FHU Trick or Treat Night

A rare family picture!!!

Tonight was FHU Trick or Treat night in the girls' dorms. Miss Priss (who favors the boys) wondered why we were not allowed to go into the guys' dorms. I told her most college boys were not to be trusted. Anyways, we always love to go and see our college friends. We went first to the see the Youngs for the annual Halloween picture (see the big middle picture). Then we went to see some of our girls. Miss Priss was so excited because we ran into some of the guys on the way to the girls' dorms, so she was able to see them anyways!! It made her night! We decided not to get the kids out tomorrow night on the actual Halloween night because we are going to have some of the college kids over, so we went to see my aunt and uncle (RoRo and Bub - bottom middle picture) and my grandfather (bottom right picture) with the kids dressed up. We had a wonderful time pretending and visiting with family and friends!

Halloween from a Box

We had some costume malfunctions this year - poor planning on Mom's part!! So, we turned this Halloween into "Let's Find Something in the Dress up Box!!" Little Man was Big Papi Tuesday night for Trick or Trunk, Spiderman Wednesday for Preschool Trick or Treat and Mark Teixiara from his Texas Ranger days tonight for FHU dorm trick or treaing. He loved being able to be something different each time!! I am sorry to say that I do not have a Spiderman picture. My camera died as I was taking the first picture on Wednesday - horrible, I know!!! Miss Priss was suppose to be the White Witch from Narnia, but the costume was a bit big for her and she told me she was "showing too much skin!" (Thank goodness some lessons are sinking in!!!) Therefore, she went as Mulan Tuesday night to Trick or Trunk and a cowgirl tonight for FHU Dorm trick or treating!!

Tuesday Trick or Trunking with Miss C

At first I was not sure about this Halloween from a box, but I am thinking we may do this again!!

Trick or Trunk

Last night our youth group held the annual Trick or Trunk for our kids. We all dresed up, took some candy to pass out, and had a great time with friends!! This year's costumes did not pan out for my kids - well just Miss Priss. So, we have turned Halloween into a fun game (a post on that later). Miss Priss went as Mulan and Little Man went as Big Papi (David Ortiz) from the Boston Red Sox. Miss C (who I keep) is the adorable peacock you see as well as other friends from church. It was a cold so we called it an early night, but had a wonderful time!

BTW - I added a picture of all the girls who went to see HSM 3 the other night. I was told I would look ridiculous taking my camera to the movie theatre. When we got there other mom's had theirs!! Luckily, Jessica had hers so check out our pic. DH and Little Man would not get in it!

Just Could Not Make It

As any follower of this blog knows, Little Man LOVES baseball and, for a 5 year old, can carry on a pretty good conversation about baseball. Since his teams (yes, he has more than one) did not make the World Series, he "adopted" the Phillies as his team all because of Ryan Howard being a BIG boy!! I had told him Monday he needed to take a nap so he could stay up to see not only the possible last game of the World Series, but the Titans play Monday Night Football. He tried really hard. He even chose not to go to the FHU volleyball game last night so he could stay home to watch both games "flippinig back and forth between comercials" (were his exact words.) However, poor baby was found like this about 8:40 last night. He just couldn't make it, but, lucky for him, neither could the baseball teams. Rain suspended the game and they might get to finish the game tonight. Boy, will he be excited this morning when he hears he didn't miss anything!

