how they started out:

Here is how they ended up riding:

After we left the mall, we went for dessert at Sweet CeCe's. It is one of those new, do-it-yourself ice cream places. It was so yummy! You can tell Ava was pretty excited about being there!

Here is a picture of the girls in their new Abercrombie coats. They were having a big sale this weekend. We bought these coats for $30 each. They were originally $160 each! I LOVE a good sale!

We spent Saturday at Elia's basketball game. Then we went to the grocery store and stocked up for the next two weeks. Sunday morning we went to church. Then we got prepared for the bad weather that was coming our way. The girls tried to get their minds off the storms by losing themselves in the computers.

Of course, they slept with us that night and none of us got any sleep due to all the lightning and wind. Here is what I had to wake up bright and early the next morning:

Here is a picture of Ava trying to look like Justin Beiber. I had bought the girls some white capris at Justice and she got a little carried away.

January Theme Dinner- A Red Carpet Event

2012-01-16T17:49:00.001-08:00

It is that time again! Theme dinner night!!! I struggled with what to do for the month of January. I want our theme dinners this year to be different than the typical holiday theme of the month. Sunday afternoon I realized the Oscars were coming on TV so I decided to do "movie night". We went to RedBox and rented 4 movies. Then we spent most of Sunday being lazy and watching movies. Once dinner time came, I started decorating for our movie night.

I had some help from Elia rolling out the red carpet.

The girls thought the red carpet was the most fun! Of course, they had to walk it a couple hundred times. Cami had come over to play while we were getting ready so all three girls had a blast playing movie star!

Elia was a "gangster":

Ava was a "princess":

And Cami was a "cowgirl":

Then Miley had to get in on the act:

After several walks down the red carpet and lots of laughs, it was time to start dinner. I found this recipe in a cookbook. It is called Tortilla Lasagna.

First I had to cut up a zucchini, onions, and tomatoes (shocking, I know!). Then I mixed it all together.

Next, I added black beans which Elia helped mix together.

Then I mixed the salsa and the southwest sour cream. I put a layer of the sour cream mixture. Then a layer of tortillas. Then a layer of the bean and veggie mixture. After that came cheese. I repeated the layering several times.

Here is the finished product:

Kevin, Elia, and I thought it was very good. However, Ava had a completely different opinion about the food. I made her take at least one bite to try it, and this was the outcome:

After we cleaned up from dinner, we finished watching our movies and enjoyed dessert which was popcorn of course!!!

Stay tuned for our theme dinner next month!

1st Week of 2012

2012-01-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

The first full week of 2012 and has been pretty uneventful which can be a good thing. We had to go back to school Tuesday which was a challenge to get everyone up and out the door by 7am. We had been sleeping in every day until about 11am over the break.

Elia started basketball practice this week, and her games start up next weekend. She loves to play basketball!

Miley got groomed this week. Here is her before picture:

And her after:

The weekend brought some much needed down time. This was the first weekend we did not have one thing planned. It was very boring but also very nice. On Friday night we ordered pizza and the girls entertained us with their tricks all night. The rest of this weekend was spent going to the grocery store, doing laundry, and going to church.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T12:24:00.001-08:00

Round one of Christmas started Friday night with the extended family coming to our house.

The kids played a fun game with dice, oven mitts, and a present wrapped several times.

Hannah got to the prize inside! Luckily, everyone was a winner and they all won Reese's trees!

Then the adults played games that my cousin, Beth, and I planned.

Last we played a game with white elephant gifts. It was too much fun! There is always a lot of screaming, laughing, and fun when our family gets together.

Here is a random picture of Ava in a new outfit!

Round 2 of Christmas took place at my mom's with my family, my brother's family, and my parents. We started off with breakfast and there was enough food to feed an army! It was all so good!

Then Grammy and Papa got each family a new book. Papa always reads the bible story out of the bible every year. However, this book was one of those where you can record your voice reading the story, and it just so happened to be the Christmas story from the bible. My mom and dad took turns recording their voice reading the story. What an incredible gift that the girls will treasure for the rest of their lives!

Then it was present time, and boy, where there presents! I think Grammy and Papa spoil their grandkids!

Round 3 of Christmas involved Santa. He showed up on schedule on Christmas Eve, and he did not disappoint.

The girls went straight to their Kindle Fires, and did not see much else Santa brought for several minutes.

They they emptied their stockings and Miley's stocking.

After the girls saw what Santa brought, they wanted to dive into the presents from us so Elia played Santa and passed them out.

Miley got to open her presents first.

Then the girls wanted to open a certain present they have had their eye on every since it appeared under the tree. Thank goodness it was what they wanted, an Xbox Kinect!

Then it was time to open the rest of the presents!

I think it is safe to say the girls had a great Christmas!!! (and we still have Round 4 tonight with Kevin's side of the family!)

Baking Day- December Theme Dinner?

2011-12-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows, December can be a crazy, busy month. I had good intentions to carry on with our monthly theme dinner even though things are busy. However, it just didn't happen so I decided to cheat a little and call our baking day our theme dinner for December.

We baked the Thursday before Christmas, and I had two very excited helpers to assist me.

We even found our elves sitting among all our ingredients the morning of our baking day.

Here are the girls about 5 minutes after we got started:

Here they are about 30 minutes into baking:

And an hour into it:

And an hour and ten minutes into baking:

I was surprised they lasted as long as they did, but considering it took me about 5 hours, I completely understand why they abandoned me.

I managed to make 8 different things, and I only had to throw one out. LOL! The Snickers popcorn we made just didn't turn out quite right.

We ended the day with pretzel rolo bites:

Seasoned oyster crackers:

Peanut Butter Reese's cookies:

Frozen Banana bites: (which I forgot to pull out of the freezer for our family party.)

Chocolate toffee:

Peanut butter balls:

and brownie rolo bites:

Our Christmas Vacation

2011-12-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

Elia just turned 9, and Ava just turned 7. We knew there was not much time left for those magical Christmas memories so we decided to take a little vacation over our Christmas break. We left Sunday, and drove 7 hours to Stone Mountain, Georgia. They have a lot of fun things to do at Christmas! It was like a little Christmas village with decorations and lights everywhere. It truly was magical! I was a little worried that Elia would think she was "too grown" for some of the events, but she ended up being glued to everything we saw and did.

The girls got to hear stories from Mrs. Claus.

They got to shop in a candy shop.

The lights at Stone Mountain were so pretty as the sun went down!

We also saw a Christmas parade with the Snow Angel, floats, and of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus.

We saw a very fun show called Toyrific. It was very cute!!!!

One of the highlights of my night was getting to stand under the mistletoe with Kevin!

Some other fun things we did at Stone Mountain Christmas included watching the Polar Express in a 4D experience, drank the best (and most expensive) hot chocolate, and ate dinner at a restaurant where they throw rolls.

As you can see Ava, had too much fun! She could barely keep her eyes open as we waited for Kevin to open our hotel room door.

The girls loved our hotel room at Stone Mountain Inn. It really was one of the biggest hotel rooms I have ever seen!

Day 2

Once we woke up, we drove about 30 minutes to the American Girl Store. We had never been so we didn't know what to expect! The place was a madhouse. There were moms everywhere buying up all kinds of dolls and doll clothes. Too bad I didn't think of American Girls!

