Eye Spy

I took this picture last week at the nature center. I know it looks intentional but Matt was trying to hide from the camera. Actually, he was under the bench and I stuck the camera under my leg and took the shot. I have not edited the photo at all and thought it came out very cool.

I guess it is fair to say that I take pictures like I fish. I pay no attention at all and manage to land the big one. If you have ever fished with me, then you know this is true. I am usually off in my own world, looking around, and haphazardly reeling my line in when the big one bites. This infuriates my husband because I tend to catch the larger fish. It's all about quality not quantity I tell him.

Boys Will Be Boys

Last week while Richard was working on another part of our fence Matt found a good mud pit. He was like the old expression, " happy as a hog in slop". At first, the anal mommy came out and I started to panic. Dad, of course, said to take a chill pill and let him be a boy. So that's what I did. Then I ran for the camera. (We did compromise, I took his shirt off because it was WHITE!)

I love the look in his eyes.

By the end, I was wanting to get in there too.
Don't worry Grandma, it washed out.

Bath time. By this point I had abandoned all logical thinking. I'm not sure how clean this was but it was FUN!

It was a good day.

Ye-Haw

Last Tuesday we went to the Houston Rodeo for the first time. Actually, this was our first rodeo ever.

We got to see Keith Urban perform that night. Can you say LOUD?!? I guess I am getting old because I was ready to leave after about 4 songs. I think I was more impressed by my camera's zoom capabilities. We were up in the third level of Reliant Stadium.

Matt after the first calf was roped. He was not a happy camper! We were both shocked by what we saw but he thought the cowboy had killed the calf. I had to explain what was going on and for days after he would ask me about the calves.

Silly boys.

Matt watering his pretend onion seed with pretend water. Since we had planted our own garden, he was very confused by the plastic seeds and no water.

Guess what Matt is saying...have you figured it out....let me help: " I see your bottom, I see your bottom!"

That is why we did NOT buy the animal food. I have no idea who this lady is but I felt so sorry for her. So sorry that I had to snap a picture :) Thanks for the tip Karla!!

I love this picture. The tractors were HUGE!!

Can you see the look of pure joy on his face? I heard him say "sweet" at one point when he was on the tractors.

Germ-a-phobes Beware

Like I mentioned earlier, it rained during Matt's party so we canceled the bounce house for that day. However, since we had budgeted the amount, had company coming that night to stay a few days, and many of the kids who came live on our street we decided to rent it the following day. I am so glad we decided to do this because the kids (and adults) had a great time.

The precious girls in the pictures are my "adopted" nieces. They like to call me Aunt Yes and I love it!

Did I mention that after I played in this, I felt the need to go bathe with steel wool? If germs freak you out, I would skip this. But oh, what fun you will miss!

Birthday Pics.

Here are some pics from Matt's party on Sunday. For some reason, I could not get into the party mode until about an hour before his party. This party was completely on the fly and very last minute. We had planned to have it outside because the weather HAD been beautiful until Friday. We were going to rent a bounce house, let the kids play in the backyard, and do the pinata from the tree. Instead, it poured, we canceled the bounce house, and let the kids play in the garage. All in all, it was a great time.

I always make Matt's cake and I have always known a few weeks ahead of time what I would do. Not this time. I didn't know until Sunday morning if I would frost and decorate or make a dirt cake. I had been leaning toward a dirt cake and by Sunday at 12:30 it seemed the most logical thing to do. It was soooo easy and it turned out cute. All I did was bake a chocolate cake, make chocolate pudding, and crush up Oreos (which were on sale!) and mix them together. I also stuck gummy worms it the cake and decorated with some other candies. Not too bad...

Matt loved it! Actually, all the kids loved looking at it but loved eating the mini cupcakes.

Pure white trash, a fiesta in the garage :)

The vultures diving in. There is even a mom in the group, you can't see her in the picture though.

Matt still in awe over all the candy. There was sooooo much candy in that donkey!!So much that the kids took what they wanted and I still filled up my Kitchen Aid mixing bowl to the top.

I love this picture of the boys. It reminds me of grown men looking at tools or a new truck. Very cute!

Spring Break

Wow, Spring Break is over and I am exhausted! I don't think break should be part of the name. We have stayed incredibly busy since last Saturday. Since I am typing this before Matt wakes up, I am going to give you a quick run down and will hopefully elaborate through the week.

• Saturday: We drove my mom to Rusk to meet David so she could go home. Once we got back, I had to go to Kroger and shop and then I started preparing for Matt's party.
• Sunday: We went to church, Richard had to meet at 7a.m. because he was playing. Once I got home I ran around like a chicken with her head cut off getting ready for Matt's 2p.m. party. This also included deciding what to turn his chocolate sheet cake into!! We had the party and, of course, it poured buckets so we canceled the bounce house. We ended up with 34 people in our house!!!! After the party we recovered, watched the Dark Knight and waited up until 11p.m. for the Rettig family to arrive.
• Monday: Of course it was a beautiful day, now that we were not having a party, so we went ahead and rented the bounce house for the kids. Richard and Eric tore down our old fence.
• Tuesday: Richard, Eric, and our neighbor Eric dug holes and concreted fence posts. The Rettigs returned home. I layed on my floor and stared at the ceiling after having company for 10 days :) That afternoon we went to the Houston Rodeo for the first time.
• Wednesday: Richard went fishing and I stayed home with Matt and took a break. We had our neighbors over for dinner.
• Thursday: Richard and I finished the fence.
• Friday: We drove to Richard's parents' house for the day.
• Saturday: We finished the gate for the fence and spent the day hanging out with neighbors.
• Sunday: Went to church, took Matt fishing (for a whopping 5 minutes because he lost his lure) at our neighborhood bayou, and finished various projects.

