Better Late Than Never, Right?

Think back to Saturday. I know, it was almost a week ago. And if you live in AR, it turned out to be a sad day. Are you there? Is it last Saturday in your mind? Ok, good.

We planned for a couple of weeks to have some friends over to watch the Hogs play Saturday afternoon. I had gone to visit my Nanny last Thursday and while I was there I got word that a few more people were coming over Saturday.

My first response was to stress over the details (because that is what I do!) but God reminded me of what I had just read that week - that stress is a form of arrogance. And really, it was just a Hog Watch Party, there was no need to be perfect. Sometimes it is hard for me to even say those words - "no need to be perfect". But that is another post for another time. This post is all about some Game Day Fun!

I brought out all of my favorite Game Day serving pieces and got my Game Day cook on!

Menu: 

"Hogs" in blankets

Chips, Salsa and Cheese Dip

Cheetos - for my girls

Lemon Bars

Carmel iced cake - thanks to my M-I-L

Razorback cookies - thanks to Jill

Strawberries with chocolate dip - thanks to Alicia

And Chili for our meal. Can I just say that I love Fall and I LOVE chili and in my mind the two go hand-in-hand.

Is your mouth watering? ha!

I got the girls all dressed in their Game Day shirts I made them. We Called the Hogs no less than ten times that morning as we were getting things ready for the party. Laila likes to throw in a "Hogs" at random times during the Hog Call. Example: "Woooooo Pig Sooie! ............ Hogs!" Oh, the silliness! We also discovered that Laila really enjoys salsa! So much so, that she wanted her picture taken with the chips and salsa!

We cheered hard! Mika cried a few times because the house got so rowdy and loud. Bless her sweet heart! Then the rest of us cried during the 4th quarter... not really, but we felt like it. Even though we lost, we had a great time hanging out with our friends and family. P and L were in and out during the afternoon (they were up at a church carnival with Nana and DaddyGrand) so I don't have a picture of all three of them. Trust me, they looked cute in their Game Day outfits!
 
Sunday morning we got up and got the girls ready to go to church with Jared's parents. We sent them off and then left for our little mini-vacation. We had tickets to a Cardinals baseball game Monday night and had planned to spend a couple of days in St. Louis, just the two of us.

This was the first time I've left Mika overnight. I think the girls were all really good, at least that is what Nana says! :) They seemed to have fun with their grandparents while we were away.

The vacation was much needed for Jared and I. We spent those couple of days holding hands and laughing and singing in the car. We went to a movie, ate pizza at 10pm, shopped, did some tv shopping, drove all around the St. Louis area - thanks to the GPS, watched a ballgame, and really just enjoyed our time together.

We missed the girls like crazy and couldn't wait to get home to them.

Since we've been home, it has been a crazy blur of laundry, cleaning, unpacking, pulling out Fall clothes and putting up Summer clothes, painting, and loving on my babies.

I hope you are all having a great week!

Play Date, Painting and Preciousness

This morning we had a play date with a friend of mine from high school. She has the sweetest little boy Peyton's age and baby boy Mika's age. The kids had a good time playing (our playroom is getting a lot of use here lately!) and us Mommies had a good time visiting. We even managed to take all five kids to lunch. It has been a while since I've done a restaurant with my kids without help and it was a little hard on me. But we survived!

Last night I finished some paintings for a sweet friend. I believe she recently was promoted and moved to a new office. Her hubby asked me if I would paint something for her new office as a surprise.... well, he spilled the beans so it isn't a surprise. Ha! I'm so thrilled that I finished these paintings for her. I love them. They would go perfectly in a couple of rooms in my home. I really hope she loves them as much as I do.

The quotes are really neat too! Now I have a list of other projects to finish.... I'm getting there though. I thoroughly enjoy creating things and I am honored to be able to do this for my dear friends.

And can I just say that I love having girls. Their sisterly bond is so precious. They play together, look out for each other, pick on each other and love on each other. Their favorite thing is to hug on each other. I love knowing that they are already best friends and I pray their relationships with each other will only grow stronger as they grow up. I love these sweet babies!

Love.

Woooo Pig!

Let me start by saying Go Hogs! Thank you for deciding to win Saturday's game. Let's get another win this coming weekend.... ok?!

