Friday Five - January 27th, 2012

My friend Mary (in the gray) is a dancing machine!!

1. Today is my dear friend, Mary's 36th birthday!! Love that girl!

2. "Reasons to love your local library # 682": MAGAZINES!! I borrowed 8 magazines from the library the other day. A scrapbooking one, Weight Watchers mag, US weekly, Simple Living, Martha Stewart, Fitness Mag. I can look at past issues, write down tips if I want & return the magazines & they won't pile up in the corner of the living room AND the best part: I spend $0.00!!

Priceless!!

3. Lydia is selling Girl Scout cookies! We sold all I had & needed to fill more orders in a week!

4. I've have a library book that is a week overdue because I NEED to finish it or I never will!! I still have 200 pages left.....it may cost me $2 or $3 in overdue fees!!:)

5. My girls are loving "Camp Rock" & "Camp Rock 2"!! It is the first movie that I consider "tween" & so it is a little sad that they aren't little anymore, but I know it is a new phase that is here for a while. They love to dance & sing with the songs!! (I like it too!)

If you give Caraline a Penny

You know those books, "If you give a Mouse a Cookie" or "If you give a pig a pancake"? Well, I've made up a version of my own called "If you give Caraline a Penny" Everytime she sees ANY money laying around, she MUST go put it in her piggy bank. She is easily distracted!

So enjoy:

If you give Caraline a Penny

If you give Caraline a Penny,

She'll want to go put it in her piggy bank

Her piggy bank will remind her that she had a picture of a pig to color.

She will run to the kitchen table to color her pig picture & she'll get hungry.

She'll ask you for a snack.

You will make her some toast. She will want to help you.

So you tell her she can get out the butter.

The butter will remind her that last week at Girl Scouts, she learned to make butter.

She'll want to make her own butter from scratch like they used to in the old days.

Thinking of the old days, she'll talk about Grandpa & Grandma & want to go see them.

So you take her to Grandpa & Grandma's farm.

While on Grandpa & Grandma's farm, she'll see cows. But no pigs.

So she will wonder why Grandma & Grandpa don't have pigs on their farm.

So she'll run in the house to ask them.

As she runs in, she sees some pennies on the kitchen table & thinking about pigs & pennies, she'll think about her piggy bank!

She'll pick up the pennies & want to put them in her piggy bank!

I made this story up "on the fly" to Caraline & I've never heard a more genuine laugh come out of her I as I did when she heard that story!!

I promised her I would write it down.

Now I have to think of one about Lydia......

Wordless (kind of) Wednesday

On Monday, we went to see my grandparents in Pawnee. We don't get over there very often & Grandpa is sad when he doesn't have company. Before we leave, we ALWAYS take a picture with Grandpa & Grandma. Some of the girls were there (missing Jaylee, Keilee, Kendra, Melissa & Addy) but we still got all the girls in the picture plus our newest member, Amber's son, Cagle.

Kynzie is not one for pictures & it was no small task to have EVERYONE smiling a good smile & then Kynzie shows her "true colors":) Aunt Ginny & I thought it was SO FUNNY!! Perfect!

Friday Five

1. I can't believe my Caraline is FIVE!! She was cleaning up the house tonight & kept asking, "Mom, what else can I do to help you?" She likes to pretend that she is a grown-up. She asked me the other day what it felt like to be me. I said, "You mean, what does it feel like to be a grown-up?" She said "Yes". I said "Like you, only taller."

2. I watched the last "Extreme Home Makeover" tonight. They built 7 houses in 7 days for the Joplin, MO tornado victims. I bawled the whole 2 hours!! I'm so sorry that show that is such a light in the world, a show that helps people who NEED light.....A show, in my opinion, who demonstrates the love of Jesus, is over. It's very sad!

3. I really should take a "Technology break"! Lydia gets bad at me when I have my phone. She says, "Mom, NO TEXTING!"

4. This first grade homework is KILLING Me & my daughter!!

She even threatened to run away! I told her to get her coat, it was cold outside. Caraline looked at me funny & said "Are you really going to let her run away in real life?" I just looked at her. Lydia get her coat & I put mine on too. She asked "What you doing?" I said, "I was going to wave goodbye to you & make sure you got down the street safe."

She looked at me, with her hand on the door, "You aren't going to let me run away, are you?"

I just looked at her & then she ran to me, grabbed me around the waist at hard as she could & cried!!! I hugged her, I said, "Of course I wouldn't let you run away! I love you too much & we would miss you!!" I could tell she was glad I wouldn't let her! I got my bluff in on her, but I was glad that she ran TO ME & not run AWAY FROM ME.

