Kensley names her first babydoll

Kensley has finally decided that her baby dolls need a name. Before, people would always ask her "what's your baby's name?" and she would give them a blank stare... as if to say... "baby dolls have names... really?" I guess it finally clicked that her dolls should have a name too. On the way to Wal-Mart on Friday, just out of the blue, she announced to me that her baby's name was Gracie. I was rather excited that she picked a cute name... nothing like my baby dolls names which were Martha-nell & Martha-nan (don't ask). Then a mile or so down the road she said "no, I want her name to be Lis-tha-buth" (Elizabeth...for translation). She proceed to announce to everyone we passed in Wal-Mart that her baby's name was Elizabeth. The name has actually stuck for a week now. Occasionally she forgets what she named her & will ask me "what's my baby's name again?" But after I remind her again, she proceeds to play babies and called her baby "Lis-tha-buth".

Here is a picture of her & her baby:

Corn Maze

Me & Kensley had a playdate on Tuesday with my friend Missy & some other moms. We went to the Shelby Corn Maze... which is a really cool place.



We walked through the maze....

Played the with dogs....

Got to swing...

and look cute....

Swing on the horse-tire-swing-thingys....

crawl through the tunnels....

and take pictures with our friends...

Brrrrr....

Honestly, I think the past few years we've gone to only 2 seasons in the south.... summer & winter. Somehow we've totally bypassed spring & fall around here. Last week we were sporting shorts & t-shirts & this week, I'm trying to avoid turning on my heat because it's so cold...(by the way, I couldn't take it anymore. Today I caved & turned it on).

I'm kind of in the mood for winter though. I can tell when it's time for a change for me. I'm tired of sorting through all my summer clothes to find something to wear & I'm itching to dig out my sweatshirts & pants. Something about curling up on the couch in my warmies, under a blanket, drinking coffee or hot chocolate and watching a movie. Nothing better :-)

I guess what I look forward to most about fall...err... winter... is the holidays that are quickly approaching. Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but something about seeing all the garb in Wal-Mart makes me get excited. I know that soon after all the Halloween stuff is gone that Christmas is just around the corner. I've already started listening to Christmas music and I've barely started... but at least there is a start... on my Christmas shopping. I'm looking forward to all the wonderful things to come with the season ahead... baking, shopping, crafting, fellow-shipping with friends & family and plenty more.

What about fall do you enjoy?

Listen

Once in a while, I really get a strong message out of my quiet time with God. I'm not half as regular about it as I wish I could be and probably don't spend as much time in it as I should (or would like to). Seems like there is always something to be done or some place to be. Just plain ole busy. But, today was different. While Kensley was eating her breakfast, I read my daily email devotion that I get from Proverbs 31. That was my quick morning boost & I had planned to sit down & really have my good time when she laid down for a nap, because today is less busy than most other days. Funny thing is that today's devotion was about being still and listening to God. Hmmm.... okay, well sounds all good & such, but I was a little puzzled about what I would do. I'm the type of person that when I lay down in bed at night or sit quietly for a minute, my mind races with thoughts of all that needs to be done. Seems like my list is never gets completely checked off, but rather is always being "added to".

I read another passage from a daily devotion book that correlated to what we are studying in our small group each week....give thanks to the Lord for everything. After I read the scripture & devotion, I wrote out my prayer. In the corner of my eye I kept seeing a bright yellow butterfly fly around outside the window. It kept drawing my attention because of it's vibrant color. When I finished, I felt the need to go outside & just sit in quietness and listen to God... or at least the hope of listening to God. Here comes the butterfly again & is flying around all in front of me. I heard God say: "if I care about a butterfly & all the tiny little details I put into it to make it beautiful, don't you think I care even more about you?" So I just closed my eyes and listened.

There were lots of things to potentially distract me, but none of them did. I heard God speak to me. Clear as ever while the wind blew on my face. He kept assuring me to "rest in Him and I will find peace". I sat there for about 10 minutes & just listened. Then I read Psalm 91:1-2

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

Isn't it great to trust in a God who loves us so much...and all He wants in return is our love back to Him and some time alone with Him.

Lord, help me to sit and listen to you more everyday. Let the busyness of my life not come between my relationship with you. Let me feel your Spirit in the air each time it blows on my face. Thank you for loving me even more than a butterfly. Amen.

