What a Great Weekend

Wow, what a great weekend! It's been full but very fun. Yesterday we went to the Franklin Main Street Festival. It was cool and overcast outside but it made it pleasant to walk around and look at all of the vendors wares. There was handmade jewelery, woodwork, and art, food vendors, pony rides and bounce houses. Of course, we made an extended stop in the kids area and Chloe had a great time. I wish we'd been able to spend more time there but we had to get back home to get everything ready for church the next morning. I've never spent any time in downtown Franklin but Travis and I definitely plan on going back for dinner at least.

Church was amazing as usual, even with one of the associate pastors preaching. Then during the altar time Travis and I went forward and I wasn't really expecting anything special, I was going for moral support for Travis. We do have a lot of things that are up in the air but I pray about them regularly and figure that God has them under control. But despite my lack of expectation God really ministered to us through a Life Group leader named Cory. We'd never met before but the power of God was evident in his life and he spoke some things into our life that we really needed to hear. I love our church so much and am very much looking forward to the day that we live much closer so that we can be involved in the things that God is doing there.

Then after church we BOUGHT A NEW MATTRESS!!!! After years of sleeping on the iron maiden we finally got rid of it and are now sleeping- not on the mattress of our dreams- but on a nice mattress nonetheless. It was a very busy day- purchasing the mattress at Costco, driving it home in the rain, Travis, Amanda and myself taking it upstairs in the rain, taking the old mattress downstairs in the rain, and Travis taking it back to Sam's Club. Whew! And btw, since we had the receipt on our old mattress Sam's Club completely refunded the purchase price without even looking at it. So we paid about $50 more to purchase a new and much better mattress.
So that's it- our weekend in review. Travis is gone to a hockey game with Kris and Amanda is at Starbucks with Taylor so I'm going to go play with Halle and Chloe and rest some before the week starts up again. 

I've Got the Caffeine!

These words were spoken by my 4 year old at 10:30 this evening. She should have been in bed a couple of hours ago as should Halle. Actually Halle was but wouldn't go to sleep. So Chloe asked Travis in an accusatory tone, "Did you give Halle the caffeine?". I think I asked Travis that and so Chloe was "parroting" me, however it came about though it was funny. Then she decided that she had "the caffeine" as well and joined Halle in running around the living room. I'm not sure if they'll ever go to sleep *sigh*.

Happy Sweet 16 Amanda

 

Sunny Day

So, it's finally that time of year again. Sunshine abounds (well, except for the past two days) and we all want to be outside. I found out that the pool here is open-typically apartment complex pools are open from Memorial Day to Labor Day- so I took the girls swimming a couple of days ago. Chloe had the most independant fun that she's ever had but poor Halle mostly stayed on the steps or in my arms since even with her life jacket she couldn't keep her face out of the water. It reminded me of Chloe a few summers ago. We purchased a life jacket thinking that it would keep her afloat and that she'd be able to swim. But since the floats were strictly around her abdomen it produced a barrel effect and she just turned over and over and couldn't keep her face out of the water either. So, the kids have a lot of fun in the pool and I don't have as much fun but it's a cool way to get them out and exercising.

So this is some new fabric I purchased the other night to do a comforter, quilt, blanket-type thing for Halle. I only purchased 3 yards though and I'm not sure what to do. It's the perfect length to fold in half and do a duvet for her current comforter but I'm not sure that I want these bold stripes on both sides. But I also don't know what else to put on the backside if I don't use the stripes. I purchased it on the spur of the moment because the last time I went to Wal-Mart they were either out or didn't have enough. But since I saw that they had it again I knew I had to get it right away. I'd like to do the front of the comforter-thing in the stripes the back side in something probably solid, have a solid coordinating sheet and then do a bedskirt in the stripes. But this is not a perfect plan and I only have 3 yards of fabric! I will look tonight (maybe) at Wal-Mart to see if I can find more.

So, this last fabric I have over 14 yards of! Too bad I don't want a crib set out of this, or do I? Hmmm. Anyway it's a very sturdy seafoam type color with a faint stripe-ish design. The plan is to do drapes, throw pillows, and cover at least the coffee table after I've added some padding and turned it into an ottoman. This decision came after the 50th time Halle hit her mouth on it. The only snag is that I don't know how to do any of it. The plan I have in my head looks promising but I'm sure I need advice from the experts.

So Much to Say....

But I couldn't possibly catch up on all the things I haven't blogged about in the past week and a half.

