Harvest Festival Fun

Today we went to the harvest festival at church ... and we had a BLAST (most of the time ...)

Here is how our day went down...

Now, Daddy was working and was gonna join us there when he finished. I decided to be brave and take the girls myself knowing he wouldn't be there for a while.

Half way there I realized that I forgot the camera. But, I did have the trusty cell phone:) Lucky you!!!

Our first stop was the corn maze. We left the stroller at the entrance and went in. Did I mention my bravery? Oh yeah, it paid off real well in the corn maze.... I was holding Sophie in one arm and holding Hattie's hand with the other. In the beginning both girls were enjoying it, then about half way through Hattie panicked. PA-NICKED! It got ugly from there. I had to drag her out screaming. By the time we got out she was inconsolable - and so was I. Sad to say, we were both crying. (I have no pictures of this moment. Shocking, I know...)

Eventually, with a little help from Mrs. Kathy (and a few donuts for Hattie - yes, a few ... what? Don't judge me!!!), we calmed down and made our way to the hay bails.

Oh, sweet hay bails, if I had only known of your goodness sooner ...



Hattie (sporting the first pair of sunglasses that she has ever kept on her face for more that 4.7 seconds) climbed on those bails for over an hour!!

And then Sophie decided she needed in on the fun!

So, yeah, ya see that other mom helping her child up the hay bail.

Now notice my ONE YEAR OLD daughter climbing up by herself. Oh yeah, Mother of The Year, that's me!!!

Eventually, Hubby came to our rescue - we were so very happy to see him!!

HE is a good parent and actually helped his ONE YEAR OLD BABY climb the bails!!!

SHOW OFF!!!

Only one thing could've gotten Hattie away from the hay bails. and that is horses!!! We rode on a horse drawn wagon and it was FUN!

This is what happens when Hattie catches you taking a picture of her ...

She whips her head the other way with such velocity that her hair actually flies up! Yep, she LOVES the camera!

Sophie, on the other hand, is a poser!

Eventually, we made our way to the pumpkin patch!

Hattie chose one right away, but then she gave it to Sophie ...

... because it was broken (see the stem in S's hand?).

And Hattie went off in search of another one.

Sophie was LOVING the tractor, until something a little more interesting caught her attention ...


Waldo the puppy!!!!

But, alas, Waldo soon became Hattie's new best friend and they went for a walk ...

... leaving poor Sophie all alone. But Daddy can always make it better.

Yay Daddy!

By this time, it was time to go. And this is what happened as soon as we got in the car ...

Seriously, we had not even started the car.

How cute is she?!?!?!

Hot For The Holidays - Week 6

So, here we are for another week. I gotta tell ya, I am feeling more than a little discouraged today. I have been a workout fiend this week - running (oh yeah, running ... have you MET me ... running, soooooo not my thing) on the treadmill at least a mile every day ... EVERYDAY, DVD workouts at least once a day (and a few times I had to jump around a crawling baby and a curious preschooler - which should SO count as extra!!!), totally sticking to healthy foods and COMPLETELY avoiding soda and coffee. I cannot tell you the no-caffeine induced headache I have been nursing this week, but I have stuck to only water, some juice and milk (in small doses) for beverages.

And, can I tell ya, that after all of this, to step on the scale and find only a .2 loss was very deflating. Now, to be fair, when I checked on Tuesday I was up a pound, so I guess any loss is a good thing. At least that is what I am holding on to. But still ...

As you can see, I am in need of some encouraging.

Seriously, so far this week I have found a carton of ice cream in the basement freezer, a big 'ol bag of corn dogs in the kitchen freezer and a Costco size box of graham crackers (a serious weakness of mine) in the pantry. So, clearly, a fall would not be hard. Staying focused and on this wagon, THAT is a feat.

Now, we are supposed to tell which body part we dislike or want changed. That would be the part between my noggin and my toes. Oh, OK, if I have to choose, I would say that my upper torso (arms and shoulders), because I want so badly to be able to wear tank tops and other such cuteness in the summer. If I could somehow, magically, have arms like Barby K., that would be swell!!!!!

Does Barby K. even read this? Hmmmm????

Plus, one single chin would not be so bad.

Anyhoo, because laughter is exercise, here is a workout for ya...



Now, that is FUNNY!!!!

Love Dare Anyone?

