I Found It!

I finally found the fabric I was lookin for at the quilting shop in downtown Franklin. I picked up some at JoAnn but it wasn't what I had envisioned. And it was pink and orange and not at all the shabby chic style that Angie is going for. This won't be a perfect match but hopefully it will go with the "spirit" of the room. The quilting store was great. I've never been in one before but they had tons of fabric in every imaginable pattern. They definitely had a better selection for what I wanted. I'd show you a pic of what I picked up originally but my camera is completely dead and it took way too long for me to figure how to post a pic using Amanda's camera and software, etc. but lets just say I won't be keeping it. Looking at it now I'm wondering what I was thinking since I don't even like it.

Halle has battled the flu and won this week. She had a high fever for 3 days and so I took her to the Dr. because that is very unusual for her. But the Dr. said it was the flu and that she was on the other side of it and that there was nothing they could do about it. Which was fine with me because I don't want her to be on antibiotics anyway. It's actually been almost a year since the whole tragic mouth incident when she was on antibiotics. She also has quite the scar on the roof of her mouth. I didn't realize that you could have a scar there. But she's much better health wise and I'm happy because she.was.miserable.

And I got a haircut this week! At a super-awesome salon no less. When I lived in Hendersonville the property manager of the apartment complex that I worked at recommended that I go to Fantastic Sam's because a girl that worked there used to do hair at a department store. It's the one that was Proffit's then Hecht's then Macy's- whatever store it was before Proffits which was before my time. Anyway, I've gone there ever since but since we moved to AL and came back I started letting another girl cut my hair. She's nice and my hair always looks fine but there are always spots that she misses. Plus I was tired of driving an hour and a half round trip to get my hair done- and gas being over $3 a gallon sort of pushed me over the edge. I was hesitant to call them because I got my hair done at Micheline's in Lakeland a couple of times and they were super snooty. When I moved back to Lakeland from PC I called them because just before our wedding I decided to highlight my hair with a cap and hook and ended up bleaching a quarter size spot in the middle of my head. So I called and said I needed to have my hair colored, blah, blah, blah and the not so nice guy on the other end said that they'd have to look at my hair and then decide if they'd color it or not. Seriously? So it was a huge relief when I called and they were really nice. I even asked for an internist (cheaper haircut) and she was excited and said they had an appointment available in 20 minutes. It was totally my lucky day- blessed day, whatever, I was happy. Then I colored and highlighted it (with some help from Amanda) and it looks pretty good. I'm looking forward to the day when I can afford to have someone else color my hair. It is such a chore and I hate it. Amanda had her hair done the same day by a guy that had cut her hair when she went to get it done for free during the apprentice class that they have. He had to cut quite a bit off because a lot of it was breaking from all of the bleaching she's done to it. All in all I think we're both pretty happy.

And that's a wrap.

So Cute!

This is so seriously, amazingly cute. It makes me want a pet cupcake.

It's Girls Day!!!

Well, I guess every day is girls day at the Button casa but today is *really* girls day because Travis isn't coming home tonight. He's felt for a little while that God wanted him to go away and pray so tonight he's headed to a lodge south of here. Of course, we're supposed to have rain, sleet and 3-6 inches of snow (we'll see) but we both agree that we're not going to let fear dictate what God is going to do. And since everything is an occasion for me, I have a mental list of 80 things I want to do tonight. I bought a Barbie movie for the girls that they're watching now and I have a few minutes to blog-yay!

It's not like I don't have time to blog, I'm just trying to direct my time and energy so that I'm more productive. I've been thinking about it for a while and see that since I mostly blog about the good, productive, happy things I do, people that don't know me well probably have a much different view of me than is real. To say that I'm not perfect is, well, um, *duh*. But there are specific things in which I consistently fail. For instance, picking my clothes up out of the bathroom floor. I don't even necessarily mean to do it *and* it drives me crazy about myself but I can't seem to get past it. I'm a terrible housekeeper, no really, I stink at it. I'm not organized and I'm constantly wondering where my time goes. I don't finish projects. I start strong and then fizzle out, usually because I get interrupted or because of a roadblock. Sooo, where to go from here? I have to go somewhere because I *need* order in my life. My kids need to do chores. I'm constantly picking up after them only to have them destroy it in about 2 minutes. It takes focus on my part that I don't have. I've never developed it but I know I can. So four out of the five days this week I wrote down a list of things that I wanted to get done during the day. Wednesday it helped that my mentor came over so even though I felt like "poo" I cleaned the entire house. I put up the last of the Christmas decorations (it was one of those roadblock things that I'd put off) and brought out pictures that I haven't had out since we moved here. Originally I didn't have anywhere to put them but then we were loaned the piano and I have space to put some of them. I did every single thing on my list that day but didn't finish my list for the rest of them. But I'm not beating myself up because I can't help it if I'm interrupted or not feeling well, etc. I'm going to have a plan but not beat myself up if I can't finish it. And I'm also going to schedule time with my kids and time for myself. If I spend hours doing things around the house I deserve some time to unwind and I refuse to feel guilty about it. The whole point is order and balance- not to go crazy in the other direction.