Elia and Ava have had their dolls for a couple of years now so their dolls hair was a little messed up. It was time they took a visit to the beauty shop. It was fun watching the dolls get their hair done.

Ava also got her doll's ears' pierced, and each doll got a brand new outfit! Ava chose a cheerleader outfit and Elia chose a basketball outfit (no surprises there!).

Kevin even helped get the dolls dressed in their new clothes after lunch.

Once we left the mall, we had two very happy girls!

We drove 2 hours to Chattanooga where we had even more fun. Our hotel room was much smaller but much more fun! We got to spend the night in a train car!

Once we got checked into our train car, we went to visit Santa. (The picture will be mailed in a few days.) Then we went to the Elf Workshop. We met an elf there named "County" because he is in charge of counting all the presents for Santa. Here are some pictures from the Elf Workshop complete with mailing one last letter to Santa.

Once we ate dinner, it was time to head to the North Pole. We boarded the train about 7:30. The girls were SO excited!

The ride started off with a story from one of Santa's helpers.

Then we had gingerbread cookies and Yohoo chocolate drink. (I guess Santa did not want the liability of hot chocolate on his train.)

Once we went through the magic tunnel, we were at the North Pole. We got to see Santa's warehouse and all the stalls of all the reindeer. Then we saw the big man himself, Santa Clause. I love this picture of Ava looking out the train window trying to get a peek of Santa.

Santa boarded the train and visited with every child on board.

He gave each child a bell from his sleigh. The tag that was attached to the bell said that he will always come and visit as long as you hear the bell.

On the way back to Chattanooga, we sang Christmas carols, and the girls got a hand stamp to show they had visited the North Pole.

As we got off the train, the girls got a picture with the conductor.

We had been back in our room for about 30 minutes when there was a knock at the door. It was two of Santa's elves ready to tuck us in for bed. They read a story about Rudolph, and did a silly routine of tucking in the girls. It was so fun to hear my sweet girls laughing! The elves even had a gift of a Christmas Pez dispenser for the girls.

Day 3

It was time for us to make the 5 hour drive back to Memphis. First, we had to stop by the Moon Pie store. Kevin said it was for the girls but he secretly loves Moon Pies!

This was truly a trip I will never forget! There were so many years I spent so many Christmas breaks and Christmas mornings without kids. Those were some of my darkest and saddest days. I know the real reason of Christmas is not about Santa, presents, and fun kid things. However, I have always longed for children to love and share these magical moments. I think sharing these moments make the true miracle of Christmas that much more real for me and my girls!!!!

Adventures with Zack and Shelby, December 10-15

2011-12-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Before I get into what our silly elves have been up to, I have to post some new pictures of the girls. They are truly growing up right before my eyes! I honestly try to treasure every moment with them because I know I will blink and they will be going off to college!!!

Now, on to the elves, Zack and Shelby!

December 10, 2011

Zack and Shelby were found in 2 of our stockings.

December 11, 2011

Zack and Shelby made a huge mess in the kitchen. They were sitting on top of some Christmas decorations and they had pulled out the flour. They made a snow angel in the flour and wrote "Be Good" in it.

December 12, 2011

Zach and Shelby were full of mischief today. The teamed up with Dalton and Cami's 2 elves next door. They had pulled Elia's bike out of the garage and tried to ride away with it. They didn't get very far which is good. The funny thing is that we couldn't find them anywhere until we pulled out of the driveway on our way to school.

One elf was sitting on the seat of the bike while 2 elves were trying to steer it with the handle bars.

The 4th elf was trying his best to pedal the bike.

December 13, 2011

Our elves were found hanging from the light fixture in the kitchen.

December 14, 2011

Zack and Shelby were in the fridge. They were trying to get to the cheesecake that was leftover from a Christmas party.

December 15, 2011

Zack and Shelby made their way into Ava's room. There both in the Barbie dollhouse. Shelby was in the Barbie bed, and Zack was sitting on the Barbie toilet. I guess elves have business to do too!

Stay tuned for more adventures of Zack and Shelby!!!

December 7-9

2011-12-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

December 7

The girls woke up to find Zack and his girlfriend, Shelby, sending an email to Santa.

Elia and Ava got a little concerned when they read the half-finished email he was sending. Here is what it said:

December 8

Zack and Shelby were up to no good this morning. We found Zack with his face in the cereal box.

Shelby looked like she had already helped herself to some Trix.

December 9

Elia had a very rough morning yesterday so Zach's message this morning was a wake up call to her. We found Zack and Shelby in the girls' bathroom. Zack had written on tons of post-it notes and stuck them all over the bathroom walls and mirror.

The message Zack told the girls was " Be careful not to end up on Santa's naughty list".

I think Elia took Zach's message seriously because she immediately got dressed and made the bed even though it was Ava's day to make their bed. Too bad Zack can't stick around all year!!!

Zack, the Elf, December 4-6

2011-12-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

December 4

We found Zack playing Pictureka with some of the girls' webkinz. He was even holding one of the game cards.

December 5

We found Zack in Miley's doggie door. I am not sure what Miley thought about the strange little red guy sitting in her way of getting outside and doing her business.

December 6

The girls woke up to discover Zack brought a "new friend" with him from the North Pole. We assume is must be his girlfriend since they are holding a sign where Zack wrote "love". Ava decided to name her Shelby.

December 1-3

2011-12-03T16:59:00.001-08:00

We are only into the 3rd day of December and we are already very busy. It is a good busy though, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

The first exciting thing that has happened this month is our elf, Zack, came back on December 1st. He made his grand appearance by ringing the door bell at 6:30 in the morning. The door bell woke up the girls. They ran to the door and here is what they saw:

Zack was in the Barbie car full of candy canes. He was pulling a tub of things behind him. In the tub was a note, a lego advent calendar and a Christmas book for the 1st day of December. (We always wrap up 24 Christmas books and the girls get to open one each morning counting down the days until Christmas. They also get to open a door of their advent calendar each day.)

On the 2nd day of December Zack was back again. This time he had wrapped toilet paper around the Christmas tree. He made himself a little hammock and was laying in it with a stuffed monkey. Elia had left a note for Zack wanting him to write back. They girls laughed at Zack's notes because he cannot write very well.

This day also happened to be the 70th day of school so everyone dressed in their 70's attire. Here is Elia in her 70's outfit:

At night we went to the Collierville Christmas parade. Kevin's FFA club had a big float in the parade. The girls and Dalton rode on one of their floats with them. Carol and I got to relax and watch the parade.

They had so much fun that poor Ava was worn out and passed out at the end of the parade.

Zack was very naughty the 3rd day of December. The girls woke up to find him trying to hide behind a pillow on the bench in the entry hall. He had found the 3rd Christmas book and had started to unwrap it.

That night we went to the Arlington Christmas parade. When we first got there I tried to take a picture of the girls. It didn't go over so well. Ha!

Here are some pictures from the parade:

Of course, you cannot have a Christmas parade without Santa and Mrs. Claus!!!

November Update

2011-12-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Wow! I have not blogged in a while, but we sure have been busy this month. I will actually have to back up to the last day in October which was Halloween. Elia dressed up as boxer and Ava was a princess.

