Brrrr. . . it’s cold in here!

I am writing this blog post as I sit at the ice rink freezing. Tommy and Sarah begin lessons today, and they have a couple of hours of free skate before their lesson starts.

This is our first time at this ice rink. We normally skate at the mall, however this rink just opened up ~ brand new ~ and it is much closer to home, so we opted to do lessons here. The rinks are really comparable – floor made of ice, and me sitting outside the plastic walls watching. Big difference, however, in the air temperature between here and the mall. I normally am perfectly comfortable in a jacket, but here – I think I’d feel better in a heavy winter coat! I tried sewing for awhile, but my fingers were getting numb, so I stopped.

I’ve got a crockpot filled with nice hot soup waiting for us at home, when we are done. I’m trying an experiment – I poured chicken broth into my crockpot, added some chopped carrots and celery, a few spices, and left it to simmer. When we get home, I will toss in a bag of tortellini from the freezer (minus the bag, of course) and let them cook until tender. Then we will try out my experiment and see how it is. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I think I’ll put in some cornbread while the tortellini cooks. I may need to break out the hot chocolate to thaw myself out sufficiently.

Until later ~

Blessings,
Nancy

Anna’s 6th Birthday!

Our youngest daughter Anna celebrated her 6th birthday last week. Her choice for a birthday outing was a girl trip to McDonald’s for lunch and then to the American Girl doll store. Jeff took the day off of work, so that all of the girls could go – Laura, our oldest daughter is our resident babysitter, and she was included in the trip.

Our first stop was lunch at McDonald’s. The playground wasn’t very crowded so she had lots of room to play -

We took a minute to check out Ronald’s shoes – aren’t they great?

After she had her fill of the playground, we headed off to American Girl, stopping by to pick up my Mom, who made our girl party complete.

Once inside the store we spent the next hour running around following Anna and Sarah as they explored every nook and cranny of the store. Anna was choosing a new doll – her birthday present, and Sarah was choosing a new doll outfit. They finally decided on their purchases, we paid for them, and then decided to have a little snack at the Bistro inside the store. I pulled out my camera and took a few pictures while we relaxed and had a bite to eat (thanks, Mom!) -

Here is Anna with her new doll, Elizabeth, enjoying one of her favorite snacks – strawberries!

And here is Sarah with her doll, Mia, who is wearing the new doll outfit that Sarah picked out -

When we left, I took our traditional picture in front of the store -

Dinner that night was Anna’s favorite food – fried chicken (she calls it “bone chicken”), with mac and cheese, cole slaw, and biscuits. She chose chocolate meringue pies for dessert. I found these sweet glittery star candles to put in the pie -

As you can tell, something else was put into the pie, too – David’s fingers, I believe!

Anna is growing up so fast – it seems that she just turned four and now she’s six. She is such a sweet girl and is loved dearly by each and every one of us.

Thanks for visiting! Have a lovely day ~

Blessings,
Nancy

A Few Snapshots From Last Weekend . . .

Last weekend was a busy one for us, but thanks to a glitch with my computer and uploading pictures, I haven’t been able to post about it until now. But, I have managed to outsmart my computer for once in my life . . . heh, heh, heh (evil scientist laugh) . . . when even the resident tech go-to support people couldn’t solve the problem. It just goes to show you that if you fiddle around and have a little patience you can beat it at it’s (the computer’s) tricks – either that or completely crash it – in which case, the computer has the last laugh. But, not this time. Thank you for indulging me as I digress.

Anyway, like I was saying, it was a busy weekend for us last weekend. Friday night was our annual Reformation Day celebration at church. Costume opportunity #1. Everyone is invited to dress in medieval attire, which means six costumes around here. Thankfully many of these are worn and handed down year to year, and we only ended up having to purchase 2 new ones this year, which wasn’t too bad – especially since we waited until the last week and they were already marked down 30%. Here are a few snapshots we took before leaving home ~

We spent the evening enjoying a fellowship meal, hearing a short talk on the life of John Calvin, and, after the costume contest, the children ran around the church – attending various booths to play games that each, in some way, taught about Calvin’s life. Jeff and I ran the “Authority of the Bible” booth, where the children had to throw balls and knock down every book (cardboard reproductions) except the Bible. It was lots of fun, but I was so caught up in the events that I forgot to take pictures! So, these will have to suffice – and the older girls looked so lovely in their long medieval dresses, too! Oh, well, maybe I’ll do better next year!

Costume opportunity #2 -the next night we attended the Fall Festival that we have been going to for many years back in our old town. It is full of games, bounce houses, ponies, and candy. It seems to get bigger every year and is sometimes a lesson in patience as we wait in line with the crowds for each event. This night required 5 more costumes (now you know what I spent the previous week doing). I managed to get more pictures this night ~

Our group included three clowns, a cheerleader, and Elizabeth Swann -

We played Limbo . . .

Baseball (or should I say “air-ball”?) . . .