So tonight I want to plant some basil and Italian parsley in little pots- I'm not planting all of those seeds though because I don't need 50 of each plant so if anybody wants some just let me know. I haven't had the gardening bug yet this year and it concerned me a bit but I really want to start planting things now. I'm still not at the point that I can rent a tiller and do an entire garden but I really do like container gardening. You don't have to worry about weeds and things like that. I found some really nice sized galvanized buckets/planter thingy's at Lowe's for about $15. It was in the paint section I think so I don't know what they're actually supposed to be for but they look like perfect planters- with some drainage holes knocked in them of course. I wanted to pick up some oriental poppies tonight (beautiful and they'd make great models for paintings) but I read on the package that they bloom *one year* after planting. I think that I'm a pretty good sport about waiting for things to bloom since I plant from seed most of the time but I'm not that good of a sport.

And in a little note about my sweet little Chloe...

Isn't it wonderful when your kids do something completely out of the ordinary and your close friends are there to witness it? Or not. Last night we met the Kelso's at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Well, the grown ups were all talking and the kids were in the play area (brilliant, no?) when I saw Chloe looking at a little boy with a really big scowl. Then I saw her turn around and start *punching* another little boy and then the first little boy and then the second little boy and then the first little boy and she were punching each other! I said, "Travis, she's punching them!". So he went inside and did the Dad, "hey, what's going on!?!" thing and Chloe started talking and crying and the boys scattered. Apparently, the boys were being mean to her and saying that they were going to pull her hair, etc. And as Kris put it, "she decided her best defense was a good offense". So my sweet little Chloe that *everybody* always loves, decided to take on two boys at once. I didn't know she had it in her but I definitely saw myself in that play area. Of course, Travis told her to come to us next time and he stayed in the play area for the rest of the night. Is it bad to say I was impressed though? No, I'm never going to tell her it's OK to beat people up...

It was really nice to see the Kelso's too. Those boys are completely adorable.

I recently purchased some fabric for my new nieces fabric cubes. Angie's going with pink and green but JoAnn's didn't have a decent green in the squares I was buying. So I want to go to the quilting store in downtown Franklin but I've either been feeling crummy or the weather has not been conducive to walking outside. Tomorrow is probably out because of snow but I'm getting there next week- I'll have to put it on my to do list. I'm just hoping that have better/cuter fabric than what I find at JoAnn's.

The girls movie is over so it's time to get crackin' on planting and whatever else I plan to do tonight. I should probably start by feeding them dinner...

Mr. Rogers Sweater Day

I just read an article on MSN about wearing a sweater on March 20th in honor of what would have been Mr. Rogers 80th birthday. I never watched his show as a child but I've let my kids watch it and really appreciate his take on television for kids. My favorite show was when he showed STOMP behind the scenes which, I think, showed his appreciation for the arts and a lack of stodginess on his part. So, I'm going to mark my calendar and even if I don't wear a sweater (I love Mr. Rogers but if it's 85 outside I don't think I'll wear a sweater) I'll still turn on his show for the little ones. It's a far cry from the gross-out, bodily function driven "humor" that Chloe likes to watch. I know she's growing up but still....

"I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen."

Fred Rogers

Stuff to Think About

Not incredibly difficult stuff to think about mind you but mostly fun stuff. I've been meaning to blog for a while about different blogs and things that I'm reading. And while I do enjoy thinking about the deeper things in life, my recent soul searching, reading, and (seeming) constant studying for my FIC class and for my Friday book study with the girls from my Life Group leaves me wishing for times to put my brain in neutral. And since Travis is gone to church to be at the live recording for a worship album and I'm here with sickly little Chloe, I have a few minutes.

I just found the super coolest apron website ever via the Hostess With the Mostess blog. I think I want most of them. The pink and brown polka dots are *super* cute and they have matching kiddie ones. Chloe would be over the moon for that. Of course my crafty friends could probably whip one up pretty easily but even if I do posess the talent for that I seriously doubt that I would do something like that. *But* when it comes to spending that much for an apron I do often think I could make one. The hostess blog also has a recipe for super-easy yet very yummy looking Rolo turtle pretzles- don't be surprised if some of you see these at a get together. It seems like the perfect combo of salty and crunchy and sweet, yum!