Pumpkin Carving 101

Saturday was a busy blessed day!! I began with attending our church's Ladies' Day. Becky Blackman was our speaker and did a wonderful job encouraging us to "Shine Like Stars." I took a time out to run to final soccer games for Miss Priss and Little Man and then ran back to finish the morning with wonderful sisters in Christ. (I am so glad we live in a small town and could get everywhere within 5 minutes!!) After Ladies' Day, I cleaned house a little bit before sitting down to watch the Texas Longhorn football game. We made it part of the way through the 2nd quarter before our special guests arrived. Alex and Ashley (seen before with the amazing bulldog pumpkin) came over for the night for our own pumpkin carving, pizza eating, football watching and smore making night!!! They were amazing!! Helping a 5 and 6 year old carve pumpkins is not all glory and patience is required. Miss Priss did a better job this year as she was able to help a bit more. Little Man checked in every now and then to see how his pumpkin was going. He was more interested in being Colt McCoy (Texas' quarterback) or some baseball player. He did a great job entertaining himself and did help!!! We made some AMAZING pumpkins as seen in the pictures. After the carving, we came in for pizza and the BIG Bama/Tenn game. Alex is a Tennesse fan and, with my being a Bama fan, he almost had to leave a few times. During a commercial, Alex and Ashley helped the kids make smores in the microwave - which blew Miss Priss's mind!! Little Man thought they were the best!! I think everyone enjoyed themselves - even though Poor Alex's team lost! Thanks Alex and Ashley for making this a wonderful night to remember!

HSM 3

We have had it on our calendar for MONTHS and we were not about to miss it!! We missed HSM 1 and did not get on the bandwagon until months later but we were hooked! We had a major blowout (as much as you can for a 3 and 5 year old) party when HSM 2 came on tv last year. We were not about to miss this one. So, for the first time ever I went online on Wednesday night before church and bought 8 tickets for the 7:00 pm showing of HSM 3 and was declared the coolest mom!!! Little Man and Miss C and I went up to the movie theatre Friday morning because I wanted to be sure the tickets were mine. Miss Priss informed me that I had to wear my HSM shirt to the movie so I put mine on and she had hers. Then at 5:30 we loaded up the mini van and DH's truck to head out for dinner and the movie. Our travel music - the new HSM 3 soundtrack. As we were eating a little girl came up to Miss Priss and mentioned her HSM shirt that she was wearing. Miss Priss said with pride, "We are going to the new movie right now!!" We loaded up again and headed to the theatre. We got there and we all decided at the end that it was our favorite!! What a night - good food, good friends, good music and a good movie!!!

Collage Fun

Some of you have asked me how I did the collages and I told you I would get the information. My friend, Julie, was the one who posted about this free dowloadable program. It is so easy to use! Once it is downloaded, find the spot where it says page and click on it. Over on the left hand side you will see countless page layout ideas. Just click on the one you want and you can drag and drop your pictures into it. When you have everything the way you like it, click on save (at the top on the right) and your collage will be saved as a picture. You can also do a lot of cool editing and things with this program! You can check Julie's blog for more looks at what all you can do. She has had some fun!!! Enjoy!

Honoring Our Papas

My grandfather has spent many years doing for others whether in the church, school or community. In all these areas he has had other men and women who have been beside him serving as well. Last night Papa and one of his coherts were honored by a local community group they had both been a part of for a long time. Papa and Mr. Bloomingburg have a lot in common. Both men love the church, FHU and our community. Both men lost their wives this summer. Both men have two children - all 4 went to school together and live in the community. Both men (I know I am being partial with this statement) deserved to be honored. It was a lovely night of fellowshipping with new leaders of the community group as well as those who had served with these men. Special friends and family also came in for the night. Just another way to honor people while they can enjoy the honor! Thank you, Papa Whittle and Papa Bloomingburg, for all you have done! We love you!

Super Help

Faster than a speeding bullet!

More stronger than a locomotive!

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Look! It's a bird! It's a plane!

It's Superman!!!

At my house, helping me clean!

Little Man surprised me the other day as he - without being asked - pushed the laundry basket full of dirty laundry from the bedrooms to the laundry room. I told him, "Oh, Little Man, thank you so much for helping me!!" He replied,

"I am not Little Man! I am Superman!

Only Superman could push this laundry basket from one end of the house to the other!"

Thank you, Superman, for all of your help! What would I do without you!

