Back to the Books

getting school letters around here is a BIG deal.  i remember when i was a kid we use to drive up to the school and look at the list that they had posted of each class... not anymore... my kids press their faces to the window until the mailman arrives in anxious anticipation of who their teacher will be!

A got the teacher she was hoping for, mrs. may

C didn't care which teacher but was hoping to have two of his buddies from last year in his class.  that didn't happen, but he handled it well.

the day before school i took this one out for a date afternoon.  we ate at la madeleine and had some good conversation.  we discussed her word for the year which is self-control and decided that self- control of her body, mouth, and feelings would be a good thing to focus on.  her verse this year is 1 peter 1:13, "Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on Jesus."

over yogurt we talked about appropriate and inappropriate things that could happen or be discussed. This is always hard for me.  i hate to make her feel uneasy at all, but i want her to be ready and know how to respond if these issues come up.  and, i probably said a dozen times... "your momma has lots of things that she wants to teach you, but if someone beats me to it and you hear something new that we've never talked about it, then you let me know so i can make sure you heard true things."  she would just laugh and say, "i will mom, i promise."  

oh, please, please let it be so!!

and before we knew it, the crazy started!  we set out last year's pics, made hearts so they can take a little of our love with them, and poured the icing all over the cinnamon rolls.

i L. O. V. E. this recipe!!!  before you think me too cruel... i made the teachers some too so that the kids' sugar levels could be matched!  ha!! 

now here's where i go picture crazy.  sorry, not sorry. 

this day is always hardest on R.  

man, he is always sad to see them go back. 

i told him next year that he would be going with them and he asked, "tomorrow?"

there has been a lot of growth over a year

and, yay, no broken bones this year!

and we're off...

these two handcuffed themselves together because they didn't want to be apart.  MELT.  C didn't take them off until he got to his locker. 

our morning routine is to pray as a family and then we put all our hands in and break on SISCOS.  no comments on the kids pjs.... if you saw the post with the poop smeared door then you understand why he has to wear a random onsie to bed. 

somehow i managed to keep new lunch boxes a surprise until they got to their lockers.  he was so excited. i'm  bummed that the pic is blurry.

mrs. miller.  it's her first year at the school, but she has lots of experience and we're hoping this class welcomes her well.

mrs. may.  she has a son at OSU and a daughter that worked at PC... i think she might be part of the family!

oh, she liked hers too!

and then there were two.  boo hoo!!

luckily, i have this fun group of mommas to have play dates with, drive carpool with, and just do life along side! 

i hope your first days back were full of excitement and wonder too!  blessings on a new school year!!

more summer fun

summer is coming to a close and we've been discussing what our favorite summer memories were.

let it be noted that this was the first day of our summer break... lovely beginning!!  let's hope that the first day of school looks a lot better!!!

we went to the movies twice:

clifford's big movie and despicable me 2

we painted with kool aid.. super fun activity!!

made a water blob

art gallery in the front yard

zig zag races

story hour at the library

rode the dart to the park one saturday

had tons of kiddie pool fun

threw paper through a spiderweb

made lego mazes

shaving cream wars

splash pad

went to adventure landing to play putt putt

made confetti eggs

sidewalk chalk stencil city

free slurpies on 7/11

we got most of our summer list accomplished.  there are maybe 12 that we didn't get to.  we'll add those to next summer's list!

11 things I love about our marriage

before i dive into these, i just want to say that i originally wrote these to lance.  I wanted him to know how i felt and encourage him in this journey together.  but as i read back through them, i thought they may be a blessing to others that are wadding through marriage together. 

please also remember that these are all the things i love!  there are plenty of things that we aren't satisfied with... plenty of areas where we fall short... plenty of things we are doing wrong... we don't have a perfect marriage and we don't have it all figured out, but these are the areas i'm really, really glad about...

#1 We laugh and have fun together

I love that after 11 years there is more smiling than frowning and more laughing than crying. Having a funny husband doesn't hurt either!! Yes, I did just admit that you're funny. Agh, the secrets out. 

#2 It's a partnership

I've never felt alone in our marriage or in parenting. We've always given equal or apologized when we've fallen short on our end. I love that I know that I can count on you! 

#3 We haven't stopped growing

We're taking weak seasons and learning from them. We haven't allowed years of experience to give us a pass on trying to make our marriage better. I love that you lead us by encouraging us to be more disciplined or try new ways to strengthen an already good thing. 

#4 We are surrounded by like minded people

They aren't all just like us, but they are like minded in how they live their lives and make their decisions. That gives us a good sounding board when we need wisdom and it makes life more fun to run with them by our side. 

#5 We have balance

You are detailed. I'm big picture. You lean toward saving. I lean toward spending. You're a "think it through" guy and I'm an impulse gal. At times it feels frustrating, but all are necessary and bring a lot of depth to who we are as a couple. 

#6 Christ is our foundation
Things have changed so much over the years. Places we've lived, occupations, friends around us, number of kids, even how we relate to one another. But it all seems steady because our foundation is never changing. The foundation on Christ has been what brings peace even during uncertain times. 

#7 There is still attraction
You're losing your hair and I'm getting grey hair. The figures we once sported are not as they use to be. Our once perfect smiles have lost their straightness ever so slightly. But no matter... We're still attracted to one another. Somehow the memories we're making are adding to our fondness for one another. We're also learning the importance of heart change over physical appearance and that is what is drawing us toward each other.

#8 We're good students

We're studying one another and continually learning what makes each other tick. What does the other person enjoy/need/desire and how can we make that happen. We aren't sitting around waiting to be told how we can bless and love the other. I love how you  observe and then take action...coming through with the perfect gift or act of service that will bring life to me. 