And speaking of yummy, you have to check out Bakerella. I'm most interested in her cakesicles and chocolate cupcake lollipops. But you really should check out her whole blog because she really has some interesting ideas. From what I can tell she mostly uses packaged cake mixes so everything is super simple but looks amazing. This at cakejournal.com shows a 40 second tutorial of how to make a fondant rose but I like the look of Bakerella's better.

Hooked on Houses has lots of cute stuff about different houses that she photographs or different house ideas. Cute stuff, strange stuff, stuff-stuff; but it's an entertaining way to put the 'ol thinker in neutral.

One day I'll be able to entertain...sigh.

I Forgot to Dry the Jeans...

Chloe has 3 pair of jeans and I washed them all last night- and forgot until I woke up at 7:55 that I hadn't dried them. I don't remember ever doing that before. Gaaa! What to do? Can I send her in a skirt? At 50 degrees, it's warmer than it has been and with her coat it wouldn't be that bad. Then I imagined her shivering on the playground, squatting down so that her coat would cover her bare legs. Capri pants then? That's just slightly better than a skirt. And I could imagine her pulling her socks all the way up to cover the exposed leg. She'd look like a hillbilly (and I'd look like a bad mom) but it would probably not be too emotionally damaging. Then I heard the cough. The really congested cough and thought it probably wouldn't matter that I didn't dry the jeans. And sure enough she's got a sore throat and a cough. She doesn't really have a fever but with the sickness that's going around it's plenty of reason for me to keep her home- besides the aforementioned lack of clothing to wear.

I should probably catch up on some other things here as well.

Travis and I led worship at Life Group about a week and a half ago. I was pretty nervous when it was time to actually do it. I wasn't nervous at all leading up to it because I just really felt that it was the right thing and that it was the right time. But every body that's ever sung in front of people before knows that it's much more nerve wracking to sing in front of 20 people that you know in an intimate setting (meaning they're standing 10 feet or less from you) than it is to sing in front of 2,000 + strangers, on a platform, with bright lights shining in your eyes so you can't see anybody. But apparently it went well because Marianne asked us to do it again in March and from here on out to do it for the first Life Group of the month. I'm excited and I think I'll get less nervous as time goes on.

Our V-Day plans got messed up a bit but we were able to reschedule and have dinner on Sunday instead of Saturday. Amanda woke up really sick Saturday morning and what we originally thought was a stomach bug was actually the result of a bad dream. It upset her so much that she got really sick. She has a nervous stomach and you never really know what is going to stress her out to set it off but it's never fun. We did have a really nice meal the next day though. OK, if I'm going to be totally honest, I think that Ellendale's didn't have it's A game on when we went but it was still nice. The service was great, I just find that if you go to a restaurant at an off time the food just isn't usually as good. I had a burned crouton in my salad (or maybe two) and my potato mound was closer to a rock in texture, and they gave me about 5 green beans and two pathetic carrot slices. I know I'm not a restaurant critic but the food just wasn't as good as the other two times we've been there. Well, Travis' sweet potatoes were out of this world amazing and the pork chop and steak were very good- I'm just not used to having negative things to say about it. Moving on...

My sister in law is expecting their new little girl sometime in the next month and I've promised to do a painting and to make this cute little thing- only in pink. I haven't found the fabric yet and the needle is broken on my sewing machine although I could probably hand stitch it without too much difficulty. I've never shopped for a sewing machine needle before. For the painting the inspiration is this set from Pottery Barn Kids. Angie is doing the pinks and greens from the set and my only hesitation is that I can't *really* tell what the colors are from that. The pinks look more peachy on my computer screen. I know it doesn't have to be exact and I may just do a cream backdrop with butterflies and some flowers. I really should get started. It would be really nice to drop off in person though. Travis still has never seen their last baby and he's almost two. *Sigh* If they'd only move here... ;)

