BIG NEWS!!!

Last night...these two...

during nighttime prayers with me and Curtis...

accepted Jesus into their hearts!!!!!  They went to VBS at our church this summer and since then have been asking questions a lot.  I'd answer them to the best of my ability and they would just keep talking about it, LOVE these kinds of conversations with my kiddos!  Kaden and I went to a documentary viewing that our youth made about their recent mission trip to India at our church last Wednesday night and I think it left an impression, and yesterday in the car I got an email about baptism which sparked another great conversation.  So...last night Curtis called me into Kaden's room, he was putting him to bed, I was putting Kinsley to bed, and Kinsley and I went in there.  He told Kaden to tell me what they'd talked about, and Kaden said he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart!  Kinsley said she did too, and they both want to be baptized soon:)  So, while choking back the tears Curtis and I prayed the prayer of salvation with them!!!!  We are rejoicing today and are planning a big celebration soon of this HUGE decision in their lives.  What they don't know is I've been praying for this since I found out I was pregnant with each of them.  First and foremost my prayer was for my kids to know God!  Thank you LORD!!!!!

(last two photos courtesy of pinterest)

Little Box of Sunshine

Have ya'll seen this on pinterest?  My mom and I made this for my sister since she just had the cutest baby ever.  It makes me smile.  We just bought a bunch of yellow-ish stuff and put it in a grey box (since the baby's room will be grey and yellow) and then I googled "Sunshine in a Box" and found the printables for the sign and card to go with it!  Love gifts like this!!!!

My new nephew - SO IN LOVE!!!

I am so in love.  My sister had a baby yesterday, I want him to be mine:)  I want to take him home.  He is so precious.  He was born at 9:13am, on 7/17 weighing 7 lbs, 7 ounces.  I guess 7 is his lucky number.  Funny, because my brother-in-law Kevin was born 7/17/77 also weighing 7lbs. 7 ounces, crazy huh?  Anyway, this baby is cute - like roll him in a ball and squish him cute...sorry that's a little saying our family has:)  He has golden hair, attached toes like his daddy, my sisters ears, and a precious nose!  We had a blast getting to know him yesterday, oh, and you better believe there are more pics to come.  So, without further ado, I introduce to you

Cash Brooks Carpenter

Fun Zone Birthday Party for Kaden's 9th

My son, you turned 9 this past week, 9!  That is crazy, how have 9 years of your life already gone by?  You are still my little 6 lb. baby that didn't fit in his own skin when he was born, aren't you?  Here's what I love about you being 9:

1.  You are becoming your own person, a lover of God and a Christ follower - you love to read and talk about the Bible and are so smart that you never forget any of it - and you love to challenge me and dad if we do:)!

2.  You are so smart - you love to learn, you are always up for a challenge and you thrive in competitive situations.  You love to read and cannot get your hands on enough books or take enough trips to Barnes and Noble!

3.  You are funny, seriously funny.  You get adult humor and often surprise me and dad with your "quickness" to understand funny things.

4.  You have compassion like your daddy.  You feel for people.  You do this in a quiet and controlled way, but you gently let it be known:)  I really love that about you!

5.  You are still a boy - you love leggos and Star Wars, Percy Jackson and Pirates of the Caribbean.  You go 200 percent after the things you love and you pursue them until you know them backwards and forwards.  I pray you do this for God and for the Bible all your life:)

I love you my strong, little warrior!

Water balloons for the water balloon toss turned fun fight!

Bean bag toss game we borrowed from Grandaddy!  Your team won 21 to 17 I think!

Candy prizes for the games:)  Your idea;)

The hamburger cupcakes you had to have!  I love it that you thought these were cool and they made you so happy!

Drip Drip Drench game with Kayden and Colton Morriss, Kinsley, Connor, and baby Corbin Morriss!

Party favors - bubble wands and water balloons - so they can create their own "fun zone" at home you said!

Your snack choices:)

You and your precious friend Connor

Pool time!

Your fun zone adventure table with your cookie cake!

Let Freedom Ring - Fourth of July 2012

Let Freedom Ring was the theme at our Fourth of July Party this year.  But first, Curt, the kids, and I went to see the fireworks at Southlake Town Square!  So much fun, so hot, but so thankful for my freedom!!!

Arkansas Summer

Family Reunion Time!  We go to Arkansas every year for my mom's side of the family, family reunion.  I guess I was loving on all my kin-folk too much to take any pictures there, just imagine a beautiful log cabin lodge full of sweet, precious people - or look back on previous posts (you'll find them in June of previous years).  I did take pictures of our trip on the way, however, and it was FUN!!!

We stopped at this little train to eat lunch one day - so cool!

Here we are inside the Southern Belle - amazing home cooking here!