I guess the most memorable is that Travis planned a weekend getaway for us this past Friday and Saturday. The Fadely's were kind enough to watch the kids for us- which left them with 5 kids ages 5 and under including 2 one-year-olds- whew! So we headed Northwest to Land Between the Lakes which I had heard of but had never been there. And I didn't know it but they have a planetarium and I'd been wanting to go to one for years. So Trav found out all of the details and we made it for the show. Hiking was also on the agenda but when I looked at their site I saw that Paducah, KY was one of the recommended places to stay so we made reservations but we didn't realize that it was about an hour away. So since our time was limited and since I'd seen some places in Paducah that were recommended by Southern Living I was anxious to get there.

When we arrived we found out that Paducah is the quilting capital of the U.S. and that there is a quilting festival April 26-29th as well as a quilting museum. I'm not a quilter but I know people that are so I thought it was interesting. They also have a large artist population and I was looking forward to going to a few of the galleries but we didn't get there in time and we had to leave fairly early the next morning so we wouldn't be able to go then either. I was disappointed but the most important thing is that Travis and I were there together. We hadn't been away without the kids since Chloe was less than a year old so it was just nice to be away.

We were able to walk around the downtown area some and there are quite a few quaint shops and several great looking eateries. I think I might like to go back but I don't think it will be too soon. We had a nice dinner at Whaler's Catch, well Trav's food was good, mine wasn't. I thought I'd like any type of Crab Cake but these were terrible. But we were seated outside, it was breezy and the sun was setting- it was absolutely perfect. We finished off the evening by taking a horse drawn carriage ride and walking downtown a bit and then retiring to our hotel. Speaking of our hotel- I'd rather not- bed of nails, kids apparently ran the place, the river view was the equivalent of a view of the muddy Mississippi, the power went out so I couldn't fix my hair for the return trip, etc. It looks like it was a very nice hotel in the 70's and they haven't changed a thing since then- including the mattresses. But nothing could dampen our excitement at being together for a whole 24 hours and we were-and are- grateful.

We headed home and I dropped Travis off at work and then went to pick up the girls. The rest of the night was spent shopping for groceries and Easter supplies, feeding and bathing little girls, and getting supplies together to take to the Fadely's for dinner, oh yeah, and wondering when Travis was getting home.........2 am.

The next morning Travis got a bunch of pages from work that he had to attend to and Amanda wasn't feeling well so I took the little girls to church by myself and sat in the back between two guys I don't know- the only available seat :( I was bummed.

Then we had lunch at the Fadely's including an Egg Hunt, then back home for a nap, whew! I'm kind of counting on Tisra to actually document the day but if not I'll write more later. But now I must catch up on exercising, laundry, eating right, house cleaning, etc.

Have a nice day.

Bottom's Up- Chloe and the Spitters' Boys looking off the balcony 

Amy at Whaler's Catch in Paducah, KY 

Travis at Whaler's Catch in Paducah, KY 

chloe 

Sisters 

Getting ready for the Hunt 

Daddy and Daughter 

Princess Halle 

Amanda enjoying the day 

Halle 

Grant on the Hunt 

Chloe Hunting 

Lael Stealing an Egg From Halle's Basket 

Little Lael 

Chloe Distracted by the Egg Hunt 

Dean showing his prizes 

Trying to get them all together 

Almost a perfect shot 

Amanda's attempt at order 

Tisra and Lael 

Friday...

started out as any other day. It was my last day to babysit Blake and since he had been so delightful the day before I expected that Friday would be the same-eat, diaper change, sleep. Chloe woke up with a bit of a fever so she was lying on the couch watching TV for most of the morning. I noticed that it was overcast but I didn't think much of it and made plans for dinner that evening with Todd and Christina and their boys which was supposed to be celebrating Christinas last day at work. Blake was really fussy and since I didn't think I could get everything cleaned and ready for company Christina offered to host at her house. I should add here that her last day at work was supposed to be the Friday before but they decided to extend it by a week- it's funny how things work out. Anyway, Christina called me around 1:45 and asked if I'd been watching the weather because there were some urgent storm warnings, I said "no" and turned the channel despite Chloes protest. At first I didn't even see any warnings for Sumner county and didn't think anything of it because the weather wasn't bad outside. It was overcast-period- no wind, no rain, no lightning, no thunder-nothing. I prayed because I always do in situations like that. I asked the Lord to protect us and to protect those that were in the bad areas and I had peace in my spirit about everything so again I though it was no big deal. The only thing you could see on the radar were small cells that were passing through different areas and the weather people were freaking out about them. Then a larger cell started to come up in the Sumner county area. The worst part looked like it was pretty far to the north of where we are but there was a small part at the bottom that the meteorologist called a "hook". They said it was very dangerous and it was headed for Goodlettsville, Centerpoint road in Hendersonville, and Beech schools. Centerpoint runs on one side of us and Amanda was at Beech. I took all the kids and put them in the hallway (the only part of our apartment that isn't on an outside wall) and covered them with pillows and blankets and put Blake in his carseat. The lights flickered and the cable went out and that was it for us. After quite a while I called Christina to see if she would check her computer for the weather so I could see if it was safe to bring them out and told her about the warning for Centerpoint since that road runs right past their neighborhood. I didn't think about their house except that maybe I should take the kids there because it would be safer than to stay in the apartment. Again I had peace and didn't think that it was necessary to move them- I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness. About 20 minutes later Christina called me to tell me that their house had been hit and that they wouldn't be able to live there for a while.