Too Cool For School

Valentine's Day is nearly here which means several things, the least of which is that Chloe needs some things for the party at school. In the past there has been a ban on any type of homemade goodies but they sent home a note saying that the ban had been lifted so I could either bake something or buy something. My immediate thought was to make rolled sugar cookies but then I thought about the fact that it's a bit of a chore and I was feeling like I didn't want to do that for her class. Last year I had to do a craft for her kindergarten class and so I made hand painted cards for them to decorate. It was a simple little thing but kindergarteners do not appreciate hand painted things. *Then* I thought about Chloe and how she *lives* for holidays and special occasions and decided we'd make rolled sugar cookies. I didn't realize that her teacher was going to tell me what to make so thankfully she asked for sugar cookies- heart shaped or round. Heart shaped? Of course that was in my master plan. I don't actually own one (do I? Nope, I checked. How can I have 30 cookie cutters and not 1 heart shape?) so I figured I'd pick one up when I stopped at Target. Well, I figured wrong. The only heart shaped cookie cutter they had was tied to a bag of sugar cookie mix which completely defeats the purpose of making homemade sugar cookies. I might have purchased the bag but it was $7 and that's way too much to spend on a cookie cutter that comes with something else that I'll probably throw away. Besides I'd seen a super-cool heart shaped cookie cutter at Kroger a few days before. Why, oh, why did I decide I'd get it later? Anyway, it was gone and all they had out of my two options was the circle. It seems kind of ridiculous to buy a *circle* cookie cutter since any old (washed) tin can would do but, remember, this is a special occasion and *must* include a purchase of some sort to make is "super-special".


So the plan for the night was to fill out all her Valentine cards, decorate her box to receive Valentines, and make sugar cookies. We got most of that done. The Valentines were a breeze because once I showed Chloe how to do it, she filled them out. It's really nice that she can read and write. Then came the cookies. Then the box. Then the cookies again but that's another story.


I thought that instead of doing a box that was just covered by a few sheets of construction paper that was all the same color, we should do a collage. It took more time but Chloe loved it. I mean, what good is it to have a bunch of acid free, lignin free scrap booking papers around if you can't rip them up and decorate a box with them (since I'm not scrapbooking these days)? OK, I only used the papers from Michaels (and one Creative Memories scrap paper) because the CM ones are too expensive to rip up. She got a bit bored at the end with all of the ripping and gluing and was super-antsy to put the stickers on. So here it is all finished. We sent her cards and box to school with one whole day to spare. That.never.happens.here. But I'm going to be out tonight and tomorrow night and am a bit concerned about getting the cookies baked. I could do them myself during the daytime but that leaves Chloe out of it and she got a really pouty face when I suggested that. Maybe after school tomorrow. I'll figure it out. Happy Valentines' Day to all of you. I hope you have a great time. I get to go here with Trav- I'm sooo excited.

We're a Week Into February...

and I haven't posted anything yet. It's not that I think you're all waiting with baited breath at the awesomeness that comes from my keyboard, I just start feeling that "gaaa, I need to blog about something". And as per usual I have stuff to blog about I just haven't felt like writing. It's kind of like working out, as long as I'm doing it regularly I'm fine and keep doing it. But if for some reason I get derailed it's hard to get started again. It's the whole "object in motion" thing. So here goes:

This past weekend was really nice. We went to downtown Franklin with a group from church to take pictures and the Kelsos and Fadelys were there too. So there were 14 of us and 8 of those were little ones so the atmosphere wasn't that conducive to picture taking. So we headed back to the Fadely's house and all had dinner like old times. It was really nice for us to all be together again because it had been an entire year since we were all in the same place at the same time. Actually, all of us except Travis had gotten together a couple of times but it's not the same without one of us.

Sunday was the Super Bowl at the Fadely's. Fun!

On Monday, after I took Chloe to school, I had to get all dressed and makeup-ed to go pick up something so I figured I'd take advantage of being all ready and took Halle to the mall. We looked at puppies, had lunch, smelled candles (which is one of her favorite things just like Chloe and Mommy), went to the Disney store, and played in the play area. It was so nice to just be Halle and me. I don't know if any of you ever go someplace with just one of your kids but it is so worth it. I highly recommend it. It reminded me of days with Amanda when she was younger and Chloe too since there is such an age gap between them. It's just time to really focus on one kid and I think (although they haven't told me, but I can tell by their excitement level) that it makes them feel really special. I'm going to take Chloe out to get a milkshake and to a home improvement warehouse soon. Have I mentioned that she *loves* Lowe's and Home Depot? Because she seriously does. Oh, and the carpet samples at Costco. She says she's going to be a designer when she grows up.

Tuesday was tornadoes and the whole day feels pretty much taken up with that. Wednesday was class and Thursday was mentor day, so that brings me to today.

I am sooo glad it's Friday. I'm tired and don't feel like getting up at the crack(ish) of dawn to take Chloe to school. And since we've been out all weekend for Trav's last two weekends off, we're not planning on doing anything but house stuff. It doesn't mean that we'll paint (although we might) but we need to clean the patio up and patch some holes in the driveway and just really, really clean. And rest. Last weekend we were out all of Friday night (grocery shopping), then almost all of Saturday and Sunday. When we finally collapsed into bed Sunday night we both very much wanted to do nothing (except the aforementioned things) this weekend.

