Kaden's PIPS Festival

Look at this proud little boy! Oh how that face can bring tears of joy to my eyes! This past weekend we went to Kaden's PIPS (Players in Progress) basketball festival. He competed in four different contests of his choosing. He won 3rd place in "drop pass", and was THRILLED! He received this medal and was also able to show it off at school today during morning announcements:)

Accepting his award - again, sooooo proud!!! How cute is this grin?!

Performing in his large group routine!

Performing individually in the "between the legs pass"

Between performances we had fun going out to eat at the different restaurants in town - we were in Abliene and I was pleasantly surprised at all the choices their small town had! Bet you'll never guess where we were here:)

Women's Retreat - NO SLEEPWALKING!!!

About a month ago I went on a retreat with these precious ladies and several others from my church and it was life changing for me! Me, Steph, Traci, and Misty - love you girls!!!!

This incredible woman was our speaker, Priscilla Shirer. If you EVER get the chance to go hear her speak in person DO NOT HESITATE! She is a powerhouse! She is a tell-you-like-it-is, incredibly passionate person and a joy to listen to! I'm the kind of person who needs a tell-you-like-it-is sermon every once in awhile, don't know about ya'll! She talked a lot this last time about not sleepwalking through life. To live your life to the fullest. I was really convicted about just "being" with my kids. There are lots of times when I am "with" them but I'm not really WITH them. Am I really listening? Did I really just hear what they said? Am I thinking about 50 million other things while I casually nod my head and say "uh, huh" and "wow"? So... I am trying my best now to take little increments out of my day to really BE with them. To take a time out and focus on them. Even if its only in 10 minute increments throughout the day, whatever, but just trying each day to be more PRESENT with them. That's one of my goals for this next year - to continuously work toward! Same with my husband, friends, family, etc.

And this is Priscilla's brother, Anthony Evans - WOW, is all I have to say about this man, and the way he sings! PHENOMENAL!

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Go Pinch Someone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!!! We had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating -today's been pretty quiet, but my friend Angie had all our little playgroup over for a "Green" party in honor of this special occasion. Here are Kaden and Kinsley with "Patrick":)

I just loved this little guy - can't you just see him as the mascot for some commercial or something??? I see him hanging out of a limo sunroof for some reason:) I REALLY wanted to take him home, but he had a date tonight - I hear he has a pretty full schedule this weekend! Ha!

We even had LOTS of green food - green rice crispie treats - see the cute shamrock Angie's mom made, green grapes, green apples, green dip with chips, celery, broccoli and green ranch, green Kool-Aid, green punch, etc. etc.

Angie also had fun crafts for the kids to make like these fruit loop rainbows with marshmallow clouds - Kins loved it! Although, I think more fruit loops were eaten instead of crafted:)

Oh and did I mention the glittery green play-doh! How fun and creative!!!

The boys weren't too "in" to the crafts but enjoyed watching some good old Scooby Doo and chillin' - can't say that I'm suprised, boys will be boys:)!

Then we headed down to see some other cousins of mine and had dinner at Babe's - oh my, if you've never eaten there you are really missing out - they have THE BEST chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, etc. EVER!!! I held nothing back - after all its Spring Break! But I'll be making up for it in cardio all the rest of this week:) This is Kaden and Kinsley doing the "hokey pokey" - they said today that they are so proud of themselves for not getting "shy" - how funny!!!

Aren't their little chicken hats hilarious?? - although, I have to admit I cringed a little at the thought of how many other sweaty little heads they'd probably been on!

Here's a shot of most of the family - my cousin's little girls Averi and Addison, Torrance (her hubby), Millie (my cousin), me, Kinsley, my Aunt Jane, Kaden, my mom, Kai, Jae, and John - it's always fun to be with family!!!! Millie and Torrance it was GREAT to see ya'll!

So how do you celebrate St. Patty's Day? Do you wear green, eat/drink green stuff, pinch those not wearing green (I grew up with this tradition:)), or...have you ever been to Babe's - let's talk about those biscuits with honey and butter?!!! Wowza!

Shopaholic Sunday on Monday - Easter

I'm thinking of renaming my Shopoholic Sunday blog - just need a good word to go with Mondays??? Anyway, are you ready for Easter? I always know its coming when I start to see these! I have always LOVED Bradford Pear trees and now God gave me two in my front yard - didn't even know it until they started blooming this Spring - another one of those little details God had covered in the purchase of this house - I'm tellin' ya, He amazes me EVERY DAY!

Gorgeous eh? Well...how do you celebrate Easter? We LOVE to always remind our children that it's because Christ died for us, and then rose again, that we even GET to celebrate Easter! So, we start by retelling this story, taking them to church, going to lunch at my parents, and then searching for Easter baskets the Easter Bunny left. We never want to miss the REAL REASON for celebrating but we like to do the fun for kids stuff too:)! By the way, my mom still gives Easter baskets to us adults as well - its sooo fun! Here are some ways we like to get ready:

Matching Easter outfits for the kiddos:) These are from Children's Place - they are not complete yet, but the dress was $17.00 and the vest was $10.00 - can't beat that!!!