We always trick or treat with our favorite next door neighbors, Cami and Dalton. Cami was a lady bug and Dalton was a SWAT guy.

Of course, we can't forget Miley. She was a "horse" with a jockey on her back. She was not thrilled about her costume.

Here is Elia at Grammy and Papa's house. Of course, she had her pick of candy there.

I love this picture of Ava. She was looking through her bag at all her "loot".

November brought Ava's 7th birthday. I can't believe she is getting so big. Here is a picture of us in Guatemala when she was just 4 months old and 8 pounds. She was so tiny.

And here she is today: (She is still tiny. We like to call her "small but mighty")

She got to open her presents on her actual birthday. She was not too hard to please. She was so excited about her Justin Beiber watch and her Tangled doll.

We had her party at the roller skating rink. She wanted a Tangled cake.

Here is Ava with Caleb:

And Elia with Dalton:

And Ava opening her presents. One of her favorite gifts was hand sanitizer! LOL!

Ava with her friends:

Ava with her cousin, Hannah:

And Elia with her cousin, Hannah:

She had a great time at her party!

Here are a couple of random pictures from November. The first one is the girls before we went to a wedding. It was their first time at a wedding, and I think they really enjoyed it. The second picture is Miley with the girls in the morning before school. Miley LOVES those girls!!

Stayed tuned for updates in December! I am sure it is going to be a very busy month!!!

Putting up the Tree!

2011-11-19T18:36:00.001-08:00

We always put our Christmas tree up the Saturday before Thanksgiving. That way we get to enjoy it longer. We have a tradition where we order pizza the night we put up the tree so we called Pizza Hut and pulled all the Christmas boxes out of the attic.

Here is Elia pulling all of our ornaments out of the boxes:

And here is Kevin trying to untangle all the lights:

Here is Ava putting ornaments on the tree:

And Elia putting ornaments on the tree:

And Miley taking it easy:

The girls put up a pink tree in Elia's room:

Here is our mantle decorated with stockings and my snow globe collection:

I love the girls' stockings. We bought them in Guatemala on one of our many visits.

And here is our nativity set from Guatemala:

And our decorated tree:

November Theme Dinner

2011-11-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

I think I have to say that this theme dinner has been my all-time favorite. (Do I say that about every theme dinner?) Anyway, I struggled with a theme for this month. Of course it is November where have turkey and celebrate the pilgrims and the Indians. Well, the whole family does that every last Thursday in November so I wanted to do something different. Plus, I can't cook a turkey.

I told Kevin I wanted to pitch our tent in the backyard and use the firepit to cook hotdogs like the pilgrims and Indians did and then sleep in the tent like a teepee. Ava flung her head around at me and said "Momma, the pilgrims and Indians did NOT cook hotdogs." Then Kevin said it was going to be too cold to sleep in the tent. Ok, two bubbles burst at this point.

After much thought, I decided we would still cook hotdogs over the firepit but we would do turkey dogs which is close to the pilgrims and Indians (right?).

We decided to have dinner on the back patio. It was a beautiful night. Here are a couple of pictures of our dinner settting:

Miley even joined us sporting her new puffer coat:

Ava wanted a picture with her "new pet" which is a ladybug she has named Cotton Candy. So Miley and Cotton Candy spent the evening with us.

Here we are cooking our turkey dogs just like they used to do back in the day. HA!

Ava got so fed up with all the smoke so she went in the house and got her swimming mask and snorkel. What a goober!

After all that roasting, it was time to eat!

I think Elia has been around her teenage cousin, Hannah, too much. Check out the arm on the hip and the lips!

Now it was time for dessert. You can't have a fire pit going and not roast SMORES so we busted out the chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. YUM!!!

Once we were finished with smores, Ava ran in the house to get something. She came back out with her guitar and serenaded us to "Big Green Tractor". Like I said, what a goober!

After dinner and entertainment, it was time to do something special. I gave everyone a piece of paper numbered to 5. We all had to come up with 5 things we are thankful for. Here are each of our letters (with some translation for the little ones).

Kevin's Thankful List:

Jenny's Thankful List:

Elia's Thankful List:

(Don't you love how Elia put the dog before her sister? Of course, the dog got put before everyone.)

Ava's Thankful List: (Her number 1 is God, how sweet! Her number 4 is Cotton Candy her new ladybug pet. I guess it is only fair that Cotton Candy beat out Elia too.)

This was a fun way to spend dinner with our family on a beautiful night! I can't wait to see what the theme dinner for December is going to be like! Stay tuned!

National Adoption Month-Ava

2011-11-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

November is National Adoption Month. I have been reading posts I made on an adoption forum many years ago when we adopted Ava. I copied and pasted some of these posts!!!

This first post was written by me on February 22, 2005:

I just got the call a few minutes ago that we are OUT of PGN! I have been crying and screaming and calling all my friends and family. I can't believe it!!! I have sooooo much to do!!!!!!!!!!

This post was written by me on March 22, 2005:

We are so happy to be home! As many of you know, we left Tuesday for Guatemala without our pink slip. Plus, we left knowing there were riots in Guatemala that could have also delayed things. Thanks to many prayers, we got our pink slip, went to the embassy on Thursday, and came home on Friday. It was a very stressful trip since there is always that chance you won't get your pink slip when you think. Plus, the riots added to our stress nearly all week. Not to mention that on our way home when we got to Houston and got on the plane to Memphis, our plane had mechanical problems so we had to sit on the plane with a 4 month old baby while they fixed it. Putting all the stress aside, everything else is wonderful! Ava is so tiny and we are hoping to fatten her up soon. Elia is completely in love with her sister. She wants to be right beside her all the time and she wants to help with everything.

This post was written by me on September 19, 2005: (The heading I wrote on this post was simply "Life is Good")

There is not a day that goes by when I do not thank God for allowing me to go through all those years of infertility so I would be so blessed with these 2 Guatemalan beauties!

I do have to say that on November 5, 2011, Life IS Good!!!!

National Adoption Month-Elia

2011-11-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

November is National Adoption Month. I have spent most of this night reading posts I made on an adoption forum so many years ago when we were bringing Elia home. I logged onto this forum just about every day and the other women adopting from Guatemala provided so much love and support for me during this time. I have copied and pasted many of those posts below. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did!!!

This first post was written by me on November 16, 2003:

I just have a minute, but I wanted to let everyone know that we got in last night, and things could not be any better! Elia did wonderful on the planes and throughout the day traveling. When we got to the airport we had 80 people waiting on us. It was so overwhelming, but I think Elia was the calmest one of all. About half the crowd at the airport came back to our house with us to visit with Elia. She loved all of the attention and had so much fun laughing, playing, dancing, and clapping. She was up until 9:30 last night and she slept until 7:30 this morning. We have just been amazed at how well she is adjusting. It is like she knows this is where she belongs. She won't let anyone else hold her yet except for me and DH. However, it will come with time. Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it home, and everything is wonderful.