OK, It's Just Cold

It could be that we've been spoiled these last few years of mild winter weather but I'm cold. Even the first year we were here and it was really, really cold (highs in the 20's in the daytime) I was OK. Of course I was probably OK because we had lots of snow. But yesterday it was sunny and I have no idea what the temperature was but I was freezing. I took the girls to the park since the poor things haven't been able to go out lately and the mulch was frozen. It wasn't iced over but just frozen together so that it was hard when you walked on it. They didn't seem to mind but I only let them play for about 20 minutes- because I minded.

So what are the Buttons up to lately?

Amanda seems to be up to a lot. I have forgotten to tell pretty much everybody but she was interviewed on the radio last week. Yep. I didn't hear the phone ring when she called so I missed it- drat. But apparently Franklin has a "hometown" radio station and Amanda and an exchange student (that she says speaks 6 languages) were chosen to be interviewed and to tell what they like about their school. Amanda was *supposed* to have been interviewed about Gov. School but apparently the interviewer forgot. *And* she also has the highest GPA at her school which is pretty cool, even though her school is very small. It opens some doors for scholarships that should cover her first year at community college- if that's where she decides to go. She's also made some friends at church *gasp*! Last week Travis made her go to the college group service. She hadn't made any real connections and did not want to go but she went and made a handful of friends, stayed out late that night and went to a concert with them on Tuesday night. It's amazing how quickly things happen sometimes. I'm really glad to see it.

I met with my mentor (for the class I'm taking at church) a couple of nights ago and it was pretty cool. It turns out that she and I have similar life experiences. It's pretty cool how God puts people together. I'm really looking forward to this time of learning and growth.

And since I'm out two nights a week that means Travis is *in* two nights a week. Just he and two little girls that need baths and food and homework help. And it was stressful. He said at one point they were both crying for me and wouldn't get out of the bathtub. It's nice to be loved and it's also nice to have my husband home because I was doing everything- every night- by myself. Did I say that it's nice to be out two nights for a couple of hours all.by.myself? Well, I should have.

Pay It Forward

I read Mary's blog today and she decided to play a fun little game and I've decided to play along. So here are the rules according to Mary or according to the blog she copied it from.

“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, which is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”

I have a few ideas of things to make since I was so crafty over the Christmas holiday so I'm kind of excited. The catch is that you have to have a blog too in order to post it so that you can pay it forward as well.

I Wonder If...

I can complete a post in the time it takes Travis to get ready for bed? It's not likely but here goes in machine gun form.

Travis had the whole weekend off- errands, giggles from girls, sitting on the couch with my feet in his lap, church together, dinner with the Fadely's, lots of fun, I could get used to this.

Sickness relapse because I'm a dummy and worked out with a fever- much worse the second time but I survived and am fever free- yay! I wonder if I'm "allowed" to work out tomorrow?

Halle telling the Zaccheus story (again) after church on Sunday- "Zaccheus come down!"

The Fadely boys and Chloe jumping on the computer as soon as we got to their house. Chloe had to show off her Webkinz.

New and (somewhat) exciting sugar alternatives. No bake cookies sweetened with Blue Agave Nectar. Reduced the sugar content by 1 cup and they turned out very yummy. It has a glycemic index of 27 which is very low and you don't get a sugar rush. The cookies also don't get hard but stay kind of gooey as you can imagine but you can still pick it up and eat it with one hand.

And he's done, so I'm done. I'll try to post complete thoughts later.

A Moment in the Button Life

Chloe- "Hey Mom, what if Jesus called that short dude zucchini?"
Amy- (shocked in a humorous sort of way) "Did you just say, 'what if Jesus called that short dude zucchini?'
Chloe- "Yeah. Then we would laugh our heads off!"

My daughter is, of course, referring to Zaccheus as the "short dude". It really sounded like something I would say. I guess it was ridiculous to think that our sense of humor wouldn't rub off on her. I should really watch what I say in front of the little parrot.

Happy Weekend- End

Hmmm, could it be that I totally forgot to blog about taking the girls to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything? How could I? It is a super huge deal since Travis and I hadn't taken the girls to see a movie since Pooh's Heffalump movie came out when Halle was just a month or two old. Anyway, Travis had the day off because he was going to do an acting thing that didn't pan out so he had the whole day free. Tisra was kind enough to babysit Halle and Travis and I had a few hours to ourselves. As per usual we had too many things to do here and dropped Halle off about an hour after we planned to. And as per usual we tried to cram too many things into the day so we only had about tow hours together but hey that's two more hours than we've had in a while and we appreciated it so much.