Here's some loot from the Easter Bunny - we usually like to do a small toy, a Spring outfit, sweet candy treats, and a book! - sometimes there's a few added things in there as well, usually dollar bin stuff. My kids have played with these etch-a-sketch toys EVERY time we check out at Wal-Mart, so...I decided its finally time for them to have one:) Will it still be as much fun? Oh, and the glow-in-the dark Easter Eggs were at Wal-Mart - I just couldn't pass them up, how fun will that be? Kade and Kins have already been talking about it EVERY day!

If you like the book idea, here are some great titles, these are great for kids of all ages! Some of our favorites are:

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
So This is Spring! by Wonder Books (this is VERY old, not sure if its still out there, copyright 1954, originally published under the title Bunny Hopwell's First Spring)
What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Ann Schwartz
My Shining Star by Rosemary Wells
Pat the Bunny (an all time fave - great baby shower gift too) by Dorothy Kunhardt
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
On Easter Sunday by Patricia A. Pingry
What Do Bunnies Do All Day? by Judy Mastrangelo

More to come on Easter later, how do you prepare? Does your family still do Easter baskets? What do you put inside? How do you celebrate what Jesus did for us? Would love to hear your traditions!!!

Cousins Weekend

My cousin Darrell, his precious wife Angie, and their son Connor came to stay with us this weekend. We had a great time eating, laughing, talking, and watching the kids play! Angie is such a sweetheart, Darrell you picked a winner when you picked her, and Darrell has always been funny and interesting. The reason they came was for a snake exhibit, Darrell raises and breeds snakes in his own backyard! See, interesting, huh?! He didn't buy anything this weekend, but we are sure glad they came to visit! It was fun guys!

We also got to visit with this little tooter bug! She's almost 1 year old - I can't believe it! Jae and Kai came to eat lunch with us Sat. and then we had lunch with them at my mom's yesterday!

Here's Kinsley and Connor holding hands after we ate at Red Robin! Kaden and Kinsley had so much fun with him they didn't want him to leave - he's 5 and they are 6 and 4 so you can imagine how well they all got along!!! Connor you are PRECIOUS! We'll miss ya'll and hope to see you at the beach this summer!

BLUE

Feeling blue today? I hope not! So any of you who have been visiting my blog for very long know my daughter Kinsley is a little quirky, right?! I love her for it, she's often in her own world and has the BEST self esteem EVER - remember this post??? She walked all the way in Kaden's school, in front of all the other kids laughing and pointing at her, and all the way out - and could have cared less - THIS is what she wanted to wear that day, and she was PROUD of it!!! I hope she never loses an OUNCE of that self-esteem....

But today...
This is what she did??? Not sure...my mom says we could write a cute childrens book about the Blue Belly-Button, when I asked Kinsley why she did this she said she just thought it was funny! What'dya think??? Here's hoping for a very non-blue weekend for ya! - Or to a very FUN BLUE weekend to ya - in the color sense, not the feeling sense:)!!! Go positive self-esteem!!! Gotta love this girl!

3 Ways To Grow Your Faith

***This comes from Kelly's Korner Blog and I just had to share, enjoy! For more of Kelly's Korner just click on the link on the right!

1. WORD
Cultivate your faith
You HAVE to read God's word and really get in the Bible to learn and grow in your faith. That's the #1 way to know God more and to hear Him speaking to you.

2. WITNESS
Confess your faith
Do you share? Do you talk about God in your life? You don't have to thump your Bible or preach to your co-workers but do the people in your life know you are a Christian? Ya'll may think I talk about God too much on my blog - but I won't apologize. He is more a part of my life than Harper or Scott and I can't talk about anything without bringing in my faith.

3. WALK
Corner your faith
I love this - you have to get yourself in a place where you HAVE to trust God. It's in our trials where we come to know God the most.

Faith is believing the Word of God and ACTING upon it. (Even the devil and the demons BELIEVE in God ...........it's not enough to just believe).

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Did You Have a GOOD Weekend?

Why yes, yes I did!!! My hubby brought these home earlier in the week but I just had to share - they make me happy every time I pass them in my kitchen:) Fresh flowers in my house is probably one of my FAVORITE things!

Then...we went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D! We LOVED it - anxious to hear others reviews, but we went into it knowing Tim Burton was the director, and being open to that. Even the whole theater loved it - lots of cheers and claps during the movie from our crowd:)!

Had to laugh at my itty bitty with these HUGE glasses:) Isn't she a cutie?!

Shopaholic Sunday (on Monday, again:)) - Gift Ideas

Remember my post about the Daddy/Daughter Dance where we went to a place called Girly Girl??? Well...Kinsley FINALLY got to go to a birthday party there, something she has ALWAYS wanted to do. It was a blast complete with getting her hair and nails done, dress up, and fun with friends!