This post was was written by me on December 8, 2003:

Elia has been home for 3 weeks now, and things could not be more perfect. She is 13 months old, and she makes us smile all day long! She has adjusted better than we could have ever imagined. She sleeps 10 hours a night, takes 2 naps a day and is an absolute angel. The language has not been a problem at all. She understands nearly everything we say to her, and she has said about 7 words since we have been home. She has the best personality and she is really funny. She copies EVERYTHING I do from coughing to laughing and even to the way I sit. My entire family just sits around and laughs and smiles at her. She is not walking yet, but it won't be too long. I posted a question about needing help introducing our dogs to her because she was terrified of them. Well, the dogs are now her best friends. We took things very slow with them. Elia gives them food from her high chair and tried to give them kisses. Well, I guess I have bragged enough. I just wanted to let everyone know how wonderful things are once you do bring your baby home. I have not forgotten the pain of the rollercoaster ride we were all on, but it sure is a distant memory. One look at Elia reassures me it was all worth it!

This post was written by my mom on May 28, 2004: (Elia was almost 20 months old)

I wanted to share with all of you the pure joy that will be yours when your angel does come home. I remember this time last year waiting with Jenny and Kevin and hoping and being so sure that Elia would be home by the end of JUne. They were hung up in the Hague mess; received referral in Jan. of 03. As last summer went on and there was no word, we were all discouraged and quite honestly did wonder if she would ever be home. I remember some friends of mine actually suggesting some other routes for them to take to adopt a different child. Needless to say, we all knew that Elia was God's gift to all of us. She did not come home until last Nov. at 13 mo. old. Today she is truly the light of our lives; her smile, those enormous eyes, those arms that reach out when she sees me, the attempt to say, "I love you", every little thing about her is so precious to us. Just this morning she put a piece of typing paper down on the floor to use as a pad, got her Dora doll and a diaper, and looked at me and said , "Dora tted". I could go on and on, but you would never have time to read all the things I could share.

Thanks so much for letting me share about the joys of adoption!!

Fall Break!

2011-10-22T16:00:00.001-07:00

Fall break could not have come at a better time for all of us! Since Kevin and I are both teachers and we have been experiencing this new Tennessee evaluation system, we needed this break BAD!!! I do not think I have enjoyed any week out of the year more than I have enjoyed this week! We have stayed up late every night and slept in VERY late every morning. Most importantly, we have just enjoyed being together as a family. Here is a recap of what all we did this week:

Saturday- Our day started at Ava's early soccer game (Ok, this was one day we did not get to sleep in but it was still sleeping in compared to 5:30am.) Her team won their first win of the season! After her game, we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. YUM! Then we came home and Kevin painted the girls their very own soccer field in the backyard.

While Kevin was entertaining the girls, I fell asleep on the patio with Miley. This was the first of many naps to come this week!

Sunday- We started the day off going to church. Then we came home, took a nap, and I finished up some last minute birthday shopping for Elia.

Monday- I spent this day switching out the girls' clothes in their closets from summer clothes to fall clothes. Fortunately, Ava can still wear the clothes that Elia outgrows from the year before. Once closets were switched out, we headed to Elia's birthday party at the skating rink. (Insert a nap in the day somewhere.)

Tuesday- I took Elia shopping so she could spend her birthday money and all of her gift cards. She had so much fun and so did I! Then we played outside in the cove! The temperature had literally dropped 30 degrees from the day before!

Wednesday- We had our Halloween theme dinner and then we were going to take the kids to the corn maze. However, it started raining on our way there so we had to have a change of plans. Carol and I took the kids to see Mrs. Cockroft's Halloween lights. Then we drove through Starbucks to get a pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin scone. YUM! Once we got home, the kids played Just Dance Wii. Then the girls built a fort in the playroom where they slept that night!

Thursday- We met Carol and her kids and Mandy and her kids at Incredible Pizza. We stayed for about 3 hours, and the kids had a ton of fun!

Friday- We went to the see the movie Dolphin Tale which was a very good family movie. Then we went to eat dinner at IHOP. This is normally not one of my favorite places to eat but we had a gift certificate for 2 free dinners. I got the cinnastacks, and they did not disappoint!!!

Saturday- We decided to go to the corn maze since we did not get to go earlier in the week. We met my Jason, Holli, Jake, Austin, Hannah, and Hannah's friends there. Then we came home and took a nap.

This week went by WAY too fast, but it was filled with so many fun memories! As I sit here about to start on my evaluation paperwork for next week, it is time to get back into the school frame of mind. Tomorrow, we start back with spelling words and multiplication facts for Elia and reading practice for Ava, not to mention the 5:30 a.m. alarm clock on Monday morning! However, it is still Saturday night so I will soak in every last minute I have with my wonderful husband and my sweet girls before we welcome the real world back into our lives!

Elia's 9th Birthday!

2011-10-22T15:39:00.001-07:00

Elia turned 9 on Monday, October 17 and we celebrated with her party at the roller skating rink! It happened to be fall break which made it nice and not very crowded at the skating rink. We almost had the entire place to ourselves.

We started the day sleeping in and then we let her open her presents from us. She got a Smokey Pillow pet, a Tennessee sweatsuit, Super Mario Wii game, a Barbie she wanted, and a sister necklace from Ava.

Elia was so excited about turning 9 because that meant she could ride in the car without a carseat! I think she thought that was the best thing about the entire day!

Her party started at 5:00. She had a few friends from school, a few friends who happen to be family, and a few friends from the neighborhood at her party. Here is a picture of some of her friends who were there:

The skating rink had races (which I steered clear of this time) and the limbo. Reed was the Limbo Winner of the night! Go REED!!!

Then it was time to go to the party room. We had pizza:

We had cake:

And we opened presents:

Happy Birthday Elia!!!

October Theme Dinner!

2011-10-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

This month's theme dinner was the most fun we have had with our dinners! Since it is Halloween, we did a "spooky" dinner. We started off decorating the kitchen with Halloween decor.

On the menu for dinner tonight included:

* Mummy dogs

* Ghost cookies

* Witches Brew Punch

We started off making the punch. First, we put gummy worms in ice trays. Then we filled them up with water and put them in the freezer to turn into "wormy" ice cubes.

Then we mixed 2 parts fruit punch with 1 part 7-up in a punch bowl. We added rainbow sherbert and our wormy ice cubes to top it off. Ava had fun mixing the punch together.

Here is the Wicthes Brew ready to serve:

Then we got the main course, Mummy Dogs, ready. We got hot dogs and cut them in half. Then we wrapped the dogs with crescent rolls. We baked them according to the crescent roll directions. Then we added ketchup and mustard eyes. Our mummy dogs turned out a little bug eyed but they were still yummy!

For dessert, we made ghost cookies. We started with Nutter Butter cookies, white chocolate almond bark, and mini chocolate chips.

We put the white chocolate in the microwave and stirred every 20 seconds. Then we dipped the cookies in the white chocolate and added the chocolate chips for the ghosts' eyes and nose. They turned out pretty cute!

Miley even had to get in on the act. We dressed her up in her Halloween pajamas!

The girls had so much fun with this theme dinner!

To add to the theme we are heading to the corn maze tonight! It should be lots of fun! Stay tuned for November's theme dinner next month!!!

Fall Favorites!

2011-10-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I think I could make a list of 100 reasons why I LOVE fall. Of course, right now my favorite reason would be FALL BREAK!!! At least the break is giving me time to catch up on my blogging.

