Happy Halloween...One Last Time

Sorry. I couldn't resist. I just loved this pic of me and my girl.

Alright. Officially done with Halloween.
See ya next year.
Go Texans!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

One Fine Day

Casey is out of town. He's in Sweetwater, Texas speaking at an honest-to-goodness revival. Due to his absence, I did not go to Pilates, nor did we have our small group. So today, Tuesday, which is normally our craziest day, turned out to be a very slow, quiet, long, luxurious day. It was fabulous. It seems like everyday we have something. But today, nothing.

We took our time with breakfast.
We spent most of the morning in our pajamas, just playing and coloring and reading.
She took a long nap. And it is possible that I might have rested my eyes for a brief period, as well. I can't really say, for sure. ;)
When she finally woke up, we decided to venture out into the beautiful day.
We went to the park.
We met a new friend.
We had a quiet dinner.
We finished our day snuggling on the couch, watching It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! (Always a classic!)

Now, if that was all that had happened, it would have been a wonderful day, but a little bonus landed on my doorstep this afternoon. (A little back story before I proceed - A while ago, I was talking to a close friend about the cuteness and surprising versatility of a mustard yellow ballet flat. After this conversation, I began to be convinced that my wardrobe could indeed benefit from a pair of mustard yellow ballet flats. Well, after some reading, a convicting sermon on simplicity last Sunday, and a little personal reflection, I decided that I did not, in fact, need these shoes or anything else for that matter. The subject was closed.)

So onto the story. Today, on my doorstep was this.
And inside the box, were THESE!!!!!
Gasp!!!!! Casey picked these out (with a little help from a friend ;), bought them and sent them to me! A shoe surprise! I have never received a shoe surprise before! Shoe surprises are delightful! These are by far the coolest shoes I own. Well done, Casey! ...and friend!

Casey and I were talking a few weeks ago about being more intentional with each other, being more thoughtful, going out of our way for one another. Well, with the Bible and now these, Casey is two points up. I'd better get my wifey act together here! ;) (Not that he's keeping tabs.)

To Casey...thank you AGAIN for thinking of me and making me feel so special.
I miss you.
I love you.

Oh, Braelyn!

It seems like everyday, Braelyn does something that is completely hilarious to me. Here a few of her most recent classic moments.

1. Last Tuesday, while I was at Pilates, Casey and Braelyn spent some quality time with a box of 96 crayons and a collection of coloring books that have seen better days. During the course of their artistic bonding, a certain orange crayon happen to break. As their time went on, Casey noticed that the broken tip of the crayon was missing, AND that Braelyn was rubbing her nose a lot. Hmmm? Suspicious. When I returned, Casey told me that he suspected that Braelyn had inserted the orange crayon bit into her nose. "No!" I thought, "Braelyn doesn't stick things up her nose!" Later that night, while our house was full of college students, there was still some uncertainty about whether there was actually crayon in our daughter's nose. So, I grabbed our trusty flashlight and took a peek up her little nostril. There it was. Orange crayon bit. It was like a miniature orange street cone up her nose. Oh Lord! We called our favorite Mommy M.D. and she assured us it would work its way out, but bedtime was upon us and I couldn't have orange crayon bit flying up and down my daughter's nose all night long. I grabbed some tweezers and chased her around for a bit. (Don't forget, a serious, life-changing Bible study was going on in the other room.) At first it made her giggle when I began to dig around in her nose, but then she decided that it was no longer funny and started crying, which was fine by me, cause the crayon bit started to slide down. At this point she was refusing to come near me, but I managed to persuade her to look in the mirror. There, with her own eyes she saw the tip of the orange crayon bit peeking out of her nostril. This was hilarious to both her and me, and since she was able to watch the procedure take place, I was able to extract the dangling orange crayon bit.

2. For several weeks now, Braelyn has started referring to me as "Honey," especially when I am foolishly interfering with her agenda. Some examples:
- (I told her to leave the swiffer alone.) "But, I am cleaning, Honey."
- (Time for bed.) "But, Honey, I don't want to go to bed."
- (I told her she couldn't have dessert until after dinner.) "I want a cookie, Honey."
How am I supposed to address disobedience under these freakishly cute conditions!! Huh?! HUH?!

3. This morning, Braelyn got up while it was still dark, about 6:30, and like I do every morning, I went to go get her and brought her in bed with me for a few minutes to give myself a chance to fully wake up. This morning, before returning to my bed, I made a detour to the bathroom. I warned her that the light would be bright. So, I set her down and was, um...you know... going potty and Braelyn promptly turned around, went to her room and came back with her sunglasses on. At first I thought she just felt like some early morning accessorizing, but then I realized that she was being quite practical...the light was just too bright that early in the morning. Funny girl!

My Husband...A Man of the Word

I'm not sure what day the ESV Bible people announced that they were publishing a new study Bible, but I'm pretty sure that my husband pre-ordered his on that very day with a song in his heart. For months and months, my husband waited for this Bible...a ten pound, leather-bound, mappy-happy, illustrated, commentated version of the glorious Word of God.

Early this month, it came.

And do you want to know what that man did?

He opened the box, unwrapped this phone-book of a Bible, walked over to me and handed it to me. He didn't even look inside. He gave it to me! He just GAVE it to me!

It was such a thoughtful thing to do. What a husband I have!

I've been using it now for a couple of weeks and I. LOVE. IT!!!!! If you are wanting/needing a new Bible, this one is a worthy investment.

Thanks, Casey. I love you so much.
Thank you for the way you are serving and leading our family.

It's a MRE, Folks!

Ok, so, I have a video for you. It's a little longer that I thought it would be..'bout 10 minutes. Sorry. It probably could have been cut even more, but I think the editor (my husband) thinks I am more entertaining than I actually am. :) He was super sweet do put it together for me, so I won't complain.

Anyways,I got my hands on one of those Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's). Thought I'd share it with you. So here ya go...my first Vlog.

Join Us in Prayer

I don't know this family personally, but a friend of mine asked me to add this link to my blog, and of course, I was more than happy to. Please go to the blog link below to read about little Benjamin and join me in praying for him and his family.

Benjamin, Child of God