We decided we definitely needed to see a matinee because it costs *a lot* to see a movie these days. So we checked Chloe out of school in time for the 3:15 showing. And just in case you ever want to know the matinee prices are good until 5:59 PM. The movie was very good. The animation was fantastic-amazing-wonderful. I got a little bored at times, but I got a little bored during Ratatouille. But Chloe was plastered to her seat. She declared it the bestest movie ever and was able to get a free movie poster which she personally hung on her wall as soon as we got home. It was a great family time and I was really glad to be able to support Big Idea.

And speaking of movies, Amanda went to see Cloverfield tonight with a friend. I was unsure about her seeing it since she cries like a baby anytime she gets scared- no seriously. She actually ran out of a screening of a film that was done by some of her Gov. School friends. But Travis read the review by Plugged in Mag and was OK with it and said she could go. But I told her she's not allowed to sleep in our room if she gets scared :)

And it seems that my precious Chloe has passed along her illness to me. I was on a really good streak of not getting sick too, so that's a little frustrating. I thought I'd be better by today but no dice, maybe tomorrow. *But* I think I may have ruled out wheat as an allergen or at least an aggravator to my health and well being. I haven't had any bread in at least two weeks and I'm still constantly having sinus issues so I guess I'm allergic to something else- maybe it's my house. Or my cat. I know I'm allergic to my cat. Or maybe it is wheat but I'm allergic to my cat too so I'm not noticing a difference from not eating wheat. So maybe I should go see an allergist and quit bugging you guys about it.

Oh, and another little thing that I forgot to post about is that our Life Group leader called and asked if I was ready to lead worship at Life Group yet. She'd asked me late last year and I told her that I just didn't feel released to do that yet. But the beginning of the year brought some new freedom for me and that includes leading worship. So I'll be leading worship (with Travis) the first Life Group in Feb. I'm excited but I haven't done it in such a long time that I'm not sure I remember how. But since this is a new season for us my hope is that I'll lead worship in a new way as well. I'm also considering playing the piano for one song that I want to do so I'll really need prayer for that. I can play the piano but I don't play as well as some other people *and* I get crazy, crazy nervous. When I was a minister of music I practiced all-the-time. Mostly because in a church of 250 with a choir of 13 there isn't a whole lot to do. But the pianist and organist kept encouraging me to play for a worship service, which I never did. So I think that this intimate setting might be better suited for me to see how it goes. Um, except that we have professional musicians and a manager for a huge Christian band in our group. Hmmm, maybe they won't be there that night? Or maybe I will just practice like crazy and do this for the Lord and trust him to help me.

And for huge, huge news- drum roll please- Halle went to the three year old class today! As you know, she started going to the potty just days before her third birthday. We've had our ups and downs since then; mostly ups. But she had to be completely potty trained before she went to the three's class. So she's been in the two's for at least three weeks in panties and hasn't had a single accident and Travis decided to take her to the three's class today. I was worried that she might be overwhelmed with pottying and a new class but she did completely fine. Actually, she did even better than she has done in the two's class because her new class does projects and other fun stuff. She even told me about Zaccheus climbing the tree tonight and that she had "so much fun" in her new class. With the trouble I've had getting her to go to her class and her all around clingy-ness, her newfound independence has happened pretty quickly. She's a bit mommy-clingy during the day at home but all in all she's doing so much better.

And tonight was Trav's last night at HD. I'm more excited than I though I would be and I'm not nervous- which I thought I would be. Absolutely everything is in God's hands and I am very excited about what He has for us.

And I guess that pretty much sums it up. And now I'm going to crash because I don't feel well. But at least I had a small respite from sitting on the couch watching TV.

Snippets

Every day I've thought "hmmm, anything blog worthy?". And my answer has come as "um, no". So maybe if I try to sum up the week I'll have something somewhat interesting.



Chloe is sick. Wednesday she kept saying how cold she was and I told her to put on more clothes since she was only wearing one of Trav's t-shirts. So finally she hunkered down on the couch with a blanket and I noticed that her face was really flushed so I asked Travis to take her temperature since I was about to walk out the door-102.5. Well, that explained some things.



And that night I started my very first Life School of Ministry class at church. It's a pretty exciting ministry in that they offer college level courses for anyone- I'm pretty sure you don't have to go to our church to go to them and I know you don't have to for the class I'm taking. But they offer Pentateuch, Apologetics, and Life of Christ. I had the last one in college but didn't have to take the first two. But they also offer Fiercely-Focused Parenting and Freedom in Christ (my class) along with a myriad of other classes. The exciting thing is that there is an expectation that church members will take the classes and learn and grow and be informed. To have a strong theological base is critical and I'm so happy that they offer it here. Yeah, yeah, I've been there for two years and this is the first class I've taken but it's been the first class I've been able to take because Travis has been taking a class *and* working two jobs.



