one day.

Praying God’s Word: September

Hi “Praying God’s Word” friends! I don’t know about you, but I am in NEED of these scriptures this month! With so much going on, I am anxious to focus my mind on HIS words and not my own! Here are the topics that I’ve chosen for my family for September.

As you plan, feel free to use these or choose your own. If you’re just joining in…WELCOME! It’s never too late!!! And, click here to read about “Praying God’s Word!”

August 29-September 4 (Week 36): My husband…his new job
And may the Lord our God show us his approval
      and make our efforts successful.
      Yes, make our efforts successful! Psalm 90:17 (NLT)

September 5-September 11 (Week 37): My boys…their feet
Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Joshua 22:5

September 12-September 18 (Week 38): Our family…to trust Him
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

September 19-September 25 (Week 39): Me…to prioritize
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

September 26-October 2 (Week 40): My boys…their ears (to hear the TRUTH)
However, as it is written: What no eye has seen,  what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

We’re Surviving the Summer of 2011…

HOT does not even begin to describe this summer. Over 100 degree temps for a record number of days is MISERABLE! I quit looking at the forecast, because seeing 103, 106, and 108 as the high is just sickening! Most of you know that I. AM. NOT a fan of being hot! I am “cursed” with being a sweater and have spent my ENTIRE summer doing only that.

But, there has been SO much to be thankful for in this BLIDING HEAT! First of all…I have NEVER been more thankful for air conditioning and fans! We have been INDOORS as much as possible this summer and don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have a good AC! Crazy enough, my typical summer “uniform” has changed drastically this summer. To my husband’s disappointment, I AM NOT a “sporty” girl. But, this summer, little Nike running shorts with a t and a ponytail have been my go-to look. It’s too hot to care any more than that!

But, I must admit that I love it when I actually get ready! Oh how I long for the days of jeans and boots!

 

We have been quite the travelers this Summer! Our suitcase and toiletry bag stayed close by during the past three months. Of course our Summer began with our amazing trip to Disney World. But, it went on to include a trip to Possum Kingdom, San Antonio, League City and Abilene. So many fun memories were made.

After I received my Kindle for Mother’s Day, the summer easily consisted of reading. I started with Heaven is for Real …and then to Water for Elephants. Next up was Her Mother’s Hope…which I was sadly dissapointed by. Then, The Hunger Games series kept my light on WAY too late at night …and One Thousand Gifts is a book that truly changed my life. It was beyond amazing!

 

Our trips to the theatre this summer seemed to revolved mainly around Quinn. Daddy took both boys and Slickpaw to see Winnie the Pooh while Mammer and I got ready for Nash’s party! And, Daddy braved taking both boys by himself to see the Smurfs Movie. What a guy!

We also all saw Cars 2…I saw The Help with girlfriends…and Matt and I had a date night to see XMen. All good movies…and, it’s always nice to “get away” for 2 hours!

The Summer of 2011 definitely had a soundtrack. The Rio music and VBS Pandamania songs BLARED in our car all summer long. Both CDs made all 4 of us sing and dance every time we rode in the car. Even our Chubs has his favorites that he bobs his head to even more!

But, the main constant this summer has been that our house has been on the market. Our first showing was the last week in May and we’ve had around 50 since. Getting it ready and getting out of the house is something that we’ve all gotten pretty good at. Quinn has been such a good sport, and as he plays with toys would often say, “Do we have a showing today?” Bless him.

On top of trying to sell our house, I’ve (with the EXTREME help of Slickpaw) have been trying to sell my Papaw’s house in Abilene. He willed it to me in 1997 when he passed away, but it officially became mine this year when my step-grandmother moved closer to her children.

Trying to sell both houses has come with MUCH headache, but we are trusting that God has it all in control and that both will be SOLD very soon!

The Summer has also consisted of LOTS of eating out! There has been little motivation to cook in the heat…and little desire to want to clean up the kitchen after we cooked. (since a showing could be at ANY minute!)

We’ve also made LOTS of trips to get snowcones! (Specifically TC Shaved Ice!) I love snowcones even more than ice cream…and, Q and Nash have never complained! It has been a nice diversion when we’re kicked out of our house for a showing.

And, last but not least, it has been the summer of visiting churches. As I’ve mentioned before, Matt stepped out of full-time church ministry last November so that he could focus on Two-Five full time. As much as he enjoyed his time working so hard on Two-Five, he knew that something was missing! This Summer it became clear that he was being called back into youth ministry. So…we traveled…he spoke…we put our kids in different children’s programs…and Matt interviewed. I must admit that being “the visitor” at a church was a new experience for us! ..and, honestly, a little bit fun!

After much prayer, it became clear that FBC Grapevine was going to be our new home and Matt’s new place to minister to the students! We’re super excited and anxious for this new season in our life…and trust that all of the perfect puzzle pieces are going to fit together very soon!

