Thankful...

Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. "

I have so very much to be thankful for, and I always seem to think about it most during this time of the year.  I took this picture of the boys swinging recently, and every time I look at it I realize how fast they are growing up.  I am so grateful that these dirty little boots are mine to clean, that they belong to 2 of the sweetest boys around, and that God chose me to raise these 2 little ones.  Now if I could just figure out how to freeze time and keep them this size!

Christmas Re-Cap...

I realize that we are well on our way into 2010, but since I was so far behind on my blogging and missed out on all the Christmas fun, I thought I would do a bit of a Christmas Re-Cap.  Atleast this way when next Christmas rolls around I'll be able to remember what I did this past Christmas.  Right now I can barely remember yesterday.  My memory is like swiss cheese, full of holes!  Anyway, here are some of my favorite things from this Christmas.

I scaled back this year in all areas.  We bought less.  We did more hand made.  I even decorated less.  I had a hard time getting into the decorating and it felt a little forced, so I spent less time decking the halls and a lot more time enjoying the season with my boys.  Looking back, those changes were all for the best.  With that said, I didn't put up all of my trees.  We did the boys' tree in the family room:

This tree has all of the ornaments they have made or picked out in their short little lives. They are all about the colored lights, so I just go with it.
This is the mantle in the family room.  Walker helped me put it up and he was so proud.  It is in the same room as the boys' tree so it also has colored lights.

Walker got a new tree for his room this year.  It was a tacky little tree, but he LOVED it, and that is what matters.

Connor's tree is white and he enjoys having one in his room so much.

I put the 30 year old tree from Lon's childhood in my kitchen window. It holds ornaments the boys have made in church and school.  Those are the most special ornaments to me.

I hung this wreath that I "beefed up" on the front door.

I put this tall wooden snowman on the front porch.

I put all of our Christmas cards on a simple ribbon.

We made a lot of people birdhouses:

We made the boys teachers ornaments and some baked goods.  This is one of Walker's ornaments.

And here is Connor's ornament for his teacher.

But more than anything else, we spent time together.  We crafted, baked, watched Christmas movies, and drank more hot calorie laden drinks than it should be legal to consume in a month's time.  Guess that explains why I will be starting Weight Watchers Wednesday back up on Wednesday!  I hope your Christmas was a great one, full of special times with family and friends too!

Best of the Week...

It has been a really busy week full of field trips, parties, and candy. Here are the highlights.

Sunday was Trunk or Treat at our church. Walker doesn't dress up. He hates costumes, so he sported his Halloween t-shirt. Con was Thomas the Train.

Walker's trip to the pumpkin patch was Monday, and Walker rode on a school bus for the first time. Oh the joys of childhood. I don't remember it being quite so bumpy. Walker was thrilled to be out of a booster seat. He rode a horse and picked a pumpkin, but he loved the mop races.

Walker's Halloween party was on Wednesday, and I made lots of goodies for his class. The witch's hands were a big hit!

Friday was Connor's class party and Trunk or Treat. He loves his teacher and all of his little friends he is making, but he has ANOTHER ear infection right now, so he wasn't in the best mood.

Friday night we went to the fair. Connor rode lots of things this year, but Walker was only interested in riding animals. Somehow I got roped into riding the camel with Walker. Oh the things we do for our kids. That poor camel earned his money that night!

Saturday my parents came to town, and Lonnie and Walker carved some pumpkins. Since Walker and Connor are the only grands on both sides, we had a lot of grandparents here to watch them trick or treat. We rode the golf cart around the neighborhood and they got gobs of candy. (Mom took all of the pictures on Halloween, so I will have to see about getting some for your viewing pleasure.)

I also can't do Best of the Week without mentioning a gift my boys got in the mail. We were totally surprised on Thursday when the mail man had a package for Walker and Connor. Imagine my surprise when it was from a fellow blogger!! Staci at Park Avenue and I have become fast friends via our blogs. (We even plan to attend Blissdom together this year!) She was so sweet to send the boys this little treat. They loved it all, but the bubble wrap paper was a HUGE hit. Thanks again Staci! Well that about wraps up my week. I hope you had a wonderful Halloween weekend. I am gonna go brew some coffee and start on a new book. A little down time will be a welcome change!

Happy Blogiversary, and a Giveaway...

I. am. shocked. It has been one year since I began this journey called a blog. I have written 241 posts. I never thought I would have that much to write about, but evidently I do. I just looked back at my very first post, and I laughed so hard. So much has changed over this past year. I have really gotten "settled" in our home. I have lost 36 lbs. The boys have grown and changed. I even got a blog button. But most of all, I have made so many wonderful friends!! I am so thankful for the friendships that I have made through the blog, and all of the wonderful new things all of you have taught me through your own blogs. So, I'm gonna have a giveaway!