Here is my top ten list of fall favorites:

#10- Halloween: I am not a fan of the spooky and scary things that comes along with Halloween. However, I do love helping the girls pick out their Halloween costumes. Then of course there is trick-or-treating where you go to every house on the block for free candy. What could be better than that?

#9- Fall colors: Trees are at their prettiest when they have turned those deep yellow, orange, and red fall colors. It reminds me of our powerful and all knowing God and how He is in control of even the little things.

#8- Hooded sweatshirts: I love fall weather! I am definitely cold natured and I am ALWAYS cold. However, the weather during fall is my favorite. I love being able to put on a pair of comfy jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.

#7- Smores: Who doesn't love Smores? One of my favorite things about fall is sitting in the cove with the neighbors on a cool night, pulling the fire pit out, and roasting smores over the open flames! YUMMY!

#6- Maple Pancake Yankee Candle: This is one of the best scents that Yankee Candle makes. The only problem is that it is only sold during the fall. I always have to stock up so they will last me year round. They smell SO good!

#5- White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M's: Enough said!

#4- Black Friday Shopping: Only one more month until I will be out with the crazies at 2am looking for that great deal that I could find online in my warm pajamas in my warm bed. It truly is worth the experience and all the fun stories that are shared throughout the night!

#3- Cuddling: Fall weather means cuddle time with the ones you love. The cooler weather makes me want to pull out the blankets and snuggle up for a good nap with my favorite family members.

#2- Starbucks Pumpkin Scones: I discovered these for the first time this past weekend. Do not let the fall season disappear before you get to your local Starbucks for one of these delicious treats!

#1- And my number one favorite fall item is STARBUCKS PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE of course!!!

Elia's 9th Birthday!

2011-10-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

It is still so hard for me to believe that my baby girl turned nine years old today!!! She is growing up in so many ways.

I can remember waiting to bring her home and having her car seat waiting for her in the back of my car. I would strain my neck driving down the road to see that empty car seat waiting for her sweet little self to be in it. Today she turned nine and got to get out of her car seat!

I can remember those big brown eyes staring at me with curiosity when she first came home. Today those brown eyes got big with excitement as she counted the money she saved from her allowance and her birthday gifts!

I can remember dressing her up in smocked dresses, leather patent shoes, and bows to match every day of the week! Today she picked out skinny jeans and an Abercrombie shirt.

I can remember singing all of her favorite nursery rhymes and listening to them in the car as we drove to preschool. Today, she listened to Katy Perry on her MP3 player as we drove to the skating rink.

I can remember holding her hand when she was first learning to walk. Today she let go of my hand as she skated off with friends at her birthday party.

Today she may have turned 9, but she will ALWAYS be my baby girl! I love you El!!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!

Here are some pictures to show how much she has grown over the past nine years. This picture is when Elia was only 6 months old and we went to Guatemala for our 1st visit trip:

This picture is Elia in Kindergarten:

I always take the girls' pictures by the same stop sign on the first day of school. (I have actual photographs of her stop sign picture in preschool and kindergarten. I guess that was before the digital age started.) Here is Elia on the first day of 1st grade:

Here she is on the first day of 2nd grade:

And the first day of 3rd grade:

Here is Elia today on her ninth birthday:

September Theme Dinner

2011-10-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

September has come and gone, but we did have our September theme dinner about a month ago. We decided on a Tennessee Vols theme this month since it was the start of football season! Ok, so I could really care less about the Vols or anything football related. However, I live with 2 people who love the Vols- Kevin and Elia. They are big fans so it was time to think ORANGE!

I tried to think of a "Tennessee" dinner and here is what was on the menu:

* BBQ chicken

* Baked Beans

* pineapples

* cupcakes with orange icing

* Orange Big K

I am not much of a cook at all, and I have lots of issues with raw chicken. However, I found a great recipe on a crockpot website and I was able to cook it without ever touching the chicken!

I started with chicken breasts, BBQ sauce, and a few other ingredients in the crockpot for most of the day.

Then I shredded the chicken and put it back in the crockpot to cook for one more hour.

I dumped the beans out of a can into a saucepan and heated them up. I dumped the pineapples out of a can too and dinner was served!

You can't forget about the orange drink we had with dinner- Big K orange drink!

The dessert was the fun part! We started with white cream cheese icing.

Then we added red and yellow food coloring to make a UT orange color.

Next we iced our cupcakes!

Last it was time for a yummy dessert which everyone loved!!!

I am sure there was a Tennessee football game that weekend too, but I wouldn't know it! You will have to ask Kevin or Elia about that one. I am definitely not the sport enthusiast.

Stay tuned for the October theme dinner! It is going to be a lot of fun!!!

August Theme Dinner-Elvis!!!

2011-08-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

The month of August has arrived so it is time for our August theme dinner. I really struggled with which theme to go with this month. The obvious choice would have been a "Back to School" theme. However, it would have been difficult to decorate and cook for that kind of theme. After a lot of thinking, I was at a complete loss about what to do for August until I saw the evening news. They were talking about it being Elvis tribute week which is when Graceland honors Elvis during the week of his death. How perfect!!! I have a little Elvis fan here at my house. It was about two years ago when Elia took a real liking to Elvis. We even had to take her to Graceland, and she soaked up every minute of it.

I was not able to buy our decorations at the Dollar Store because I needed something with a rock and roll theme so I had to spend a little extra money on decorations at the party store.

The menu for our Elvis theme dinner included:

* Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

* Peanut Butter Pie

To make the peanut butter and banana sandwiches, I started with butter, peanut butter, bananas, and bread.

First, you mash the bananas in a bowl.

Then you spread peanut butter on one side of your bread.

Next you spread the mashed banana onto the other side of your bread.

While you are doing this, you can heat up and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet.

Once the butter is melted, you put your two slices of bread together and cook it like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Last, dinner is served!!!!

Elia, even though an Elvis fan, was not a fan of his favorite meal. She did not want her picture taken with such a frowny face about what she was eating. On the other hand, Ava loved her dinner!

I think the dessert was the best part of the night. I was not sure what Elvis' favorite dessert was so I assumed it had to be something related to peanut butter. I wish I could say I made this yummy pie, but it was purchased at the Kroger bakery.

Of course, Elia loved the dessert! (Still no picture!)

Now that dinner and dessert has been eaten and the kitchen is cleaned up, it is time for a movie night with none other than a collection of Elvis movies!!!

Stay tuned for September's theme dinner!

1st Day of School

2011-08-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe but the summer is over, and it time to go back to school. It is even harder to believe that I have a 1st and a 3rd grader. The girls were just babies, and they are growing up WAY too fast.

I always take the girls' pictures by the same stop sign on the 1st day of every new school year. The idea is to see how much they grow and change over the years. I am sure they will just love the idea when they are in high school! Ha! Here is Elia's stop sign picture for 3rd grade:

Here is Ava's stop sign picture for 1st grade:

The girls were so excited about their first day. They had their new supplies all neatly labeled and a new backpack as well as a new lunchbox. Elia chose UT Vols for hers and Ava chose Justin Beiber. Ava is in Mrs. Foreman's first grade class this year.