We also had an equally as fun other birthday party the same day at Pump It Up - a birthday place with HUGE inflatables, like this boxing ring and HUGE boxing gloves:)

Which brings me to this subject - BIRTHDAY GIFTS! What to get, what to get??? I don't know about ya'll but I always struggle with this; be it for my best friend, family, or someone I kinda sorta know! Well, here are a few suggestions. Something we LOVE to do is the theme basket/box/bag, etc. gift. This is where you pick a theme like beach, outside, movies, art, reading, fancy dinner, date night, games, etc. and just run wild with it, finding small things to go into a bag that go with that theme. Here's a few we have done lately:

This is for a friend who was sick on her birthday so we actually haven't given it to her yet. Her mommy said she likes art stuff and we ran with it, we even painted a terra cotta pot with chalkboard paint so she can do art on the package:)! Contents include:

crayons, pipe cleaners, sidewalk chalk, paints in bright and regular colors, stickers, paint with water book, note cards, glue sticks, wiggly eyes, pom poms, self hardening clay, paint brushes, etc. Jenny if you read this, we will bring this to you on Wednesday, hope you don't mind me sharing early:)!

So of course we had to write on the front:) - chalkboard paint - my new best friend, thanks to Sara at Sara's Art House - more to come on this:)!

Then...for both the Girly Girl and Pump It Up parties we came up with this little number - a reusable tote (waterproof) with outdoor toys for the spring/summer!!! Loved the totes we found, so cheery and colorful! Contents included:

pom poms - the cheering kind not art kind:), velcro circles to be worn as gloves and ball to throw and play velcro catch, big bubble wand, tray, and bubbles, and huge sparkly wand

Some other ideas we've done before:

• Baby shower - Bath/Book/Bed box - pj's, bedtime story, bedtime baby bath soak, washcloth, towel
  

• Wedding - special occasion gift - baking dish, brownies, spatulas, sparkling cider, candle, lovesongs CD

• Christmas baking - cookie mix, christmas cookie cutters, frosting, frosting gels, hot chocolate, christmas music CD

• Movie night - gift card to Blockbuster, big movie style candy, popcorn and popcorn containers, soft drinks, etc.

• Girls night - nail polish, fluffy socks, nail polish remover, toe seperators, lotion, chocolate, sparkling cider, girl movie or mixed CD of girly songs:)

• Inspirational - bible, christian music CD, inspirational books, inspirational quote plaque, cross for wall

• Picnic date (great for newlyweds or that engagement party) - picnic basket, bread, wine glasses, sparkling cider, small blanket, plastic dishes, candles, matches, etc.

• Graduation - laundry basket full of laundry detergent, quarters for washer/dryer, little debbie snack cakes, stationery/envelopes/stamps for letters home, book $$:)
• 
  
• Cleaning bucket (housewarming party, Mrs. Clean type friends) - remember I gave this one to my sis a few posts back - cute apron, basket or wash bucket, paper towels, rubber gloves, clorox wipes or chic cleaning supplies - organic, etc.
  

**Also for gifts, never underestimate the gift of an "EXPERIENCE" such as a date to the museum, a special exhibit, a playdate at the park, concert tickets, tickets to see a play, vacations - this doesn't have to be expensive - even just a day trip to an interesting location, sports game night, etc.

Needless to say...the possibilities are endless - most items can be found in dollar bins at Michaels or Target, or at Dollar Tree, be creative on your container and wallah! Now isn't that better than a gift card????

Bubbles

Snow Fun!!!!

Remember this????

Well, if it happens again any time soon, here's a fun treat to try, or if you live up north, you're in luck, but chances are you already know this recipe, as a Texan I was THRILLED to find a use for the snow we saved in the freezer just "because" (because we don't ever know when we'll get any more, that's why, so THERE!:))

Snow Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 gallon snow
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups milk

Directions

When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

Shopaholic Sunday (on Monday) :)

Kirklands

Busy weekend, just now posting! So here's a little store I love for everything from home decor to gift items! Kirklands!!! Yep! I can throw down some money in there! I just went the other day and got this for the kiddos playroom - $10.00 and it's HUGE - pic doesn't do it justice!

And Sara over at Sara's Art House inspired me to get this! She actually painted a whole wall in her kitchen with chalk board paint, which I would love to do if my hubby ever allowed, or better yet, if I HAD a wall in my kitchen - its all open to the living area, which I love, but I love Sara's wall too because she puts scripture up for herself and her kids to see and meditate on, so here's my version - this chalkboard $8.99!

Then I got this precious little apron for my sister - about $14.99. She just had a birthday and she's so weird, I mean funny, in that she loves to get cleaning supplies for gifts. So...I gave her this, with a "J" embroidered on it, and a basket full of chic cleaning supplies - ya know, the ones that cost a little more, that you'd never buy for yourself, but that are fun to get as a gift! I think they were called Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies??? Anyway, it was a fun gift and I was pretty excited about it:)! Here she is enjoying one of the birthday desserts we shared - sweet little Kai wanted some:) Happy Birthday sweet sis!!!