This is a quick recap of our weekend.... I have a to-do list that is growing by the minute today. And I've planned a little excursion for the girls and me one day this week so my time to complete my list is getting shorter and shorter.

We had a little impromptu watch party Saturday at our house. It was fun, but left me feeling exhausted. I LOVE to entertain in our home and even though I didn't do much for Saturday's party, I enjoyed having people over.

Friday our sweet Jill and Amoolia (that's how my Laila says Amelia) came over to play. We had such fun.... the Mommies got to chat and the little girls played so hard. I love being able to share the same struggles with other Moms.... it is so special when we can relate to each other and the things we feel/think/do as Mommies. We can't wait to do it again!

Sunday afternoon my dad came into town and we enjoyed a fun dinner with him. And of course, once Mika and Laila were in bed asleep, Pappy and Peyton headed to Wal-Mart. That is their special thing to do together. They came home with some new toys, powdered donuts, fruit snacks and milk.

Our weekend was busy, but fun. In any free time I had, I was busy working away at finishing some projects for some friends. I can't wait to give them their pieces. And since I've been so busy this weekend I didn't snap one picture of us doing any of our fun things. But... be looking for some cuteness in pictures this week.

Pray With Me...

I have a sweet friend (actually she's my sister's friend, but I consider her mine as well) who had her first baby in August. Payne is absolutely precious, you should go have a look at him! (click here)

Did you go look? He's a doll, right?!

Did you read his sweet Mommy's post today? They took him to the doctor for a weight check/check up and he is losing weight. They are trying a week of formula supplements with his breastmilk to see if that helps him gain weight. Otherwise, I think they are thinking of putting him back in the hospital.

If you are a parent, you know this is not exactly the news you want to hear about your sweet newborn. Obviously, Ryan and Sarah are worried, upset, scared..... and a whole mix of other emotions. So I'm asking you today to take a moment and pray for them. Pray that their minds and emotions will ease so they can focus on taking care of their little boy. And pray for Payne to grow bigger and gain some weight.

Have a good Thursday evening y'all and thank you for joining me in prayer.

Wordless Wednesday

almost wordless, that is.

Look at my sweet baby girl's curl on the top of her head.... She has very little hair everywhere else, but there is a patch of really long hair on her crown that curls around. I love it!

Out of Sorts

Things at our house have been a little out of sorts the past few days. My sweet baby girl has been in the 7th Month Attachment Phase (don't try to tell me there is no such thing). On top of that she has been all kinds of fussy and not herself (I'm thinking teething, but can't find any teeth coming in) which makes for an exhausted Momma who hasn't been able to get much done.

Thankfully, today has been different... so far. What that really means is that I'm playing catch-up on all the things I've let go over the past few days. However, I just had to share the picture I snapped of my sweetie while she was napping yesterday (a nap that was long overdue and still didn't seem to help her fussiness).

Bless her sweet heart - that could NOT have been comfortable. 

And now back to the laundry and the cleaning and the dishes and such.

Have a great Tuesday y'all!

Refreshing

At home this week, things have been difficult. For some reason, my girls have been in some bad moods and having some behavior issues. We are surviving though. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've actually spent this evening praying and pondering some things I can do differently to maybe help them behave differently.

In the midst of these hard days, I've had some refreshing evenings.

Monday night I "rejoined" my Ladies' Group. We call us the Ladies' Group (LG) because no other definition fits. We do a little Bible Study, a little support, a lot of praying for each other, some eating, and so on and so forth. I'm just overjoyed that I'm able to be a part of the group again. I've been absent for a few years due to babies and my sweet husband's work schedule. But I'm back now, baby!

So I got to start the week with a great night with some great women. I've been struggling lately with "friend" issues. It is so hard to find where I fit in - being a SAHM makes it hard to make friends and I don't always feel like I fit in with the friends I do have simply because we are in different places in our lives, even though I love them all dearly and know we will always be there for each other. And really, it is just hard for me to make time for anyone other than my hubby and my babies. Taking care of them and our home doesn't leave much time for me to spend with friends. But I've decided that I need to do more things for myself because I know it will make me a better woman, wife and mother. So this is a true blessing to be back in the LG.

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of our group. In fact, I have no pictures for you tonight, it just isn't going to happen today.

Then last night I was able to have dinner with my oldest friend. I can honestly say we laughed from the moment we sat down until we got into our separate vehicles. It is truly refreshing being with someone who knows YOU.