Today, I feel like doing nothing but unfortunately, I have to take Matt to his 4 year checkup. This should be fun because I think he gets four shots :( Say a prayer for us.

Something to Think About

Conversation while Matt is in the bathroom.

Matt: What is Potty's last name?

Me: I have no idea, I guess Lewis.
I know, very creative.

Matt: No! It's Commode.

Well hello Potty Commode. It's nice to meet you.

Cheap Birthday Finds

We had a great birthday yesterday. Matt celebrated at school, opened his presents when daddy got home, and then celebrated again with cupcakes at our small group meeting last night. He got to stay up late and even Skyped with his Uncle Earnie and Aunt Chrissy.

I scored a few cheap birthday gifts for Matt . The first one, a GI Joe set, was found at Target after Christmas. It is a huge tank set that includes one large motorized tank, a smaller tank, five or six action figures, some kind of underwater boat thing, and some gun accessories. I didn't think much about it except the original price was $54 and it was on clearance for $14. I just about peed my pants and ran to grab Richard. He has been wanting to get Matt some kind of GI Joe toy for awhile. I have never seen my husband get that excited about a sale item.

The next thing I found was an Arthur board game that I picked up yesterday at a resale shop. There was not a price on the box and I was able to get it for $3.99. I felt like this was a good deal because all the pieces were there, it was in great condition, and all the other games were around $9 or $10. He loves the game and, I must say, it is fun to play.

Finally, I found a Wall-E comforter for $13 and a Wall-E hooded bath towel for $3 at Wal-Mart. I do not shop at our local Wal-Mart because it is a nightmare but when I was in Canton last weekend we had to make a run and I lucked out.

Happy Birthday Matt

Today our little boy turns 4!

Matthew, thank you for 4 years of smiles, laughter, and love. I love you so much!

Menu Monday

What's for dinner at our house? Take a look:

Monday: crazy pasta (all of my half used noodles) and meat sauce

Tuesday: dinner at small group but making cupcakes for Matt's birthday

Wednesday: eat out

Thursday: Roast with veggies

Friday: Farmhouse chicken

Saturday: lunch on the road and homemade pizza for dinner

Sunday: Roast sandwiches for lunch and chicken spaghetti for dinner

On a side note, can you believe my baby will be 4 tomorrow!?!

What's your inspiration?

A couple of weeks ago I watched Glen Beck, a conservative media personality, air a special on FOX about "the worst case scenario". It was an hour long affair about what our country and world could potentially be like in 2014. Let me tell you, it was not pretty. After I watched it I was ready to grab my family, move to some remote mountain cabin and live off the grid.



Honestly, it caused me to start obsessing about our current state of affairs and brougt a great deal of panic into my heart. For about a week it consumed my thoughts and I could feel myself getting sucked into this black hole of hopelessness. I know this was not Glen Beck's goal; it was to bring a sense of awareness so we could prepare.



Coincidentally, a few days ago, when I began my morning Bible reading and devotion I finally snapped out of it. I have been reading Beth Moore's David: 90 Days with a Heart Like His. I started it back in January then laid it to the side soon after. I decided this week that I would replace the bad morning news with the "good news". All I can say is praise God it has helped!!



I am ashamed at my lack of commitment to my Bible reading. This has always been a weakness of mine but I am desperately trying to improve. Please pray for me. I am feeling the urgency now more then ever to read my Bible and truly hide His word in my heart.



Anyways, let me get to the whole point of this post, today's morning message: When Role Models Go Bad.

Beth focused on 1 Samuel 2:12-26. It was a good study but what really struck me was her prayer at the end:

Father, even when others I respect are being deceived into disobedience, help me to remember that You are still standing there, calling me, as You did Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10). Therefore, rather than looking to others for my inspiration, I look to You, Lord Jesus, as David did, as Isaiah did, as John did when You appeared to him, Your face shining like the sun at midday (Rev. 1:16). I look to You, and You renew me with Your purposes and Your power.

As I read this earlier, it was like God took a big baseball bat and struck me on my head. Lately, I have been looking to the news and other people for my inspiration and all I was getting in return was doom and gloom. I am not saying this to dog Glen Beck but the media in general ( I like Glen Beck). I feel like such a moron because I know better then this. Needless to say, this morning I truly heard some "good news".

The best advice I have to offer right now is instead of taking the time to watch the news, take time to read God's word.

The BEST Pizza!

Last night I made the most beautiful homemade pizza EVER!!

Here is the recipe. This pizza was a hit! It only takes 30 minutes from start to finish. Yes, 30 minutes to make your dough, put your toppings on, and bake it. I have never found a recipe this fast or delicious. The one down side is that it is all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat.

I would like to try to make garlic bread sticks out of the dough; I think that would be fabulous!!

Give it a try because you will not be disappointed.