Elia is in Mrs. Henrikson's third grade class this year.

My babies are growing up too fast! I try to cherish each and every day I can while they are still little! I love my girls!!!

Back to School Cake

2011-08-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

I took Elia to the grocery store with me today, and she said she wanted to make a "Back to School" cake since we start back on Monday. (Is the summer really over?) Anyway, we picked up a cake mix, icing, and icing tubes and sprinkles to decorate. Kevin ended up baking the cake while we played outside with Dalton, Cami, and Carol. The cake was cool and ready to decorate by the time we came in from playing outside. The kids decided it would be a good idea to draw out what how they wanted to decorate their cake before they got to work. Elia and Dalton teamed up and decided to put a heart and write "Back to School" on their cake. Cami and Ava decided to make a rocket ship and fireworks on their cake. Here are the kids making a rough draft before they started their masterpieces:

Let the fun begin!!!

Here is Dalton and Elia's finished product: (It really does say "Back to School". It was just hard for their little hands to push the icing tube and write neatly at the same time.)

And here is Ava and Cami's cake: (It sort of looks like a Smurf pooped on their cake! LOL!)

Of course, you can't let any leftover icing go to waste!

School may be starting Monday, but I am sure our fun is not over yet. We love having our sweet friends living right next door so we always have someone fun to play with and decorate cakes!!!

Teaching Responsibility

2011-08-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

Elia will be 9 in October, and Ava will be 7 in November. It is time these girls start having more responsibility around the house so we created a chore chart. I cannot take full credit for the idea because I saw a chore chart similar to this one at another Arlington mom's house. However, I changed it up a bit to fit us and our needs. Of course, I had to color code mine so all the sticks in the Monday pocket match the writing on the Monday pocket and so on. Here is a picture of Elia's chart:

And Ava's:

Some of the chores include:

* cleaning up their bedroom

* cleaning up the playroom

* vacuuming their bedroom

* vacuuming their playroom

* wiping down the countertop in their bathroom

* make their bed

* do their homework

Once they complete a chore for the day they move the stick to the "DONE" pocket until all their chores have been done. At the end of the day, they move the sticks back to their original pocket and start all over the next day. They do not have any chores on Saturday, and they are given a chance to earn "Bonus Bucks" throughout the week. They can earn an extra dollar for things like feeding the dog, walking the dog, dusting the furniture, etc. The girls earn $6 every week so that is $1 a day since they do not have any chores on Saturday.

Both girls have a 3 drawer compartment where they keep their money. The drawers spell JOY going down. The J stands for "Jesus" since He comes first. The O stands for "others" because we should think of others next. The Y stands for "you" which means them. They put $1 in the "Jesus drawer" so they can take that money to church to put in the offering plate. They put $1 in the "other drawer". They save this money up for other people. For example, they had saved up about $25 for others so they used the money to buy a stuffed animal for a child in Guatemala. They put $4 in their drawer. They can spend that money or save it. Most of the time, they are pretty good about saving it up for something they really want to buy.

The chore chart and the allowance drawers have worked great and I hope they continue to so my girls will keep learning responsibility.

Back to School Shopping

2011-07-23T18:53:00.001-07:00

Even though I am not looking forward to my summer being over, I have to admit that I LOVE all that comes with going back to school (other than the actual going back to school part). I think it comes from when I was growing up. My mom used to always take me back to school clothes shopping! It was one of my favorite things to do. I also used to LOVE (and still do) buying school supplies. My favorite part was putting labels with my name on all my new notebooks and art supplies. I know. I am a nerd, but a very well prepared for back to school nerd.

We started our day getting the girls' hair cuts. We didn't get too much taken off the length, but they both needed a little trim to clean it up a bit. Here is a picture of them right after they got a trim:

After haircuts, we headed to the mall to let the serious shopping begin. Even though the girls are only 6 and 8, they LOVE Abercrombie Kids. I refuse to pay full price for anything in that store so we always head straight to the back where everything is on clearance. We came on a good day because we found summer shirts for $7 and even a couple of fall shirts for $12. Here is a picture of Ava standing in line ready to check out and one of her with her shopping bag:

Elia refused to get her picture taken at the mall in front of everyone. Even though she is almost 9, I guess she is "too cool" to have her mom take her picture!

Finding that perfect 1st day of school outfit can be rather tricky and almost impossible at my house. If it were up to me, I would have them wear smocked dresses and bows on the first day. (Ok, I know Elia may be a little big for that but I still love little girls in smocked dresses and bows. Too cute!)

I was a little concerned about how the day would turn out trying to find that perfect outfit. To my amazement and extreme surprise, a miracle took place at Wolfchase Mall today. Are you ready? Wait for it..........................................!

Elia picked out a skirt to wear on the first day of school!!!

The real kicker is that she is in love with it! I guess the fact that it came from Abercrombie made it "cool". Of course, I had to act like the skirt was just "ok" or Elia would have hated it if she knew I loved it.

Whew! One down, and one to go!

After we left Abercrombie, we headed to the shoe store where both girls picked out brand new shoes. Of course, I won't let them wear them until the 1st day! Once we left the shoe store, we went to Build A Bear where both girls got to pick out a Smurf to build. Elia picked Clumsy and Ava picked Smurfette. Thank goodness we are not too grown up for Build A Bear. (I was able to sneak a picture of Elia when she didn't know.)

After Build A Bear, we headed to Gap Kids which is always a good place to find a compromise on clothes between my girls and me. Ava ended up finding a tank top and a short sleeve cardigan sweater to wear with a skirt she already has at home. She made a great choice that we both liked.

Surprisingly, this shopping day turned out to be a success! You will have to wait for the first day of school post to see their new outfits. Tomorrow we head to Walmart to buy school supplies. Look out label maker, here I come!!!

July Theme Dinner

2011-07-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy this summer that I am a little behind on my blog. During the week of the 4th, we celebrated our July theme dinner. This month's theme was obviously "4th of July".

I bought everything we needed for decorations at the Dollar Tree, (I love that place!) and went to work decorating our kitchen in red, white, and blue.

On the menu for July's dinner included :

Hamburgers on the grill

Chips

Ice cream sundaes (I found cute ice cream bowls and spoons at the Dollar Store which made the sundaes even more fun!)

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of our yummy sundaes, but I can promise you they were wonderful! Here are a couple pictures of the girls being silly at dinner:

Stay tuned for August's theme dinner next month!!!!

The New Patio is Done!!!

2011-07-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Kevin and his dad worked so hard in the scorching sun to give us a nice outdoor living space not to mention all the money they saved by doing it themselves! They poured the concrete to make the patio bigger. Then they got to work on the covering. They left all the decorating to me!

Since we moved into this house 12 years ago, we have never been able to sit outside in the backyard without melting due to lack of shade. Here is a before picture of what our patio used to look like:

And here is the after:

We found the cute zebra rug at Garden Ridge for $60. Not too bad for a rug that adds a lot of spunk to the patio. We bought one of the outdoor loveseats at Target when it was on sale for $120. (The original price was $240.)

We got the 2nd loveseat at Target when it was majorly on sale! We only paid $60 for the 2nd one. I love a good bargain!