Decorated cupcakes . . .

And pet the animals in the petting zoo . . .

When we were sufficiently worn out, we headed to my mom’s house (an annual tradition) and the kids dumped and sorted their candy – always a highlight of the evening – especially since the rest of us can sit down and relax finally!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend – ours is gearing up to be another busy one, but at least no costumes are involved this time!

Blessings,
Nancy

Keepers Cake Decorating

Last night was our monthly Keepers of the Faith meeting. The girls spent the evening in the church kitchen, decorating the cutest little pumpkin cakes I’d ever seen.

They were made in mini bundt pan molds and then the girls decorated them with orange, brown, and green icing. There were many different variations of pumpkins that resulted ~

The girls also made fruit kabobs which they used to decorate a pumpkin for a centerpiece, which turned out just lovely ~

It was a fun evening, but the best part of all, in David’s opinion, was eating the cakes at the end ~

Blessings,
Nancy

A Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

Monday found us with a beautiful Fall day just perfect for our trip to the Pumpkin Farm. After our morning studies and a quick lunch, we packed in the van and headed for the farm. It was a lovely drive, down country roads lined with farms and Autumn trees.

We arrived at the Pumpkin Farm and were greeted inside the front gate by many friendly (and hungry) goats. Thankfully, they were behind fences! We had been given cups of feed when we entered and the children started feeding them while I started taking pictures -

In addition to the many goats, there were also sheep to feed -

And a few Longhorn steer, too – in classic Texas style -

Next we took advantage of the abundance of Fall decorations and pumpkins around the property for a few posed pictures -

We spent some time climbing on the hay bale spider, one of several neat hay bales around -

The next part of our adventure was the hay ride, always lots of fun -

Finally, it was time to hit the pumpkin patch and pick pumpkins. Each person was allowed to pick one small pumpkin from the patch to take home (part of the entrance fee). It was fun wandering around the field looking for the ones we wanted -

We did a little more socializing with the animals before leaving -

And took this group picture – they really did have a good time, even if they don’t look like it! ( I told Jeff it looks like a mug shot!) I think they were just a bit tired by this point – I know David was -

And speaking of David – did you notice how many pictures of David are in this post? Can you tell he’s the baby of the family? Well, here’s one more, for the road, because I’m a mother and I just can’t help myself (again) -

Blessings,
Nancy

Cowboys and Cowgirls for a Day

Our Keepers of the Faith Club last month was all about horses. We met at the home of our friends who have three horses and were given a lesson in horse care, grooming, riding, and history. The boys club joined us for this one and they all had a turn on the horses. Here are a few of the pictures I took throughout the evening of my kids ~

David was dressed for the occasion, donning his cowboy boots ~

When we first arrived, we spent some time just admiring and interacting with the horses through the fence ~

After a brief talk on the history of horses, they were brought outside the fence so that the children could learn how to groom them, and were given a chance to brush them down for a bit ~

Two of the horses were then saddled up and it was time to ride. One was a Tennessee Walker and the other was a Quarter horse – their gaits were so different! I had not realized that there were differences in horses’ gaits. Each child got a turn on one or both of the horses ~

David patiently waited for his turn . . .

. . . but right when it was time for him to ride, he heard that there was something even better being offered over by the fence ~

I have pictures of Laura on the horses as well, but have been forbidden to post them, which I wouldn’t dare go against as she would most surely retaliate with pictures on her own blog!

When it was time to leave, we had to practically pry Sarah away ~ she loves horses so much ~

It was a fun time, even if the evening was a warm one. In the end we rode off into the sunset in on our 15 passenger van horse, enjoying the air conditioned transportation that we so rely on here in Texas!

Blessings ya’ll,
Nancy

Anna’s First Dentist Visit

Anna had her first visit to the dentist yesterday. She was so excited to be old enough to go, that she was counting the days down for a week before the appointment. She had been with me to a number of appointments for her siblings, so she knew what to expect. She had x-rays taken and then it was time to clean her teeth -

She watched “Little Bill” cartoons on the tv while her teeth were being cleaned and handled it all like a pro. A little while later, she had sparkling clean, gleaming teeth to show off -

Her favorite parts of visiting the dentist were going up and down in the chair, being given a goody bag complete with princess toothbrush and toothpaste, and picking a prize from the treasure box – she picked bubbles.

Alas, they did discover one cavity in her little mouth, so we will be making another trip back to have it repaired. When she heard this, her eyes lit up and she has asked me at least ten times in the last 24 hours when she will get to go back – let the countdown commence again!

Blessings,
Nancy

A Busy Week

I have been a bit down on my posting this week . . . it’s been a a busy week!

Last Sunday was our son Ryan’s 21st birthday, and we took him out to lunch after church to celebrate.

Wednesday was our son Robert’s 24th birthday. We also spent the day with Jeff’s dad who was in town for a visit. We cooked out burgers and hot dogs, went to the park in the afternoon, and then out to dinner to celebrate Robert’s birthday.