Whew!!!! That’s been our summer! …by far the busiest and craziest we’ve ever had! {And, it isn’t even over yet!}

Overall, I can say that (despite the HEAT) we are so very blessed!!…and the Summer of 2011 is one that I’ll NEVER, EVER forget!

Brown-Eyed Boy.

This precious 4 year and 5 month old sweet love melts my heart on a DAILY basis! And, when he wears a hat, I swear his big, brown eyes get even bigger! But, his motives for wearing the hat are what crack me up the most! … After he gets dressed, and it’s almost time to put “Johnny B” (hair gel) in his hair, he RUNS to his room, grabs a cap and can’t wait to show me how cool he looks! And, even though I always agree, I’m no dummy! He DOES NOT like fixing his hair…and, this is his way out of it! What a little SMARTY PANTS.

Back to School Piddle Sale!

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Go to www.etsy/shop/PiddleDesgins to see what you NEED! :)

a true BUENO head…

I have passed on my love for Taco Bueno to yet another of my offspring. This boy DEVOUERED an entire bean burrito (not a party burrito) in NO time…

It made for one messy high chair…one messy boy…and one scared Mommy anticipating the next day’s diapers! …

 

 

Batman Day

I have been MISSING doing fun little themed days around our house. Between lots of crazy life changes going on around here, and our house being on the market, planning things that make my house a disaster have definitely been put on the backburner.

But, thanks to the AMAZINGLY talented Mommy at 1+1+1=1, Batman Day was a breeze. I went to her super generous page (You’re seriously going to be BLOWN away when you see all of the different themes she has) and printed all of the fun Batman printables that she offered free of charge.

Then, I got out all of Q’s Batman collection and set it out for a day of fun! As soon as he woke, the fun began. I must admit that there were times of protest…but, the second he got started, he LOVED every activity! It just took a little more arm twisting than I remember in the past.

Here’s a peek into all of the Batman fun we had together…
The first activity was a little number puzzle. Q loved it from the start and was so careful to count each item. He also placed the numbers in order. I was proud of him and thought he did a great job.
 
Then it was time to catch some bad guys. First he traced the line from the good guy to the bad guy with his Batman. Then, he used a dry erase marker to trace the line.  
Next, he put Batman in order from smallest to largest. He did this LOTS of times.
After Nash got up and we took a breakfast break, Q got dressed all on his own and choose his Good Guy shirt for the occasion! Sweet love.

Then, we did some playdoh fun! He had a BLAST rolling out the playdoh into snakes and making them form the letter shapes. I was SUPER impressed and truly thought this activity would require lots of help. But, I was wrong! He did it ALL by himself!




Then, it was time for some cutting and pasting. First, Quinn cut out the pieces (which was tough, but he was determined. I helped a little, but he did most of it by himself. Scissor work could use a little more practice, for sure!) and then glued them in the correct spots! He did great!



After taking a break to play with all of his cool Batman toys, he was ready to do the Color By Number. Nash played with the markers while Quinn took his time coloring each bat the correct color. (except blue…he didn’t want to color it much because he said he liked the black showing on that one! Funny boy!) Once again, I was shocked that he could do this without my help!

Then, it was time for some patterning. He wasn’t sure he would enjoy this one, but quickly had a great time. We did AB, ABB and ABBA patterns!
When Nash went down for his nap, it was time for us to play Memory. This was another that came with protest but became one of his favorite things. We played over and over again. It was fun playing it different ways.
  
Next, we got a NASTY letter from the Joker. He had kidnapped Batman and wasn’t very encouraging about us finding him. But, after lots of tiptoeing around and following the clues, QUINN FOUND HIM! He LOVED every second of the hunt and was so precious and serious as we looked.




 


Before lunch, we had a fun little dance party. (CHECK OUT THIS SONG…I PROMISE YOUR LITTLE ONES WILL LOVE IT!!!!) Then, Q had a little movie fun. Slickpaw sent some great YouTube videos and then we watched Super Friends! So cheesy…classic…and great!

Lunch was a hit as well! It’s still amazing to me how well he eats when it’s fun!
After lunch, we did a little Hero and Villain sorting and graphing.


 
And Nash acted like a big boy as he played with all of his brother’s cool toys!

Sadly, our Batman Day took a little break when we had to get our house ready for a showing…but, when we got back, lots more Batman fun was to be had. We went on another hunt for Batman (per Quinn’s request), and after baths, Quinn got to read his fun Heroes and Villains book. We worked on the sight words first and then HE read it to me. He wanted to read it OVER AND OVER AND OVER! Such a proud little reader!


I’d say Batman Day was a HUGE success. I, as always, loved the quality time that it allowed me to have with my sweet love. And, I loved that it was a perfect recap of learning to get him ready for his second year of preschool!

I am so thankful to be a Boy Mom…and love my little Super Heroes to absolute pieces!!!