I found this glider loveseat at Target when it was also 75% off. I only paid $31 for it. The original price was $124!!! The BIG turquoise pots came from my neighbor for the great price of $20 for the pair.

The black wrought iron rockers were FREE! My grandmother gave these to me when she moved into her assisted living place. I did buy the cushions at Target to make them more comfortable.

I got this great piece from my wonderful neighbor, Carol. It was also FREE! (Actually I gave her a CD holder so she gave me this piece.) I absolutely love it. It has that great weathered look because it is genuinely weathered. It sat outside in her backyard for years which made it perfect!

I found the 4 yellow curtains at Target for the low price of $3.74 each. They are actually shower curtains that were marked down 75% off. They are great because I can untie them and stretch them out to block any early morning or early evening sun. Plus, they add color to the patio.

Here are two pictures of the patio at night. Kevin strung and hammered gazebo lights on the inside top of the covering. These were also found at Target on clearance for $9 a box. The pictures of the patio at night do not do it justice. It is so pretty to sit out there at night with just the gazebo lights on.

Ok, one more time. Here is the before:

And the after:

We have only been finished with our new patio for two nights and we have already enjoyed using it. Even though the days are so hot right now, the nights feel so good. I am looking forward to fall weather when we will be able to sit out there all day. Of course, Kevin is already trying to figure out a way to put a TV out there for Tennessee football games this fall!

Biology is the Least of What Makes Someone Family

2011-07-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

We just spent the past week in the beautiful country of Guatemala building houses, stoves, and chicken coops for the people in the village of Pacaya. Of all the villages I have traveled to in Guatemala this was, by far, the most poverty stricken one I have ever seen. Of course, the country itself is so beautiful so one could look past the dirt and see God's incredible creation in so many ways.

If you have ever been on a mission trip, you know how easy it is to bond with one particular family. It is just something that draws you in to them and makes you want to love on them and relate to them in ways no one else ever has before. Well, that happened to me with 2 families this year. Our team built 6 houses while we were there. However, there were families at 2 of these houses that I felt drawn to during the week. The first family consists of a 36 year old mom with 11 kids and one on the way. The entire family was covered in dirt, mud, and flies. They lived in a one room house with only 1 bed which meant the children had to sleep on a dirt floor. It was a mud floor while we were there due to all the rain. Here is a picture of 3 of the children watching us while we worked. They were just precious!

The second family I felt drawn to during the week actually just consisted of one 86 year old man. You could tell this man had lived a hard life, yet he lived in a house made of cornstalk and cardboard walls. His house was so small that only his twin size bed could fit in it. While we were finishing his house, this man told us his wife recently died. You could tell his heart still ached to be with her. Here are some pictures of the man's house and bathroom:

The last day we were in Pacaya was my favorite day of all. It was time for the house dedications! Our group first dedicated the house with the 12 kids. This was VERY emotional. The dad of the family told us how no one cared about them until we came along and built this house for them. The sad thing is that 6 of their kids will move into the new house and the other 6 will stay in the old house with the parents. They are still in terrible living conditions, yet they were so grateful for what we had done for them. I watched the mom as tears ran down her cheeks. There was not a dry eye in the group.

Once we finished all our hugs with the family, we walked down a short path so we could dedicate the old man's house. He wanted to tell us his whole life story through the interpreter of course. He told us how, years ago, he and his wife had found 2 abandoned baby girls. They took these girls in to raise as their own. One of the girls died. He did not tell us how but went on to tell us that he worked hard in the fields to pay for the other daughter to go to school and give her a good life. Then he went on to tell us how the girls' birthdad came back and found her and wanted her to go with him. The old man said he was embarrassed and ashamed because of his poor living conditions. He was worried she would not love him anymore and she would choose to leave this poverty stricken village and move on to a better life.

I asked our interpreter to please ask him where this girl is now. We had to know how this story ended. At this point, with our entire group hanging on to every word, the old man looked just past us and pointed. We all turned around to see the mom with 12 kids standing there. It hit us like a ton of bricks. This was the daughter he worked so hard to raise. It also hit us that she chose to stay in the village with her "real dad" who raised her. The mom walked forward and told us how this man was her father and she loved him very much. Of course, we were all literally sobbing!

The point is that it does not matter how much money you have or how hard you have to work to get the things you have. It also does not matter if you physically came from the ones you love. Family is the most important thing!!!!

Guatemala Bound- 2 Babies and a Bird

2011-06-22T08:18:00.001-07:00

My big story started with 2 babies and a bird. You can read more about how that all fits into being Guatemala bound in previous posts.

Anyway, we leave in 2 days for the beautiful country of Guatemala to do God's work. This will be our 8th trip there in 8 years.

The days leading up to traveling to Guatemala always give me mixed feelings. I always get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have to leave my girls for 8 days. Then I get a different sick feeling about the idea of being on a plane. Of course, that is something that a little medication can help with. Then I start having those crazy fears about what could happen while we are in Guatemala. (I won't go there since my mom will read this.) Once I start having all those fears, I hear the voice of God speaking to me. He always reassures me that this is His plan for me right now, and He will protect me and my team during our travels there and back. Then my attention turns to what God's plan is for us and the people of Guatemala on this trip.

The thing that amazes me the most is that the people there have a life story just like mine with my 2 babies and a bird. God is working in their lives, and they each have a story to tell as well. Their stories are usually quite different from mine, yet they are still the same.

They have children they love with all their heart. Yet, their children don't wear clothes from the Gap.

They have a house they like to clean and keep tidy. Yet, their house is the size of our current back patio we are enlarging.

They have responsibilities to take care of such as washing clothes. Yet, they wash all their clothes by hand and hang to dry.

They have food to cook for their families each day. Yet, they only eat tortillas which they make by hand and cook in an enclosed kitchen causing lung disease.

They have bathrooms to keep clean. Yet, they must use an outhouse and a hole in the ground.

They make sure their children get feed with snacks throughout the day. Yet, they must rely on feeding centers to provide nutrition to their children they do not get from home.

They go to the tienda to get the basic needs for their family. Yet, they do not have cars to travel in or bags to carry their purchases in.

They put their children to bed every night. Yet, their child's bed consists of a wooden board on blocks covered by a hand made blanket. If they are not so lucky, their bed is a dirt floor.

So, I ask myself these questions:

Can I leave my children for 8 days for all of this?

Can I board that plane 4 separate times for take offs and landings?

Can I risk being in an earthquake or dealing with pick pockets while in Antigua?

The answer is an easy one! YES, YES, and YES!!!

One a lighter note, since this story started with 2 babies, could it possible end with 2 babies?

LOL! If only God were making that part of my life story as well!

Summer Update

2011-06-19T21:07:00.001-07:00

The very first night of summer break, we had a cove party. I didn't get too many pictures but here are a couple of the girls enjoying snacks before the party started.

Of course, our summer then started off with two sick girls. We missed about 2 weeks of sun and fun due to the girls running fevers and having sick tummies.

Elia eventually had to have blood drawn since she was losing weight and not getting any better. For an eight year old who had never had blood drawn, I would say she was a pretty decent patient. I treated Elia to a pedicure and manicure after we left the lab. (All of our blood tests came back negative. WHOHOO!)

The next Monday the kids in our cove got a great education on the justice system.