But all that's about to end because his last day at HD is Sunday! I'd love to throw a party but I can't fit all of our friends in our house. So we'll celebrate and I'll make a nice dinner for him- ooh, probably Monday because Amanda is out of school *and* she doesn't have to work. I haven't blogged about it much mostly because I don't want to sound like I'm complaining but this has been an incredibly difficult season for us. I'm nervous about him quitting HD because we need for him to. But things have changed for him at work (he got a bit of a promotion) and I'm taking a class at church so it just won't work. We're at peace with everything and trust that God will lead our steps day by day.



And speaking of parties- do you realize that Amanda graduates in four months and five days?!? My AL relatives want to come and I want to throw a big bash but I know that I won't be able to fit everyone in here. I'll figure it out. But my little girl is growing up.

Now my two little girls are awake and are asking for breakfast. Actually, Chloe just yelled from her bedroom that she's much too sick to come to the kitchen for breakfast and needs breakfast in bed. I guess I'd better get crackin'.

I Forgot To Add...

to the preceding post, a funny little anecdote.

About a week and a half ago I took the girls for a walk. We don't walk in our neighborhood because, well, it's kind of scary so we walk in the very fancy neighborhood across the street. (Besides those houses are much nicer to look at *and* they have a couple "lakes".) So as we were walking Chloe said something about a boy named Kevin and that she was "definitely" marrying him. And I asked "so you've decided to not marry Grant"? To which she replied, "nuh, uh, no way! I won't even be his SECOND wife"!

Hmmm, his second wife? So I wondered if that meant his second wife, like he has two at a time or the more obvious definition of a second wife. And where in the world would she get that? But I thought I'd add a sweet photo from when she *was* going to marry Grant- at the ripe old age of 4.

Chloe and the Wedding Dress

Chloe found the necklace that I wore on our wedding day tonight. She begged to try it on which turned into "please Mommy, can I try on your wedding dress? I know where it is." So of course I took pictures. Travis thought it would be great to be able to show them on her actual wedding day. *Sigh*. Having raised one daughter (almost) to adult hood I know that time goes by so quickly and this day will probably come sooner than I'm comfortable with. But I'm just going to enjoy her being six.

Good Eats

I'm not actually talking about the show Good Eats- which is one of my favorites- but actual good eats, as in good food. I have a couple of recipes that I tried and highly recommend- and plus they're pretty healthy.

Trav's birthday was this past Saturday and he's been talking about eating better and working out and such. So when I saw Ellie Krieger's show about healthy diner style food I thought I'd give it a try. Well, I ran the idea past Travis who was all for it- until I mentioned that I'd also purchased some chicken wings. I bet you can guess what we had for his birthday dinner.

Last night I was finally able to give the recipes a try and not only were they the super-easiest thing I've made in a while they were also really yummy. So I give you stuffed turkey burgers & sweet potato fries. I don't really like sweet potatoes but I really liked these fries. There's also a sweet potato fry recipe from Giada De Laurentis & it's not supposed to be healthy but the basil salt and garlic mayonnaise sounded very intriguing. You could probably substitute reduced fat or fat free mayo though. I'm going to try it. You could also try a recipe that I haven't yet for oven baked onion rings. Yes, I know that according to Travis, onions are a scourge upon the earth. But I like onion rings and I actually bought the onions to try it out but ran out of time to make them; I was really busy yesterday. So if anybody tries them let me know how they turn out, OK?

And in the interest of posting a treat type thing that is not healthy but tastes amazing I give you no bake cookies. I call them crack because they're so addicting and I don't make them often but they're so simple and so very tasty. I've made them before with quick oats but last time I just used regular oats and I liked them better. It made them more substantial. And the really nice thing is that I usually have everything to make them on hand. Coco powder, milk, butter, peanut butter, sugar, and oats. That's it. Enjoy!

I Guess Winter Is Here

Here's proof that it does get cold in Florida- sometimes. Actually I woke up this morning with ice on the *inside* of some of my windows. Brrr...

Random Stuff and Art

This is the painting I like that I get to keep. After I got the easel I set it up and just started painting without having any idea what I was going to paint. Why a blue vase and apple, you ask? Well, because the vase is just what came out of my noggin and there was a large bowl of apples sitting on the island. Plus I love blues and greens together- it's one of my faves. I'm not completely done with it. The brown blob next to the vase is supposed to be a shadow but I'm not sure I like it since it's just brown and the rest of the background seems very fluid.

