Boo...Happy Halloween, ya'll!  I hope your day was as frightfully wonderful as ours was. We started the day a little rocky because the kids got up at the crack of dawn, which is super annoying and puts everyone is bad mood.  Luckily, we turned it around and spent some time playing and catching up on housework while Eric put the final touches on the wagon. He finished it at 4:00, but we ran into trouble trying to load it.  After many failed attempts, we finally took the handle off and got it loaded. Then we rushed around to get everyone dressed, out of the house and to town for Tick-or-Treating. Right off the bat, we met up with Eli's friend Kendall and her mom.  The kids took turns riding in the wagon and on Kendall's golf cart. Batman and Batgirl were thrilled!  They bopped from house to house collecting candy, showing off their wagon, and visiting with friends. This little lady was beside herself and wanted to eat every sucker that

Today was a big one for my little people.  They each had Halloween parties at school.   My schedule at work was too crazy to make it to Eli's party, but her wonderful teacher sent me the sweetest pictures of her in the costume parade.  She didn't wear her "real" Halloween costume.  Both my kids are into dress-up, so we have a ton of options.  This morning she was beside herself with excitement when she saw me bring out the princess dress and high heels.  She had a crown, but she broke it before the photos.  Ha!  I love her girlie little heart. Thankfully, I was able to make it to Elie's classroom party.  His teacher is such a blessing to our family.  I was so thrilled to be able to "help" with a craft. He doesn't looked thrilled in this picture, but at least he humored me with a photo.  I have a feeling my days of these pictures are dwindling.  That's because he has a new lady in his life.  These two are best buds!

Good News...or bad depending on how you look at it.  MEMORY LANE is open again! 2009 - Three Months Old.  Eric brought Eli to me at Chick-fil-A where I was working at the time.  He was a frog.  I vividly remembering being exhausted.  Little did I know that it was just the tip of the iceberg.  Ha! 2009 - We moved into our house on Halloween, which is the day we took this picture. 2010 - This was actually taken just after Halloween.  Our camera was stolen when our home was broken into, so this is how we remember our little celebration. 2011 - I can't believe the difference a year made!  We began our tradition of converting the wagon into a sweet ride! 2012 - The last year Eli got dibs on the candy.  Ha!  He was a pirate, and after a long night of trick-or treating, we ate dinner at Cheddars.  Not sure why I remember that, but it stands out as precious time.  Crazy what stays with you. 2013- Ellie's first Halloween.  She was Capta

I enjoy random posts on Wednesdays just to document the little moments, so feel free to skip this.  These posts are intended for my memory. Last Thursday I took this picture on my way to work.  No filter on the camera.  It was such a sweet reminder that HIS mercies are new every morning. This weekend his Halloween, which means that Christmas will be here before we know it.  I always buy the kids PJs to wear, but I kinda want these for myself.  Is $16 too much? Lest I wish my life away, I should stay in the moment.  Friday was the Halloween celebration in the after school program, so Eli went as Robin.  He was so proud, ya'll! Last but not least, this picture stopped me dead in my tracks.  It was a freeze-frame from The Price is Right, and the thumbnail image was on a news site I was reading.  This could be my sister.  It looks JUST LIKE HER!  Even my kids thought so.  

One of our family's favorite Halloween traditions is to convert our little, red wagon into a nice ride for the kids.  I say "we," but the truth is that Eric does all the work.  I throw out a few theme ideas and keep the kids entertained...that's about it. Every year Eric pours his heart and soul into the project, and I love watching his vision come to life.  He is the best daddy in the whole world to put in so many long hours and late nights just for one evening of fun.  And he does it all for the sole purpose of seeing our kids smile.  He's a keeper that man! 2011 was his first project, and Eli was very into the movie Cars. Needless to say, Lighten McQueen was a dream come true for a two-year-old little guy!  It was made complete with working lights and a "radio" that played the movie album.   We went with a pirate theme in 2012, so Eric turned the wagon into a pirate ship. Ya'll, it was amazing!  The attention he pays to deta

Just wanted to pop in and share this sweet little poem with ya'll.  Happy Monday!! Being a Christian is a lot like being a Pumpkin God Picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then, He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see!

Eric and I slept late this morning since we got in so late from Nashville.  Once we got up, I did a little tidying up and then headed to get the kids while Eric worked on the wagon for Halloween...more on that later. We had a quick lunch with my in-laws and then headed to a birthday party for one of Eli's best friends.  Ellie tagged along and was such a good sport about the whole thing.  Ha!  I guess being a little sister has its perks sometimes. After the party, I braved Wal-Mart with both kids in an attempt to get groceries.  It's basically my LEAST favorite chore to do with kids in tow, but we made it.  Back at home we are eating dinner and gearing up for the week ahead,  It's gonna be a good one. I love my time away, but it's always better to be together again.

Back in the spring, Eric got tickets to see Jason Isbell in concert.  I had never heard of him, but I was all in for a date night at the Ryman.  We ended up turning it into an entire "date day."  Friday after work we met Eric's mom and dad in Central City for them to take the kids.  After dinner at a Mexican restaurant, we headed back to Bowling Green where we watched a movie in peace! You know you're getting old when you call 8:00 "sleeping in."  Ha!  When we got up, we headed to Nashville for the day. We went to the flee market at the state fair grounds and enjoyed hotdogs for lunch.  How incredibly adorable is this setup?  I just love these eclectic places.   I racked up on bows for Ellie and jewelry for myself at the flee market, then we headed downtown for some fun!   We had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack because I was craving crap dip, and then we walked around all the touristy spots that we hadn't taken in since colle

I’m a newsie.   Shocking, I know.   I check the world news multiple times a day and the journalist in me requires me to examine multiple sources on the same story because I simply do not trust our major news outlets…any of them. But that’s not the point of this post. As I read through the headlines, I hurt for all those suffering in this broken world.   A four-year-old gunned down in the backseat of her father’s truck in New Mexico.   A 13-year-old accidentally shot by her friend in Las Vegas.   A bus wreck killing 42 people in France. A catastrophic hurricane headed for poverty-stricken Mexico. And that doesn’t count the local tragedies.   Three fatal crashes this week alone.   A child beaten to death by its father, and the disgusting editorial in the newspaper shaming the homeless. Then there are the people I know who are suffering.   Losing a father to cancer.   A marriage crumbling. An unwanted medical diagnosis.   A miscarriage. Over the past weeks, the Lord has o

Ya'll know that I get all emotional at the drop of a hat.  Perhaps more accurately, I get sentimental at the first chord of a sappy song.  Yesterday a song stopped me dead in my tracks reminding me of how fleeting time is.  So today I had a little date day with the kids at the park after school.  Here are some pictures of our afternoon fun with the lyrics to that sappy song interjected. In the early rush of morning, Trying to get the kids to school: One's hanging on my shirt-tail, Another's locked up in her room. And I'm yelling up the stairs: "Stop worrying 'bout your hair, you look fine." Then they're fightin' in the backseat, And I'm playing referee. Now someone's gotta go, The moment that we leave. And everybody's late, I swear that I can't wait till they grow up. Then they do, and that's how it is. It's just quiet in the mornin', Can't believe how much you miss, All they do and all they d