Weekend in Fayetteville

Mom, Jodie, Donna, and I went to Fayetteville to Jamie & Tara's for War Eagle last weekend. We went for the first time last year and decided to make it an annual event. Now if truth be told, War Eagle's a little too craftsy for me but we always seem to find something regardless. This year, Jodie found a fabulous chair for Kylie's room (oops! I think that's a secret, but I doubt that Kylie reads my blog)...
After War Eagle, we headed to the John Q. Hammonds Center, which is usally where we spend a lot of time. It always has some more modern things and great stuff for the kids. I got Kamdyn the cutest zebra outfit there. My mission for the weekend was to buy myself a new purse and I found this one in Springdale on Saturday. Mission accomplished!! It's much cuter in person! (I just took this picture of it hanging on my office door)... and the girls will tell you that we looked at TONS of purses before I found this one.We continued the shopping at the Promenade, Toys R' Us, and lots of other stores. Sadly, I didn't buy one Christmas present. I think I think too much about the presents and wait to find just the perfect one.... that's why I'm always shopping like a mad woman on December 23!

It was so fun to hang out with Tara, Jamie, and Aidan. Aidan even let Kay Kay and I take over his room for 3 days. Here he is with Chloe...
I love this picture! When Jamie asked Aidan what he looked like with his hat turned like that he said, "I look like a rapper!"
You know how Mimi loves big bows on Kamdyn... I'm surprised she didn't buy this one for her too.
The double-mint twins modeling the newest Hogware....
Aunt Jodie promised Aidan she would bring him some cake home on Saturday. Since we weren't anywhere to get cake, she bought him this Spongebob sno-cone maker. Just what every parent wants for their kid! LOL!!!
It took all three of us to fill that little cup up with crushed ice. It was a workout for sure. We decided it would be easier if Spongebob were screwed onto the table and didn't slide everywhere. We joked that somehow Jamie would rig that up so it was possible!!
The Martin's... Mom insisted on taking their picture before we left. Tara wasn't too pumped b/c she still has her pj's on.
The shoppers.... this was taken Sunday morning right before we left so we are tired and dressed in our casual clothes for the ride home.
I must admit that I felt a little guilty at first leaving the kids all weekend, but we had the best time and I really think I needed the time away. Besides, the kids went to see Papaw in Heber and had a great time as well. Kam always makes me feel good when I get home though. She asked me how my trip to Fayetteville was and then told me how much she missed me!

The Pumpkin Patch Parable

Mom got the kids this book, "The Pumpkin Patch Parable," a few weeks ago and I love it. I have seen this story on email before, but I'm so excited to have it to read to the kids.

This story illustrates how a loving farmer can turn a simple pumpkin into a simply glorious sight. If you think about it, pumpkins are all different. Some are short and round, some are tall and lean, some have lumps and bumps, but all are pumpkins. We are God's pumpkins. We are all different. And just as the farmer chooses a pumpkin and cleans out all the seeds and slimy pulp, God does the same for us. When we trust Him as our Savior, He cleans out all the old and makes us something wonderful.

My prayer is that you have let Him make you new. If you have, share His love with others. If you haven't, let's talk. It's really simple.

Admit you are a sinner. Sometimes I get the big head and tell myself that I'm a good person, but then I'm gently reminded that I'm not. I try to do good things, but at my very core, I am a sinner. And so are you.... no way around it.

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Believe that only Jesus can save you. You can't save yourself and no one else can do it for you. Only Jesus, the Son of God, can save you. He suffered and died on the cross, was buried, and rose again for you and me.

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

Confess and call upon Jesus Christ to save you. It's not enough to just believe a man named Jesus lived on earth and died on a cross. We must trust in and rely upon his death, burial, and resurrection as the payment for our sins.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

And, finally, this verse is becoming one of my favorites:

"God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change his heart and life." 2 Peter 3:9

I'm so glad that God is patient because 99% of the time, I'm a screwed-up mess. But God doesn't give up on me, and He won't give up on you either.

Oh, Brother!

While I was cooking dinner tonight, the kids were sitting at the table drawing pictures. I heard Kam say, "Cooper Ryan, you stop that right now. I'm gonna take you back to the brother store and get me a new brother!!"

Happy Birthday, Papaw Sonny!

Yesterday was Papaw Sonny's birthday. The kids called him last night and Cooper even sang "Happy Birthday" to him over the phone. It was a very good rendition, I might add!
I found a couple of pictures of each of the kids with Papaw to post.

Papaw reading his old school book to Kam....
Cooper and Papaw fishing in Heber this summer...
Hope your day was great, Papaw! We love you!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch in Manchester on Saturday. The kids were looking forward to it because their friends from preschool were going to be there. It was sort of weird having kids come up to Cooper now that he's at Mae's... but he loved it and it is so cute to see them talking to each other outside of school.

Looking for the perfect pumpkin.... By the way, Mom can't get over why this is called the pumpkin patch when the pumpkins have already been picked and are just out for sale!
Taking a break....
We attempted many pictures of the kids but, as you can see, they are squinting in all of them. The sun was shining right in their little faces. Poor Braxton's cheeks were so red....
Mimi and Kam...
The boys decided they would rather be in the wagon that Mimi was loading with exotic pumpkins...
So we decided to make it another photo op....
However, the boys began throwing their little pumpkins out every time we handed them back to them...
Put these boys to work!!!
Walking with Mimi to go on a hayride....
The kids asked me to take their picture with this bear but neither one of them will look at the camera at the same time. It's impossible to get a good picture of them together!
The four of us on the hayride... of course, we're not looking at the camera. But at least I'm in this picture!
This is probably what my kids enjoyed the most.... Kam has been asking for a dog for months and I absolutely refuse to get one. I have my reasons. The biggest one being that I don't need something else to take care of and trash my house. Two kids is enough already.
I had to work hard to get them to leave at this point and, of course, Kam begged for a puppy. I heard Mark tell Scott that he was probably going to get a D-O-G for the kids for Christmas... and I quickly told him he would lose a W-I-F-E if he did!
Cooper won a pair of glow in the dark skeleton gloves from this game. On the way home, he asked where his "bologna" (boney) hands were!
Although it was hot, the kids enjoyed the pumpkin patch a lot. It did cool down for the football game Friday night though.... so much so that Mark asked for chili on Saturday night. He's been waiting for it to get 70 degrees so he could have some. We love football weather. Bring on fall!

Dancing's Back!

It's no secret that "Dancing With the Stars" is mine and Kam's favorite show. We look forward to it every Monday night. I love, love, love to hear her ask Mark to dance each week.

This is her newest pose.... I see her doing this a lot lately when she is dancing. I'm hoping that she has more rhythm than her momma!

By the way, notice that all my decorations are laying down on my armoire. I don't know why I still feel the need to explain the details... I think I worry that folks are looking at my decor and judging it.

At first, I thought this was just a picture of Mark getting his groove on but upon closer inspection I see Kam's legs behind him. Bless his heart, he has a bad shoulder but he keeps swinging her around anyway.
Cooper tries to get in on the action...
When Mark has to rest ( says he's resting the shoulder--not sure about that), Kam will ask Cooper to dance and he happily obliges her.
BTW, my apologies if my posts seem redundant at times. Remember that I blog to keep a record of the kids lives and sometimes that is redundant!

Fall Blessings

Mom asked me to make her a fall door sign and I finally finished it last night. This picture really doesn't do it justice, if I do say so myself!
Each pumpkin has a tag with each grandchild's name on it.... even Campbell Grace, who won't be here until Christmas. The ribbon is leopard because I love me some animal print!