And during the Christmas season I was one crafty girl. I made several handmade things for friends children and started several handmade things for friends but it seriously took longer than I anticipated. I finished one hand towel and did 75% of another but all of that took at least 9 hours to do so I ended up buying things for them. Oh, and I originally intended to do 4- yikes! They're super cute, but I can't show them to you because they will still end up as gifts.

I had no idea what to do for our friends kids and was a bit frantic about it when I saw some chalkboards at JoAnn's and thought, "what kid doesn't like a chalkboard?" And if it's personalized all the better. So I painted all of them, put their name on them and made individual chalk holders that double as an eraser. The holder/eraser is made from felt that I just wrapped around the chalk (long way), stitched around it with embroidery floss (all 6 strands and a different color for each child so they didn't mix them up), added a snap and voila! It was more time consuming than I thought but everyone seemed to like theirs. Originally I wanted to do skateboards or something else that the kids liked but I just didn't have time.

And here's Halle's finished stocking. I actually finished it Christmas Eve night just before we opened stockings so I had to finish it on a machine. It ended up being skinnier than I wanted to I may have to re-do it. And at the very end when I was sewing the loop to hang it I broke the needle on my machine. Gaaa! I like the stocking though.

And this is Mary's painting. I've already shown it to her so I guess I can show it to you. I had to do some touch ups because I got some espresso colored paint on the front that I was using on the sides so I had to clean that up. I use the espresso color on the sides so that she doesn't have to have it framed. Now I need to touch up my signature and varnish and I'm done.

I wish I could show you the other painting but the recipient hasn't seen it yet. I had to completely re-work it but I like how it's turning out even better now.

OK, and one more thing. I have to show you the super-cutest table runner ever- that I didn't make. I guess this was my Christmas present to me because I love it! I didn't have a Christmas-ey anything to put on the table or island and I saw this at Target when I was Christmas shopping. I love cute stuff!

So Christmas Was...

Great. After all my thoughts on what Christmas should be about it was really a nice- if not incredibly emotional- holiday. But God provided and our kids got lots of great stuff. We had a nice dinner with the highlight being crab stuffed mushrooms, which only Travis and I will eat. The recipe for the mushrooms turned out a little bland and while I didn't follow the recipe exactly (I didn't have any white wine and Travis won't eat onions so I substituted fresh garlic and cooked them in mojo.) the substitutions should have been enough to flavor them nicely but wasn't. Some salt and lemon juice made them tasty enough. I think that the recipe is a good starting point though. Maybe a stronger cheese would help. Asiago perhaps? I'll work on it.

Travis was home for 3 whole days although we were so busy it didn't feel like it. The majority of Christmas Eve was spent with us trying to figure out what to get the girls. We always get them practical things with a couple of toys thrown in. But God was really putting it on my heart to get them what they wanted instead of what they needed. So we bought toys. And it was really fun because we never do that. During the year I sometimes I buy a Color Wonder book and markers for them and maybe for their birthday but not during the rest of the year. It's partly out of necessity and partly because they don't need any toys. So it was really a blessing for Travis and I to see how much enjoyment they were getting out of their new toys. And as an added bonus Target had already put a lot of their toys on clearance. I was very surprised but we got a robot dog for Chloe that was half price. And it was officially declared her favorite toy of the day! She also got an easel which is chalk board on one side and white board on the other with clips that you can attach a large piece of paper to for painting. It has survived the initial excitement (unlike the robot dog) and she and Halle play with it every day. We were planning on getting a bigger ticket item for Amanda but in talking to her she declared all of our ideas impractical (seriously) and said she just wanted clothes. And all the clothes I picked out for her were promptly taken back to the store. Just wait ladies, it's coming. I miss the days when my style was Amanda's style.

And for the first time in several years we were at home for Christmas. I have said that I don't want to travel for the holidays, that I want to establish our own traditions for our kids, that it's too stressful, etc. But I'm not completely sure about that now. Because Lakeland holds a lot of Christmas traditions and memories for Travis, Amanda and I. I know some families travel every Christmas and some rarely do and we've been the "every Christmas" family but maybe there's some happy medium there. Or maybe we should just go to FL for Christmas (especially if my parents end up moving back there because we could be with all of our family for Christmas) and that would leave the other times of the year for us to vacation somewhere else. It was nice but I did miss our families.

I have painted quite a bit lately since my present from my parents was an easel. I'll post some pictures later. This is a new computer though and I haven't taken the time to set everything up for picture posting. Two of the paintings are for people and one person hasn't seen hers yet so I can't post that one- which I hate because I'm really liking all three that I've painted lately. Thankfully one is not intended for anybody so I get to keep it! I just have a teensy bit of touch up left so I'm going to try to post that one soon.

OK, I'm done typing now.