5. Feeling really good that I'm catching up on my scrapbooking. I like to look back over the years to see the girls.

Wordless Wednesday

Caraline in her new booster seat!

Wordless Wednesday

Caraline in her new booster seat!

Happy 5th birthday Sweet Caraline!

My sweet Caraline is 5 today!

She loves our dog Maggie, BBQ chips, ice skating & still needs her "blankie" if she is upset or hurt. She has told me she wants to run a mile fun run soon.

She is very into her kitchen stuff right now. She told me when she grows up, she wants to be a "cooker girl". Lydia got her some plastic food, Nana & Papaw got her some pots & pans & a serving tray. She was in heaven in her kitchen!

She had a party on Saturday with a few family friends & neighbor girl. It was a nice enough day that they could all go outside & play.

My friend Kimberly made her some special cupcakes with a little girl ice skating! They were DARLING! (pictures coming soon!)

On Thursday, I took Caraline out to take her five year portraits. She did so good & did everything I asked her too! She seemed so grown up! It probably helped that I promised Cheetos if she did a good job & listened!:)

She told me she didn't feel five because she didn't seem taller! I told her about on my 5th birthday, I ran to the mirror that morning & was so upset because I wasn't taller & looked the same as I has when I was 4!

I can't wait to see what this next year holds for my little curly haired girl! We love you "sweet Caraline"!

Friday Five

The girls playing "Just Dance" on the Wii!

1. Loved going to Caraline's classroom to celebrate her birthday today! We made chocolate chip cookies & she brought Jingles for show & tell. She had a birthday crown! Mrs. Scott told me that Caraline is reading some words! She thinks she'll be ready for all day kindergarten next year. ME TOO! So proud of her!

2. So grateful to my friend Kimberly who made the CUTEST ice skating cupcakes for Caraline's birthday party tomorrow! They are darling & Caraline loves them!

3. Feeling a little bad that we are having a "low key" party for Caraline when Lydia's was a big bash with 17 friends! It's hard to have her birthday 2 weeks after Christmas, 1 week after New Years. We are usually tired & "partied out!" We are going to IHOP, Caraline's favorite place to eat for Sunday, which is her actual birthday.

4. Scott can drive a hard bargin!! Last Saturday, we were in Stillwater. We went downtown to a western store for fun & Lydia saw some PINK cowboy boots! They were $50. She has claimed that she thinks that one of her feet is bigger than the other. Well, we found a pair of pink boots for $29.99. One was a size 13 1/2 & the other was a 12 1/2. She tried them on & was thrilled that they fit perfectly!! Scott went to the front & asked the saleslady, "What are the odds that you will sale these mixed matched boots? I'll give ya $20 for them." She went & asked the manager & he said "You have a deal!" Lydia has worn those boots EVERYDAY this week!

5. I've spent $51.88 on prints & 4 picture CD (with a picture index, which is VERY nice!) this week! I hadn't printed pictures since early OCTOBER!!! I had to print Tori & Russ leaving, Halloween, pumpkin patch, Lydia's birthday, Thanksgiving, school parties, Daisy field trips, Christmas, ice skating, & New Year's Eve!! I still haven't printed Caraline's birthday portraits, party, or bought the new yearly scrapbook! All this is coming out of my "Life Captured" account.....good thing I had some $$$!:) (but it is going away quickly!)

Wordless Wednesday

Paying our respects to our cat, Blaze (April 2002-Dec 26th, 2011)

Happy 2012!!

Well, it's that time of year again, when it's out with the old & in with the new! I LOVE the new year! It's about fresh beginnings & looking forward to the blessings of a new year. It's also a time to reflect on the blessings & gifts that the grace & mercy of the Lord has given your family.

For the last 3 years, we have had a New Year's Eve Bash at our house with our good friends: The Rosackers, Churchwell's & the Cox's. Between us all, we have 9 kiddos & this year, 2 puppies were added to the mix!

We had yummy food, the kids got to play outside for a little while before the cold front came through & then we played Just Dance 3 on the Wii! I've never laughed so hard!! Last year, we played American Idol & we laughed, & this year proved to be even more fun & was a barrel of laughs too!

All the kids stayed up, with the exception of Caraline, she fell asleep about 10:30.

It is great to celebrate with friends who love the LORD!!

Even though the Cox's are going to be moving this year, we told them they had to come back to celebrate with us again next year, it's a tradition!

HAPPY 2012!! May the LORD bless your family in the new year!