Then we traveled on to Eureka Springs.  If you are ever traveling through Arkansas you MUST GO HERE!  Especially if you love art!  They had little art colonies set up all over, tons of original art, and super awesome restaurants!  Plus, its gorgeous, green, and hilly!

One of the coolest little restaurants, Local Flavor, so delish!

I seriously had some of the best Italian food I've had in a loooong time here - YUM!

And I can't forget this picture:  This is where my grandfather saw my grandmother for the first time.  He was sitting across the street and saw her walk out of this building and had to know who she was...needless to say, the rest was history:)!!

Last but not least there's this:  This is a barn that has been in our family for years.  It belonged to my great grandfather, my mom played here as a kid, some of the first family reunions were held here.  It is still in our family since one of my 2nd cousins still lives in the original house in front of it.  It holds so many memories.  I love it, its part of me, and I can't wait to paint it someday:)!

Fathers Day 2012

I love my husband.  If you want a picture of a perfect father, this is it!  He is all God desires him to be.  He is all I've ever desired him to be.  He is a man that stands up for what is right. A man that's proud of his family.  A man that loves me, even when I'm pretty unloveable.  A man that smiled at the announcement of our two unplanned but never unwanted pregnancies, and took it in stride and participated in all the childbirth classes, late night feedings, diaper changes and more.  A true man.  A Christ-follower and leader of our household.  A lover and a fighter.  A joy giver and encourager.  And a pretty stinking good looking little hottie too:)  I love you Curtis Jon Downs - hope you had a marvelous Fathers Day!

And here's the man who gave me the mental "list" of all the things the man pictured above had to live up to:)  Love you Daddy!

And here's a cute little craft my sister made for all the dad's at our Fathers Day luncheon:)  Cute, eh?!

Summer Vacation - Colorado 2012

We took off in early June for a much needed vacation to Colorado.  We stopped halfway in Amarillo and enjoyed a few things there first.  Then on to Denver we went, where we met up with Curtis's brother and sister-in-law and kids, Kevin, Sarah, Corbin and Emerson (hitting myself that I didn't take very many pics here) but here's why...I got sick:(  Big bummer, major altitude sickness that landed me in the hospital in Brekenridge - where we stopped on our way to our cabin in Buena Vista.  I was an old lady with an oxygen tank, but after a brief visit to ER, I felt better and we were on our way, to the cabin, to lounge around and create mischief with my side of the family.  All in all, we had fun, sad to get sick, but made the best of it.  And...really, is there any place more beautiful than Colorado???  Ok - Maui/Colorado (imagine me making an imaginary balance scale here), its a close tie, but Colorado is where we found happiness this year:)!

Cadillac Ranch - in Amarillo - our first stop, pre-sickness:)

Oh, yeah, you know we left our mark.  Thank goodness some kind folks left us some cans of partially used spray paint on the ground:)

  

Then on to Denver...We saw the Boulder flat irons - such beauty, but I think I was getting sick here, took a nap in the car, and I think this is when the fever started...still, it.was.gorgeous!!!

Kaden and Kinsley walking hand in hand with Emerson, that's Kevin in front.  This was the day we went to the Denver Chalk Festival - so fun!!!  So sad I didn't get more pics of Kevin and Sarah and Corbin:(  The next few days after this I just laid in their guest room bed,  sicker than a dog:(  They had fun going hiking in the mountains, etc.  They saw lots of wildlife and had tons of happy stories to tell:)

Denver Chalk Festival chalk art - these artists were amazing!

My mom with almost all her grandkids (missing Kai and Cash (in utero) here.  We were 12,000 something feet up, at Cottonwood Pass.  Girls:  Makenna, Madison, Kinsley.  Boys:  Kaden, Colton, Stewart 

Thank you Lord for beauty like this that exists for us to see here on this Earth!

Let the mischief begin - here is my sister Jayna, and my nieces Madison and Makenna with my mom.  The two in the middle and the one on the right kept us up all hours of the night laughing hysterically and creating videos of themselves saying, "Do I Know You From Somewhere?" and making crazy bizarre faces - love that I come from a super silly family such as this:)

Serious mischief makers - LOVE THEM!

I told her, "Who else gets to be this lucky?  You got to play in the snow... in the middle of the summer!" She talked all the way home about it and how she can't wait to go back to school and tell her teacher and classmates what she did this summer:)!

Alpine Lake by our cabin - we should have yodeled here;)

Mom has always had this huge dream of fly-fishing in this certain river called "Frying Pan" river, where you throw in your line and get a fish every time.  We got her as close as we could:)

This picture doesn't do it justice - such magnificience!

And me, the old lady with the tank, and no makeup:(  Still I was there, and that's something, right?