Amanda called me a few minutes after that to tell me that she'd gotten the lead in a school play (yay!) which was completely overshadowed by the news of T & C's house. She then called a friend that lives two doors down from them and found out that their subdivision had sustained a lot of damage. Amanda's friend Elise's house was hit while she was their and she was quite freaked out. Thankfully everybody we knew that was hit were safe, had a place to stay, had clothing and probably most importantly- insurance. I watched the devastation on the news for the next several hours, concerned that perhaps there were more cells coming but thankfully that was it.

From what I can tell, the path of the tornado came through Goodlettsville, through Mansker Farms, down Hunt(s) lane in Hendersonville, skipped over Glen Brook shopping center to the Stop 30 Road area (where Josh and Melissa live- we checked and they are fine) and down New Shackle Island Road and stopped about a half a mile from hitting Beech High School where Amanda was. I pray for her everyday and I never take it for granted that she's going to be ok, I'm very thankful. From there I'm not sure where it picked up again but it headed to Gallatin and really devastated things.

I am thankful for so many things- my families safety, my friends safety, that it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and so much more. You never know what is in store for you or your family but I know that God does and I'm thankful for His faithfulness.

April 7, 2006

So, should I go with the obligatory "I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but I've been"...blah, blah, blah. So for the week (or so) in review...

Mary- the bread turned out on the not so great side of so-so. I used a recipe from Allrecipes and my beef with that site is that if you read the reviews (which I do because I want to know if it's a good recipe) you have a "too many cooks in the kitchen" thing going on- I added this, I took that out, the cook time is wrong, you don't need this, I prefer it with that...- you get the idea. So, I made it according to the directions and some of the comments were right; the cook temp and/or time were definitely not correct. Anyway, it could have been my error but the bread was very dense and very yeasty tasting; too much in my opinion. It was also a very time consuming pain-in-the-butt. Since Travis and I are on a new budget and I figure we spend at least $40 a month on sandwich bread I thought I could save that by making it myself- ha! There are easier ways to save $40- like changing my own oil or digging my own ditches! My Mother was kind enough to bring her bread machine when they brought Amanda home from AL and I've heard that it's easier so we'll see.

I no longer have Barbie Doll hair- I know you were all sweating that one. I also bought a new straightener so I will only have Barbie Doll hair on special occasions and will make sure to warn you beforehand ;)

I haven't done much painting in the last two weeks, mostly because Amanda was in AL so I didn't have time and because I still have Blake. Today is my last day to watch the little sweetie though and I'm relieved. Not because he's a bad baby (is there such a thing?) on the contrary, other than not liking to take a bottle, he's quite the sweetie but he is time consuming and is all the reasons we decided to not have another one. And it is also Christina's last day at work so I am supposed to have a celebratory dinner for them tonight but Chloe woke up with a fever so we'll have to see if that happens. I also haven't painted much because I have decided that I do-not-like-watercolor. Maybe I'm just not good at it or maybe I'd like to do a mixed medium sort of thing but it will definitely not be my primary medium. Even when I paint with watercolor I end up mixing it so thick that it doesn't look like watercolor. I like how Chloe paints with watercolor. It's sheer and pretty and the colors mix together beautifully but I just can't seem to do it. Maybe it's my personality. I don't know but acrylics are definitely next on my list.

And- I'm getting a new Creative Memories album. My mother in law has just started her business up again after a long hiatus and I'm really excited for her. There are some new products for making scrapbooking easier and faster-namely their picfolio album- so even really busy people can do scrapbooking quickly. Yes it's a shameless advertisement. Stay tuned for your invite to a class when my M-I-L comes to visit-not scheduled but I'm sure it will be in the not too distant future.

So many good things are happening in the Buttons lives that it's too much to put into one catch-up post so I'll do what I can in the time I allow myself to be on the computer. I'm definitely trying to limit that so that I can be more productive at home. I'm considering home schooling Chloe though so help me pray about that. I'm not sure that I'm the teacher type but I definitely want what's best for her so I suppose I could make the adjustment. We'll see. More later...