I have pondered all week about what I was gonna do, and finally decided that since I am such a sentimental person, I am gonna make the winner a gift or two. It is not huge, but it is gonna be handmade by me and will be made to suit the winner's tastes. I will make the winner a tassel and pillow according to their personal home decor colors.

Now don't fret. My tasseling abilities have gotten much improved from my first two tries. I still can't believe I even posted those pitiful looking things, but they were a work in progress and I can look at them now and see how far I have come. Here are a few of my more recent beauties and I posted about my pillow last week, but here are a few of them as well.


Now, the rules are simple. Just leave me a comment and you will be entered. I am gonna take names until midnight, Tuesday October 13. It seems like an odd time, but since 13 is my lucky number it works. Good luck and thanks for a wonderful year!

Crazy Chickens...

Walker and his Nana have become obsessed over their chickens. While I must admit I love my never-ending supply of organic eggs, every time I turn around it is chicken this and chicken that. What started out as "a small chicken coop" at the riverhouse, has now grown into building an additional big new chicken coop at the farm. They have a book and have picked out all sorts of different chicken breeds they have.to.have. Their newest scheme has been to order eggs off the internet and put them under one of their hens so they can get the breeds they want but can't find around here. Who knew this was even possible? Hilarious I tell you, hilarious. Anyway, Nana and her hubby have been working non-stop on thier new coop at the farm. Now that it is finished, it was time to start getting some chickens for it.


This week's adventure was going to visit a little 80 year old man that Lon's Papa heard about who breeds chickens. He lives about 20 mins. away and we had not been to his place yet. It is always interesting going on the hunt for chickens. Typically they are not kept in the cleanest of environments. Well this time we were pleasantly surprised. "Duckman" as he is called was the sweetest thing. His biggest concern was whether we were Baptist or not. (Thank goodness that we are. We may not have gotten chickens otherwise! ) Here is Duckman giving Nana a rundown on what makes a good healthy chick.

We went there specifically to get Pearl Guineas,but were surprised to find he had lots of other things like swans, ducks, pigeons, and a ton of chickens. While it was fairly well kept, all those ducks smelled pretty bad, and Connor didn't hide his feelings about it.

Here is the dominant male swan that kept following us around. He was HUGE, and rather scary. Con-man was still recovering on the way home. Granted the new chickens were right behind him in a cage.

When we got back to the farm, Walker and Nana got the feed ready for the new guineas and chickens.
And then Walker's favorite part about having chickens, CHASING THEM! He catches one occasionally.

Here some small guineas are on the new perch Jerry made them.

We went for a ride on the Gator to check on the sheep and cows.

Connor thought he was gonna drive, but lucky for Mama he figured out otherwise.

The boys chased poor Bobby all over the place.

This is what Walker's dirty farm feet look like before they hit the tub.

And after a bath and supper with Nana and Jerry, this is my 2 sweet boys on the way home. I am so glad that Lon's family has a farm. I never appreciated the amount of work that it took to keep up a place like theirs. It is a constant job, and while I always considered myself a city gal, I have come to love the farm. I am so thankful the boys have a place they can run wild,learn about animals, and just enjoy nature, but you have never seen two dirtier boys than after a trip to the farm!

Cornbread Goowrotten...

I am quickly coming to the realization that my boys are growing up TOO FAST and there is nothing I can do to slow the process. SO, I have been trying to enjoy lots of quality time with them these last few weeks before they both start pre-school. In case you've missed me in the blogosphere, that's where I have been, elbow deep in playdough as opposed to decorating or crafting.

Today we took our first trip to the library for the sole purpose of getting books. We usually only go for storytime. The boys loved picking out their different books, but were disappointed that I limited them to six. We had read them all within an hour of getting home and they are already asking about going back tomorrow to get different ones.

We've also been spending time at the river.

Making sticker collages. And more sunglasses...

But mostly I have just been enjoying these two wrotten little things.
By the way, Connor is no longer Connor Brett. He is now going by Cornbread Goowrotten. Cornbread is what his Uncle Paul says his name sounds like (Connor Brett), and Connor loves it. I told him he is "wrotten" and Nonnie says he's a "good wrotten", so he now says his name is Cornbread Goowrotten. That should make for an interesting first day of preschool. He definitely looks like Cornbread in Poppy's camo hat and his black underwear.

The boys start "school" September 9, and we have a lot we hope to do between now and then, but I promise to get back to posting about some of my projects once we get settled into a routine. Until then, forgive me if the posts are a little sparse. Hope you are enjoying the last little bit of summer as much as we are!