First Grade Field Trip

Yesterday I was able to go with Miss Priss and her first grade class to the Circle Y on their fall field trip. We were blessed with a beautiful day and we had so much fun. The students were given a wagon ride out to a pond to feed some HUGE catfish and then we went to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins. After we got back from that, we went to the petting station where my not so brave child FINALLY held the chicken and bunny below.

This bunny was very tired of being held and Miss Priss had some problems. However, she did a great job of trying again (and again) even though she really did not want to!!! We also rode a train, played in the bounce house, played 18 holes of putt putt (with 18 1st graders - that was interesting!!), enjoyed a picnic lunch and played on an awesome playground!! I think it is safe to say we all had a great time, but I remember why as a teacher I did not like to take field trips - they wore me out!!!!

Hamburger Meat Recipe Tag

My "gurl"friend over at the Horton Family tagged all of us to post a new recipe using hamburger meat that is not the “meatloaf/spaghetti/taco rotation.”

Don’t you feel like you cook the same things over and over again?

No rules. Just post a recipe that you and your family enjoy that has at least one ingredient…you guessed it, hamburger meat…and does NOT fit in the “meatloaf/spaghetti/taco rotation” category. Leave me a comment if you decide to post a recipe on your blog. I can get them to Laura and she will post them all on her blog on Friday. It will be like a mini cookbook! All on one blog! We'll all have different recipes to try! "Meatloaf/spaghetti/taco rotation" problem solved! Viola'!!

Beefy Pizza Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef 1 medium onions, chopped
½ green pepper 4 t. Italian seasoning, divided
¼ c. flour 28 oz. tomato basil pasta sauce
2 c. mozzarella cheese, divided *1 can refrigerated pizza crust
*1 T. olive oil *2 t. Parmesan cheese
9x13 pan


1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Mix ground beef, onions, and green pepper with 3 t. Italian seasoning
3. Add four, stirring till well blended
4. Add pasta sauce
5. Place in pan
6. Sprinkle with 1½ c. mozzarella cheese
7. Unroll pizza crust and put over top, tucking into baking dish
8. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle rest of Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese
9. Bake 20 minutes

This is so easy and very yummy!!!

Phi Kappa Pumpkin

We love all our college kids but there are a few that we are very close to. Last year, two of our favorites, Alex and Ashley, carved a pumpkin for our annual retreat called CHARGE! They carved our Greek letters into the pumpkin. So this year, they chose to carve our mascot, the bulldog, into the pumpkin. Because I am conducting a Bible Teacher workshop this weekend, we are not going to be able to go (sad, sad). However, Alex and Ashley brought the pumpkin by last night for all of us to see and we were so glad they did! What a job!!!
Ashley and Alex with Miss Priss and Little Man
Their true sides!!

JUMP!

A took this pic when we were at Chickasaw the other day and I just love it!! I had to share it with all of you! Good shot, A!!!!

A Fall Break at Chickasaw

My dear friend, A, has just had her third and our families have not been able to get together like they usually do. With Mr. R coming along and our lives going in 20 million directions, the times have been slim, so we decided to take the kids to Chickasaw for a "picnic" lunch and let them play while we caught up with each other. We all had a blast. The kids ran from one playground to another while A and I solved the world's problems. These are some of my very favorite pictures ever of our kids together.

Miss Priss
Mr. Sugar Bear
Little Man
Peanut
Mr. R

Our cups overflowed that day with blessings of good food, good friends, good weather and good clean (well, maybe not that) fun!

How Do You Make a 5 Hour Trip Pass By?

Yes sitting in the back seat with a 6 year old who does not believe in sleeping on trips (while I fall asleep within the first 5 minutes and will wake up 1 mile from our destination) was something new for me. Miss Priss was a trouper in every sense of the word - this was not a trip for a 6 year old, but she did great. We read books (yes, I read the whole Sunset book on the way home), played games, sang along to our favorite songs (probably much to my mom and dad's shagrin!) and ate all the snack foods we are not allowed to eat when Little Man is around (he is allergic to peanuts). Oh what fun we had and I think these pictures sum it all up!!!