Alright - who's with me on this one? A few days ago I told ya all about the Fireproof movie and the "Love Dare" within the story. I also told ya I was planning on doing it for/to and possibly WITH my man. Well, actually, I hadn't planned on doing it WITH him, but he read over my shoulder and caught me so now we may be doing it together.

Hmmmmmm, wonder if I can get him to blog?!?!

Probably not...

Anyhoo, I am thinking that I can post each day's challenge and y'all (that is my Beth Moore impersonation ... did ya like it? Yeah, not so much ... sorry) can play along and comment about your experiences. Maybe, we can even do GUEST POSTS!!!!!!!

Oh, wait, don't run away ... Purely volunteer basis, I promise!!!!

So, I am gonna start on Monday. I will post the rules for Day 1 then. On Tuesday, I will post the dare for Day 2 and my experiences with Day 1 - both success and failures. Keepin' it real here, keepin it real! And y'all can comment on YOUR experiences.

The thing is, if you are not doing the dare as a couple - i.e. WITH your spouse - then you cannot let your spouse KNOW that you are doing it. So, you either BOTH take the dare or you take it in SECRET!!!!!

Make sense?

And remember, even a good, strong, HEALTHY marriage can benefit from this. I would like to think that my man and I are extremely happy and that we are more in love today than we were when we married, but it can always get better. This dare brings GOD into your marriage (if He is not already there!!) and shows you where TRUE love - the kind that does not end - comes from. There are no losers here, I promise!!!!

Any takers?

So far it is Calista and I (and possibly my man:))...

Let me know... see ya on Monday!

Picture Perfect Monday - Indian Summer

This weekend we had some "indian summer" weather, and we took advantage of it ...

...Sophie (in the execsaucer because she kept heading for the street) did some serious JUMPIN' ...
... Hattie played Cinderella with the carwash bubbles ...
... and OBVIOUSLY enjoyed it a LOT ...
... Sophie played Peek-a-boo ...
... and enjoyed THAT so much ...
... that she wore herself right out!!!!

Clean car and happy kids! GOOD DAY!!!!

Fireproof

Hubby and I saw Fireproof on Friday night. OH. MY. WORD. What a good movie. First off, it was from the Facing The Giants people, and that is one of my fave movies, so I knew it would be good. But, seriously, I had no idea!

The first couple of scenes had me a bit worried about the acting level ('cause I am a bit picky about that), but it got better. The story - oh man - was gut wrenchingly real. I know marriages that have been there. My husband was IN a marriage that was there. They are all around - people who just "fell out of love". Not realizing that love is not a feeling but a choice and a commitment. AND not knowing where REAL love comes from. We are soooooo incapable of really loving without God. He IS love and true love comes only from Him.

I know (because I SAW it) that hubby fought hard for his marriage. But he fought it alone and, unlike the wife in the movie, she never came around. She made choices that HURT, not just hubby but everyone involved. She hurt her friends, her church family (I was among them) and, especially, her sons. I know she hurt them because I had to really earn their trust when I came along. But more than anyone she hurt her husband. Another pain that caused me to have to work to earn the trust. But amidst all of the pain, lessons were learned. And a closer relationship with God was forged.

So, in the movie, both spouses are at the end and want out. They are headed, at full speed, toward a divorce. But the husband's dad steps in and gives his son a dare. A love dare. For 40 days he is to follow the steps in a journal given to him by dad. Each day is a step to take in rebuilding the love that has been broken down. And each day builds on the last day. For instance day one is about respect. He must hold his tongue and respect his wife enough to not say an unkind word to her - even if it means not retaliating when SHE does. And then day two is to CONTINUE to not be unkind and to add doing a kind gesture, etc...

I don't want to give away the rest. Let's just say that it is NOT easy, but along the way, Caleb realizes that there is only One way to find love (and what that One way is!!!) and that it is worth the fight. And it IS a fight. Big time!

So, there is a website and a book that detail the dare and it's steps. I think I am gonna try it on my man. We have a solid, strong marriage. But, as the speaker at church said today (and don't ya just love how God puts all of this together!!!!), all marriages could use some work and can get better.

So, does anyone want to do this with me? I can put the step for each day on here and then y'all can comment about how ya did and how he reacted. The thing is, you can do it as a couple OR you can do it for him on your own, but if you do it that way, he is not to know you are doing it. Sneaky huh?! So, let me know if you are interested. I am gonna do it either way. And I will be sure to let ya know how it is working:)