The next day (yesterday) was our 26th anniversary. Jeff and I spent the afternoon at the movies (Star Trek) and then went shopping in the historic downtown shops that we love, followed by dinner out at Chilli’s.

So, you see why I haven’t been posting very much! Actually a few times I sat in front of the computer, just staring as I couldn’t come up with anything to say – I guess my brain was occupied everywhere else! And I didn’t even think to take pictures other than a few at the park, such as the one you see at the top.

Today I will be making a quick run to the grocery store for ingredients for a meal for our friends at church who have a new baby son. After I deliver the meal this afternoon, we will all be relaxing in the pool for awhile – maybe I’ll find my brain again floating around in the water – if there’s not too much yelling and splashing that is!

I love Friday nights because I just prepare something easy for the kids (sometimes I call an FYO night and they “Fix Your Own”), and then Jeff cooks out steaks or chicken for the late night crew after the rest are tucked in bed. Jeff always gets to pick the movie on Fridays, which we watch while enjoying our meal.

I’ve just been summoned to view the latest critter finding in the pool – a baby turtle.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Nancy

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Last week we celebrated our daughter Sarah’s 11th birthday. Truth be told, we’ve been celebrating for several weeks, but that’s fine, because Sarah is worth celebrating! We normally allow the birthday person in the family to pick a special place to go out on their birthday. This year, Sarah wanted to have a girl day at the American Girl store. We had planned to go on her birthday, but when she found out that there was going to be a booksigning by the author of the newest doll of the year book a couple of weeks before her birthday, she asked if we could go early, which we decided to do.

So, a few Saturdays ago, Sarah, Anna, and I headed off to spend a lovely girl day together. When we arrived at the store, our first stop was the craft table, where the girls made bookmarks and colored signs which were put up on a “friendship wall” in the store ~

Next we had Sarah’s “Chrissa” book signed by the author, Mary Casanova, who was very nice, and spoke with the girls for a few moments, and then I snapped their picture ~

We did a little shopping, and then headed upstairs to the Bistro for lunch. This was fun – they had special chairs for the dolls to sit in next to the girls and even gave them doll-sized menus to peruse ~

We had appetizers of country bread and cheese dip, and then enjoyed our individual lunches – Spaghetti for Sarah, Macaroni and Cheese for Anna, and a Sirloin Burger for me. It was all very delicious (the dolls thought so, too.) ~

After a bit more shopping, it was time to go, but their smiles said it was a special day indeed ~

That same evening, we celebrated all of the March birthdays at the home of my brother and sister-in-law. Sarah had a giant chocolate chip cookie decorated in an ice skating theme and enjoyed celebrating with all of the extended family ~

On the day of her actual birthday, Sarah was treated to lunch at Long John Silver’s with her Dad while they ran some errands together, and then we celebrated that evening with her favorite home-cooked dinner – Smothered Chicken (recipe coming soon) ~

She had a “Bolt” cake and ice cream for dessert ~

And opened up a few presents ~

Sarah is growing up so much, and is getting to be such a help to me. She is so sweet and special and we are so proud of her and love her very much.

Coming soon (as soon as I can get around to it!) – that recipe for Smothered Chicken (one of my childhood favorites), as well as pictures of our visit to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate David’s birthday (yes, it’s been busy around here!)

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Last week was our son Tommy’s 12th birthday. It was such a busy week, that I decided to write a post after the fact about how we spent the day. Then my computer went down . . . so now I am finally getting around to writing about it.

The day started out with balloons and confetti – all over the living room!

We’re still finding it in various places a week later!

Tommy decided that rather than going out to dinner, he wanted to go to the ice rink for the afternoon and then have his favorite meal cooked at home. So, he, Sarah, Matthew and I headed to the mall, where we met Jeff, who took the second half of the day off. We ate lunch at the food court, made a quick trip into the candy store and then it was to the rink!

Here are a few of the pictures that I took throughout the afternoon -

Sarah -

Matthew didn’t skate this day, but spent his time going back and forth between the rink and the mall. Finally, after several hours of chilly fun, it was a tired birthday boy who removed his skates to head home -

When we got home I prepared Tommy’s dinner choice of Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Caeser Salad, and Applesauce – I will be posting the Mac and Cheese recipe soon!

Dinner was topped off with Chocolate Meringue pies, also the request of the birthday boy -

It looks like he can’t believe how many candles there are, just like his mama! (or maybe he’s just tired from all that skating!) -

After dinner, we sent Tommy on a treasure hunt for his presents. Here he is reading one of the clues -

He found a few!

It was a good day, and a good celebration. I can hardly believe it’s been 12 years since Tommy was born! He is such a blessing in our family.

Stay tuned for more birthday fun as there are two more birthdays coming up in our family in the next few weeks!

Have a nice day!

Blessings,
Nancy