Our neighbor decided to hold a gun to his wife's head and threaten to kill her. She managed to call the police and get out of the house. In the meantime, the cops came to our door and had to escort us down the street to safety. We found a safe place at Gina Bryant's house where we dumped all the kids and dogs.

The adults stood outside their garage to watch an unreal scene play out before our eyes. The SWAT team was called in, and the situation resolved in peace!

This past Thursday we decided to get away from all the excitement in the cove so we took a day trip to Little Rock. We bought season passes to Wild River Country when they were on sale for $29 back in October. This is the same price as a one day pass so we have to go back since it will be "free" every visit for the rest of the summer. The kids had a blast while we were there.

We did face some pretty rough weather on the way home from Little Rock. There were bad storms and strong winds the entire 3 hour drive. Ava hates storms so she made sure to buckle up her lovey so she would be safe too.

We also found Ava in the backseat completely covered up.

Jake rode with us on the way home and he was oblivious to the bad weather. He was fast asleep from all the fun from the day.

This weekend involved getting last minute things ready for our mission trip to Guatemala. We leave this Friday, June 4. We are taking a team of 28 this time. We had our packing party tonight where we packed 28 extra suitcases filled with donations of shoes, clothes, school supplies, etc.

The last thing I want to mention is our patio which is a work in progress. I am posting the before picture of our patio right now. You can see how pitiful it looks right now. There is zero shade and it is a waste of space. Kevin hopes to change all that. He has already dug out where he is going to pour extra patio to make it bigger. Then he is going to build some kind of overhang to provide a cover. Then I get to decorate! I can't wait to add in my new patio furniture along with outside curtains and other decor to make it a livable space. Stay tuned to see the final results. Here is the before:

June Theme Dinner-Luau

2011-06-06T17:58:00.001-07:00

It's that time again! For the month of June, we chose to do a luau theme since it has been so hot! We decorated with a grass skirt around the kitchen table, a flamingo backdrop in the background, and a flamingo centerpiece.

The girls got decked out in their flower headpieces, necklaces, and bracelets.

On the menu for tonight:

Ribs

Baked Beans

Cole Slaw

Strawberry Shortcake

It was a very yummy dinner, and it was so nice to sit down at the table as a family!

Is God OCD?

2011-06-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, our first week of summer did not follow my neat and organized summer plans. It started out great but went downhill fast!

Mondays are Maniac Mondays when we clean the house and run errands. This day went great. We woke up and everyone did their part to make the house spic and span. Then we went to my brother's house for a Memorial Day picnic. They rented a big water slide so the kids had a blast playing on that. After we left the picnic, we ran our errands. We went to Garden Ridge to look at patio furniture and Toys R Us to get Elia a new bike since she has outgrown her old one.

Tuesdays are supposed to be Terrific Tuesdays. However, Elia woke up in the middle of the night with a sick tummy and a 104 fever. So the girls and I spent all day Tuesday sitting on the couch coloring and watching TV. Grammy brought over new crayons and coloring books for Elia since she was sick. Tuesday was not so Terrific!

Wednesday was supposed to be Water Wednesday. Elia was still not well so we sat around the house again. By Wednesday afternoon I had to get out of the house so I asked Kevin to inflate our water slide so the cove kids and Ava could play, and Elia could sit outside and watch with me or join in if she felt better. Well, the water slide did not inflate due to holes so Water Wednesday was a flop. The closest we got to water was the sand that the next door neighbors had delivered for their new pool and yard. Here is Cami and Ava playing in the sand like they are at the beach.

Thursday was supposed to be Thrifty Thursday which means we spend the day doing something free. Ava wanted to go to work with Kevin so off she went. Elia and I ended up joining friends at Chuck E Cheese. Then we went to Monica's house for a little while and ended up at Jerry's Snowcones. The day was not exactly free, but it was worth any money we spent considering the week we already had.

Friday was Fun Friday but was only halfway fun. I had to take Elia to the doctor to see why her tummy was still hurting. The doc gave us a prescription and sent us on our way. We joined friends at the pool, and then headed home to get ready for our garage sale.

I am not sure if God is telling me to stop being such a planner and that He is in control. This is something I struggle with as I am sure you have too! We do not need to make plans because God has plans already made for us. It sounds like God could be as OCD as me, and would that really be such a bad thing when it comes to the plans for our lives?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," delares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity." (Jeremiah 29:11-14a)

What Comes Around.........

2011-06-01T08:00:00.001-07:00

Over Christmas break, we decided to take the kids roller skating. We spent a couple hours there and we were about to leave to head home when the DJ announced they would be starting the races soon. I had to put my skates back on so the competitive side in me could come out. They had adult races and no one would race me except my brother and some other dad. The three of us stood side by side on the starting line. I looked at my brother and said "You are going down". Little did I know at the time, it would be me who went down. As I crossed the finish line, I lost my balance and fell breaking my wrist bone in 2 places. I spent the next 6 weeks in a cast and 3 more weeks doing therapy. As you can see in the picture, my brother got a good laugh out of me falling.

Well, karma does come back to bite you! Jason and Holli rented a huge water slide for Memorial Day. They invited us over and the kids had a blast going down the slide over and over. Jason also had a blast to the point where the kids were coming to Holli saying "Holli, please tell Jason to get off the slide. He is all over the place." The ironic thing is that as soon the kids were telling Holli this, we could hear Jason saying "Hey big kids, be careful of the little kids on the slide". HA! Anyway, Jason ended up sliding down and cracking one of his ribs. He is in a ton of pain, but as I said "What comes around, goes around." He! He!

I am not sure what it is about my family that brings out the kid in us but I think it is time we start realizing our real age. It is sad but true!

Summer Schedule

2011-05-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I am going to be made fun for this post! However, those of you who know me will not be surprised at all by this post! Now that it is summer, I have sprung into planning mode. (Well, I stay in planning mode but planning for summer is way more fun than planning for lessons.)

I have created something fun for my kids to do every day this summer. I will spare the details of every single day but here is a rough look at what our calendar looks like for June and July:

Maniac Mondays- Every Monday will be spent cleaning the house, catching up on laundry, and running errands such as the grocery store, etc. The girls will be expected to help with the cleaning and laundry.

Terrific Tuesdays- Every Tuesday will be spent doing something terrific. This could include going to the movies, Chuck E Cheese, Incredible Pizza, Jerry's Snowcones, Yogurt Mountain, Putt-Putt, etc.

Water Wednesdays- Every Wednesday will be spent doing something involving water. It could be playing in the backyard on the water slide, going to the sprinkler park, going to the Little Rock water park, or swimming at the neighbor's pool. (We bought season passes to the water park in Little Rock for just $29 back in November. That price is cheaper than a one day visit so we plan to go there about three times this summer.)

Thrifty Thursday- Every Thursday will be spent doing something "thrifty". In other words, something CHEAP or FREE. This could include playing at the Arlington playground, going to Shelby Farms, visiting the library, or going to the zoo. (Free for us since we already have a season pass.)

Fun Friday- Every Friday will be spent doing something FUN. This could include anything already listed on the other days or it could be just playing in the cove. As long as it is fun, it counts!

Now, let SUMMER begin!!!