Haneline Family Vacation

We returned yesterday from our annual trip with Corby's family... all 22 of us! We had a great time... rented a big cabin in the beautiful mountains of Pigeon Forge, TN. We declared it a Country-Western themed weekend & celebrated Halloween with lots of fun. Here's only a few pictures from our weekend.
All dressed up for Halloween

PapPaw & MamMaw (rodeo cowboy & Cowgirl Fiona)

We had plenty of activities for the kids on Halloween day...
pumpkin decorating

Aunt Amanda made monster mash, MamMaw Wanda cooked up a witches brew, Corby & Wendy told the kids they found a dead bear & had some bear parts for the kids to feel & taste,

The kids had the hot tub to play in

We had a few visitors next door... they seemed to want our food

We celebrated my nephew's 12th birthday (Adam)

Played lots of dress up...

And finished the weekend with a go-cart race.


We had a great time!

My Three Kids

My kids are goofs... for the most part, they are silly 95% of the time. We had a silly photo-shoot the other day. They partook in it quite well...



They can be serious too...

but just for a minute.

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.