Here are a few pics from our Memorial Day weekend. I'll post more when I have more time.

 

Pidgy's Twins

Well, the time has finally arrived and "Pidgy" our resident doves eggs have finally hatched. If you'll remember a few posts back I called them pigeons, which is technically correct, they're from the same family and all are pigeons but the smaller ones that we have are more commonly referred to as doves. It's amazing that they're so tame. They let me take their pictures this morning with the little ones exposed- they've been under Mom or Dad since late last week and I only saw them during one of their feeding times. You'll probably notice my flowers that they're sitting on. It's funny but the plants that they're sitting on are green and look very healthy but the ones they're not sitting on aren't doing so well. I hadn't watered them thinking that since we've had so much rain they'd had enough but apparently it hasn't reached them so they were very close to dead-grrr. Darn finicky plants, they're supposed to be drought resistant.
In other news, Amanda's play was this past Thursday and she did a fabulous job. It wasn't a big budget High School extravaganza, it was her Theater class' final-sort of. So the acting level on her cast members part wasn't that high. All kids are required to take a fine art credit and she was pretty upset that her class mates weren't taking it seriously. But they did seem to pull it together and seemed to be having a good time and they're weren't too many dropped lines. I enjoyed it and the lead characters did a really good job, especially Amanda. The picture below is Amanda and the guy that played vice principle somebody- I can't remember- but he seemed pretty cool and was the only person I could get to pose with Amanda. So they can act but they're too shy to have their picture taken?

And last but not least I have discovered Angel Food Cake. I had only tried it a couple of times and wasn't crazy about it but since I'm trying to eat healthier- always- I decided to try it again. It's just a cake I purchased at Sam's Club but it was really good. I cut up some fresh strawberries and put a little sugar with them and it made a light, refreshing dessert. Homemade whipped cream would have been nice but I decided to skip that. I love summer time and am looking forward to lots more fresh fruit and veggies- yum.

Psalm 40:1-5

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed are those
who make the LORD their trust,
who do not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.

God has some amazing things planned for us. I know it and Travis knows it. We have waited for years for God to do whatever it is that he's doing and I must confess that I have not waited paitently. I have been tired, I've been stressed, I've had doubts but I know that God is faithful and he will fulfill His word. So I will wait patiently. I think we're close but I don't know what will happen or when. So like King David, who unlike myself was running for his life and living in caves, I will wait patiently on the Lord. It's going to be a good day.

Happy Mother's Day

Tired-headache- overall, not feeling well. That sums up the Buttons on Mothers Day. We didn't have a bad day at all we just didn't really do anything. Well, except watch the Gilmore Girls marathon on ABC Family. Speaking of which, Amanda purchased the 5th season for me for Mother's Day. I think it was for both of us really but I'm going to enjoy it. I'm not sure what has been wrong with us but it's probably allergies. I haven't had the problems I typically have with them this time of year- extreme sneezing, itchy eyes, stuffy nose, and flu-like symptoms- but it is getting me down some. Also getting me down is the record setting amount of exercise I've gotten this week (my own record). I'm happy to have done it but if I'm going to be this run down afterwards then I need to re-evaluate. Again, I think it's a combination of both things so I'm sure we'll be better soon.

We still had a nice day. Travis and Amanda made lunch while I napped- that was really nice. Lunch was delicious, pasta with parma rosa sauce, chicken and broccoli then Key Lime Pie for dessert, yum. And then just lounging- well for me anyway. Travis made a trip to the store and chased the kids before he decided to lounge. We didn't make it to church because Travis and Halle weren't feeling well and I really didn't want to go with just Chloe and Amanda since it was the big day. But it turned out just as well since I woke up not feeling well also. The girls gave me cards that I loved and showered me with hugs and kisses and Chloe told me "Happy Mother's Day" intermittently throughout the day.
We were supposed to have met with the Kelsos yesterday afternoon and were really looking forward to it but unfortunately had to cancel due to feeling lousy. We were disappointed for sure especially since we haven't gotten together with them in months- seriously it's been that long. So, we will make up for that very soon. Now I'm going to tend to the girls and pick up the clothes that Halle just threw all over the floor- of course they had been folded.

An Almost Finished Blanket

So this is Halle's new and almost finished blanket. It was my goal to finish it tonight and I tried- really tried- but alas, it was not to be. The problem really wasn't finishing because it is all sewn up but the final seam is crooked. Not crooked like not perfect- crooked like over the river and through the woods crooked. And since this is visible it's just not going to work. I need to have a much more skilled seamstress than I finish it. I'm really bummed though because I worked so hard on it. Then I need a pattern for the bedskirt, I have one in mind but I haven't even looked for one yet. I really want to finish it all soon- like tomorrow but I don't think that's going to happen.


So, in other news, we have a new resident at the Button casa. As you can see a pigeon has taken up residence in my window box on the patio. Actually, it's two pigeons, a mom and dad to be. Monday evening Travis, the girls and myself were out running errands and Amanda called me frantically saying that she'd run a bird off (we had been running them off since I saw one take a part of one of my plants) and it had layed an egg. She was so upset thinking that the baby bird would die. We didn't see the bird come back that night but the next morning there she was sitting on her new nest. I did some research and found out that we should be expecting another egg that day or the next and sure enough I looked on Wednesday and there were two eggs. I know I should say Oh we get to experience the wonder of life, blah, blah, blah and I think I'm there now but originally I wasn't. Really, she's hogging up the whole patio. And in the grand scheme of apartment life that's like taking up your entire back yard. The girls play out there all the time and now they can't. I checked it out and by the time they hatch are weaned and fly off it will take about two months. But everybody else is excited about our new "guests" and so I figured I should join in. It's a great lesson for Chloe and could be one of the first things she remembers when she's grown up. So, yay mommy and daddy pigeon, I'm sure there are far worse places to build a nest.

So this is an upclose (and blurry) picture of our very first flower. It was still a bud at the time but has now bloomed into a very small pink and white star shaped flower (phlox). I have worked so hard on these flowers for quite some time (I even divided these without killing them) and the day I saw this bloom is the day the pigeons moved in. I figure that by the time the birds are gone my flowers will be destroyed but I'm just going to go with it. After all, they're flowers right?
And all of that pigeon poo might be good for them. I suppose that will be my silver lining.

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