And tonight... like I said, I've been working on some things I can change to help the atmosphere around our home. And I also started reading our LG book Crazy Love.

I'm already addicted and had to make myself put it down. I'm pretty sure I would have read the entire book tonight. I'm excited to see where this book takes me. Have you read it? 

Now that I'm feeling refreshed and ready to face tomorrow, I think I'll go to bed. Good night and have a great Thursday.

Love.

Last Weekend on the Lake

Labor day is the unofficial end of summer. So we celebrated with one last weekend on the lake. Jared's parents went with us and we had a great time.

The weather was great - not too cool and not too hot. The girls enjoyed swimming, jumping in and snacking.

They even got the rafts out for some raft surfing! They LOVED jumping from the boat onto the rafts. It was very cute and funny to watch.

**Side note : how cute is my hubby??? Love that man!

We did the lake for a couple of days and really enjoyed being all together. We did miss Whit though. She had been sick last week and decided to stay home and rest.

We got up Monday and headed to the barn after breakfast. At first the girls weren't too sure about riding. They haven't been riding all summer and I think they were just a little nervous because they couldn't remember riding before. Peyton warmed up to the idea first.

She rode with Pappy for a while. This is what Laila was doing while P was riding:

Cautiously watching from behind the fence. Eventually she decided to give it a try and I couldn't be more proud of her!! Laila is very cautious around animals and I was convinced that she wouldn't ride at all since she wouldn't even get near the horses at first. But she decided she wanted to ride so we let her...

I just love the look on her face in this picture. She was still a little uneasy but she was determined to do it! Dollar was such a great horse and the girls both really loved him. After a minute of riding with Pappy, they were ready to ride on their own. How big are they??? I love this picture of them! I can't express how proud of them I am. I love them so much it hurts. Sweet sisters.

We also played a little on the RTV out at the barn. Peyton really liked it (as did Jared!).

Overall, it was a nice weekend. I'm so thankful for my family and the good times we have together.

And I believe the other day I was saying that Mika has started picking up food to eat. Here is a picture I snapped of her stuffing her face. Ha! I can't believe how fast she is growing... she's really started crawling around (army crawling) and tonight she took her first bath in the big tub - no baby tub. Oooooooh, I just love her so much.

I hope you all have had a wonderful Tuesday!

Love.

Ok, Ok, Ok...

I had this great post started.... then I tried to upload some pictures from my camera to go along with it. That darn camera is giving me fits, so that post will have to wait. I will replace it tonight with a rundown of what's been up with us.

• Peyton has been begging me to go to school. She even plays like she is going to school and packs books and such in her backpack, grabs the toy keys and picks a spot in the house to call "school" and goes there. Ha! So I've decided to help her out and give her some worksheets to do while she is at "school". She's doing great and is so proud of what she can do. I'm a little proud too!
• Mika has been eating Gerber puffs and cheerios and I have the cutest picture of her shoving one in her mouth - yep, it is still on the camera. Darn camera. She loves her finger foods. She is also going through a phase (I hope that is all it is) where she doesn't want milk, but eats the mess out of some baby food. Silly girl.
• Tonight Laila was getting into trouble (she didn't have a nap today and was just a little tired and moody). I told her she needed to change her attitude if she wanted to stay up for a little while (I tell the girls frequently that they need to change their attitudes). Well, my sweet little two-year-old continued to disobey and when I told her it was time to go to bed she said over and over "But I'll change my attitude now". It was so cute, she has the sweetest voice and demeanor and when she says things like that it will just make you smile - she still went to bed though. :)
• I put up some of my Fall decor. I love Fall! 
• I've been looking for some Hogs shirts for my girls to all wear this fall on game days (they will not be going to games, but we can support the team from home!). I can't find anything that I like, so I've decided to make some. Eeek! If they are cute, I'll show you. Don't expect much.
• Since we've had some cooler days lately, the girls have been able to play outside. 

P's legs are way too long for the little tricycle but she still loves to play on it! Ha!

Ok.... I'm being attacked by a mosquito as I'm typing this post and I can't seem to kill it. And if y'all are lucky, you'll get a better post with the pictures that are still hanging out in the camera tomorrow. I'll go ahead and wish you all a happy weekend now, in case the camera is still acting up tomorrow. 

Happy Weekend!