Welcome, Mary Beth

We are so blessed with an extremely close family especially on my mom's side. My two cousins on her side I consider to be more like brothers. We have always been close. I remember when Miss Priss was born, Jonathan was very concerned with what he would be to her. He even said he felt more like an uncle than a second cousin or whatever he would have been. So to this day he is "Uncle Jonathan" and my kids adore him and Aunt ReRe. Well, on September 18, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt ReRe welcomed Mary Elizabeth aka Mary Beth aka MB into their family. Miss Priss was so excited because they shared the same middle name!! On our way home from Montgomery, we stopped in to see our new family member. What fun we all had!!

Miss Priss and cousin MB
Gran and MB - two of the 4 red heads in the family now!!
Grandad with MB
What a sweetie!!
Miss Priss loves her Uncle Jonathan and Aunt ReRe!!!

Thanks for letting us come and visit you and sweet MB! We can't wait to see you all again soon!

Auburn Showers

While my brother worked on his degrees at Auburn, he attended church in Opelika. During part of that time he was their youth minister, filled in as preacher and led singing. We always knew the church family there was special and loved him, but we did not know how much until the church family gave them a shower on Sunday. While the ladies were at the building having their shower, the men were off having "man time" at a grilling party for Richard. He received a gift certificate to Omaha Steaks and then all the things he would need to grill. What blessings they have all been for Richard and Amy!

The beautiful cake - it tasted as good as it looked!!
Someone framed their invitation along with a picture of them. It was beautiful!
The moms and Amy opening gifts - she did not break ONE ribbon at any of her showers!
Miss Priss and Little C were big helpers when it came to helping Aunt Amy open presents.
Amy talking to some of the older ladies of the church family.

A Fast Flight to Montgomery

After Miss Priss and Mr. Man's soccer games Saturday, my mom, dad, Miss Priss and I took off for Montgomery. The wedding season is here and in full force. Amy said today there are less than 40 days until the wedding!!! It was a fast trip but we enjoyed seeing family, future family and friends.

Miss Priss and soon-to-be Aunt Amy
Little C with Miss Priss - these 2 hit it off and it is a good thing, too. They are going to be the flower girls in the wedding.
Reading books together
I love this picture - Little C really does look up to Miss Priss
What sweet girls!

Favorite Things Swap Take Two

I had already done one Favorite Thing Swap and had so much fun with it I decided to do another one. This time Kat hosted the swap and she paired me up with two amazing women!! Staci got my name and on Friday this amazing package came my way!! It was perfect timing as I was leaving the next day on a trip. She sent me:

a Real Simple magazine - I had not seen the newest one and loved being able to read it on our trip this weekend.

The most amazing blanket - I can't wait to get wrapped up in it this winter!!

Chapstick - I love this stuff!!

Sonic gift card - my absolute favorite place!!

Crayola brownie mix - my kids and I are going to have a blast making and decorating these

M&Ms and a bag of candy mixture - the perfect snack for Miss Priss and me on the trip!!!

Glitter Cardstock - can't wait to scrapbook or make some cards out of that!!

Thank you so much, Staci!! DH says thanks for not sending anything OU our way!! I had Karen's name to send my favorite things to. I tried to incorporate some of her favorite things with mine. This is what I sent her: a blue fabric bag - I have fallen in love with these reusable bags while out shopping

Persuasion by Jane Austen - love her books!!

FHU cup - my favorite place in my town - where I met DH and where we work now.

rooster recipe cards - She loves roosters and recipes. So I sent her some of my favorite recipes on the cards, but left some blank for her to use.

rooster notecards I made

Vera Bradley ID holder - I love Vera so I had to include this. Karen loves brown, so I bought her a brown pattern.

a Sudoko puzzle book

An assortment of my favorite chocolates and gum

Come to find out Karen and I have a lot of things in common just like Staci and I do. How neat it was to meet such lovely ladies!! Thanks, Kat, for hosting this!