Happy Birthday Kensley

Today, my baby girl is 3... officially at 3:35 pm. It's hard to believe that 3 years have already passed and she is growing up so quickly. She's such a joy in our lives & brings new excitement & entertainment daily. In the past year, she has grown a ton (most people think she's at least 4) her vocabulary has more than quadrupled, she has grown a head full of hair, came out of her shell to be a very outgoing child and is just as sweet as ever. She's a girly girl all the way, but can hold her own with the boys. She's a diva with some great personality & can dance the day away.

We had her birthday party yesterday. It was a princess tea party. Here's the invitation I made for her:

We played a game of pin the slipper on Cinderella...

Had some cake...

Opened presents...

And then the best surprise was a visit from Cinderella herself!!!


Cinderella even read the girls her own story.

Kensley with her "prince charming" John Michael (other than Chandler & Carter, he was the only boy allowed at her princess party... ha!)

We have butlers ready to serve the girls

When we got home, we tied a note to leftover balloons & sent them flying into the air... I wonder where they will land?


Lastly, for your viewing entertainment.... the cake that I attempted to make for the party. Normally, I do pretty good at cakes. I've made every cake for every kids birthday every year... (people have even paid me to make cakes for various other events). So I really didn't think this would be too bad to tackle. Little did I know that I would be creating the leaning castle of pizzo instead of Cinderellas castle.

Yes, you can laugh... really, it's that bad. I'm quite embarrassed that I even created such a masterpiece. I laughed to hard I almost peed my pants. Needless to say, this cake never even left our house. As bad as it looks, it tastes great, but I could no way serve this at her party, so I had to skip the boys soccer games this morning to bake a quick batch of cupcakes. Those turned out just fine.

Food for Thought

Okay, so I lied. No, I haven't updated my blog as often as I had said a few weeks ago. Yes, it's just been that crazy around here. But, I do want to share with you a few things that I have learned this week...

1. Fantastick Oxy Power spray pretty much cleans anything. Buy some. I cleaned the nasty baked on, caked on, never-comin-off stuff that develops in the trays under the burners on my oven. I've cleaned these things for years & never got all the stuff off of them. Last night I did. All of it. It also gets stains (paint being one of them) out of clothes & cleans the carpet. Buy some!

2. Another cleaning tip. Tilex Mold & Mildew spray magically makes nasty shower curtains look brand new. Just hold your nose, spray it down from top to bottom & the next time you get in the shower, the nasty moldy stuff is gone. It's splendid, I tell ya! (Thanks for the tip Renee)

3. Black shoes make my feet stink. I'm sure you didn't care to know that, but I've worn 3 different pairs of black shoes this week... flops, crocs & regular shoes. Me feet stink in all of them.

4. I hate the time of year when you have to switch out clothes for the season. Our house is small, therefore closets are small, so I don't have room to keep everything for both winter & summer in one place. I will go as long as I can before I have to break into the the good-old storage totes in the corner of my bedroom or tucked away in the depths of my storage building. I dug this week. I didn't like it. One bit. However, (rejoice in the Lord always) I found a whole bunch of stuff for the boys that I totally forgot I had.

On a more serious note, this one in food for thought...
5. Rejoice in the Lord always... we are reading the book "Crazy Love" by Frances Chan in our small group. It's a great book & just 3 chapters in, I've already learned a ton about they way that God views me & how I should really view Him. We are not put on earth to be self-centered people that thinks everything is about us and what God is doing for us. It about HIM... and only Him. We should rejoice in EVERYTHING that we do.... good & bad. So I've said that phrase, oh, about a hundred times this week. Because, yes, we are supposed to rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Try it. See what happens.

So what is your food for thought this week... anything. I want to hear from you.

Family Pictures

I've had lots of things going on the past few months & my lack of activity in the blog department is obvious. Hence, that's why I have posted a lot of pictures lately. So, to keep in tradition with what I know best... here's more pictures. My sweet friends Meagan & Tyler were so gracious to do a family photo shoot of us this summer. My motto is "you can never have enough pictures of your family". I guess that's why I'm always watching life happen through the lens of my camera. Anyway, here's just a few of the shots from our session.