#9 We refuse to let busy win

Let's face it... We're in the thick of it. It doesn't get much more busy than what we've got. Four kids, school involvement, multiple jobs, ministry life, volunteering, community, speaking engagements just to name a few. We aren't allowing these things to take over. We make sacrifices where it's needed to have time for eye contact and physical touch. We make the most of the nights that we throw ourselves into bed exhausted only to wake up and do it all over again. We pray to focus on each other and look for opportunities to do so. 

#10 What ya see is what ya get
We are genuine about our feelings. If its rough, it's rough. If it's awesome you know it. There's not much faking it in our world... With one another and other folks. We don't grow weary of keeping up false pretenses because we like to keep it real. This can be a major drag at times for us, but we are hardly left guessing about what's going on. 

#11 It's forever

This side of heaven and barring either of us dying... It's forever. We know that the vow we spoke and the commitment we made is a lasting one. It's a future promise that no matter what we do or don't do, what happens to us or doesn't happen for us- we'll be together!! We've already come through a few dark seasons and I'm certain there will be more but I'm also certain that we will be together on the other side of them. 

11 years and counting

11 years!!!   

our anniversary fell on a really busy weekend.  and that was fine because we have over celebrated this one!!  we went to cancun for my sister's wedding and decided that would be our anniversary trip and lance sent me on the getaway of a life time last weekend.... 

so, when the big day arrived, we scooped all our kids up and enjoyed breakfast at bread winners.  it was pretty crazy... riley would not even be in the picture

but they all got cinnamon rolls bigger than their heads and then fell into a sugar comma.

so, we win.

that evening was a member appreciation at church and lance reminded me why i love him so...

you can't take the camp out of this guy.  isn't he cute??

one of the things that i gave lance was his very own hint box.  he gave me one for christmas and he needed one.  we use them to give each other little hints about things that may help us feel loved.  can't wait to see what he puts in his.  

i also sent him 11 emails throughout the day with 11 things i love about our marriage... i'm going to post those tomorrow.

The rest of the story

So once Darcie and i sat down and hashed through details we put the whole story together.  Her husband, Matt, put his name on the waiting list for the craft weekend and WON.  if you haven't ventured to meg's site you may not realize that there are 1500 people waiting to get in and it is a random draw each time.  the odds are low!  matt asked around for people to join darcie before calling my guy.  he had to twist lance's arm a little considering the price is large.  lance happens to have two speaking opportunities coming up this fall that are going to off set the cost and matt took care of my air fare with miles that they had (wasn't that sweet??) in the end, lance realized this was a bucket list event for me and decided the sacrifice was worth it.... HE WAS RIGHT!

if you don't like people that take pictures of food turn back now because the rest of this post will be few words, lots of pictures, and yes mostly about food!  here we go!!

upon arriving at the Wichita airport, matt had arranged for a sweet pc staffer, maddy, to pick us up and take us out for coffee and gelato.  we had a couple of hours to kill before our "aprons" were picking us up.

  

back at the airport we found 2 other crafters (lori and mary) and hopped into the van!

we're here!!! 

front door.  making this soon for sure!!

 front entry, looking into the kitchen

upon arriving i was handed a margarita and told to look all around the house and settle in.  i had fun checking out all the different rooms and meeting the fun ladies i would be spending the weekend with.  

our first meal was chicken enchiladas with corn salad.  YUM!!  our only rule for the weekend was that we were not allowed to touch our dishes... just walk away from the table.  such a break for this momma!! ;)

 i think darcie was enjoying herself!!  she was beaming!

here was my spot to sleep... although, i spent very little time here.  and that little guy on my bed was part of our swag for the weekend.  his name is hoho!

craft central

more swag... this is how meg affentionately refers to goods that people send us for the weekend.  all of them have their own business and make adorable things.  i'll post some of my favorites and where you can find them later!

 breakfast on day two. more icing than cinnamon roll? yes, please.

after breakfast we loaded up and headed out for a morning of thrift stores and antiquing. 

here were some of my junk finds.  i'll have to show you pictures of how i transform them as i get to it.  although, that basket is already filled with cook books and on top of my fridge.  i wish i would have taken a picture of lunch on this day.  they packed a great meal of wraps, grapes, and brownies and we ate on the deck of the barn.  very unique moment!

back to the house and time to start crafting!

dinner.  beautiful salad and chilli with golden raisins.  don't knock it... it was Amazing!!  

there was a 10 pm snack both nights.  first night was cheesecake and this one we named bigger than your face chocolate cake.  both were just what i needed to keep crafting!

bunting is a new fave of mine... if you come by, beware, i might have hung tons of it by then!

 fabric chandelier for allie's room

i also made a pillow case, an apron, and a wire word that says "abide."

day three loveliness. coffee cake, fruit, and an iced latte.   

after breakfast, we had some photo shoots on the front lawn.

 this is the talented meg and kimberlee.  they were the hostesses with the mostesses.

  julie and natalie (friends)

lori and mary (college buddies)

dusti and belinda (sister-in-laws)

and somehow i missed a pic of the fabulous four... those ladies have been friends for quite a while!  however, tonya  (far left) was one of them and roomed with us. 

before i knew it, it was time to pack up and head home.  isn't this the happiest luggage you've ever seen?

my carry on was my bucket and i was just praying they let me take it... this was taken just after security... I MADE IT!!

 it was one of the most relaxing and life-giving weekends i've had!  coming home so quickly was hard... but who can resist this?  

those kids had their faces pressed to the glass!  LOVE THEM!!

griff gave his seal of approval to hoho and he has now become our family tooth pillow!

lance sisco... you really couldn't top this surprise and just so we're clear... i was 100% pleased!  thanks sweet man!  you are ONE of a KIND!!