Fireproof

If you're married, getting married or thinking about someday getting married, you have to see this movie! Kyle and I went to see Fireproof this afternoon and loved it! Honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first because of the less-than-Oscar-worthy acting but the story/message is so captivating that I was quickly drawn in. Kyle and I both cried through most of the movie, but laughed a good deal as well. Fireproof not only provides some incredible tough truths about marriage, but it presents the gospel message just FLAT OUT!! I could hardly believe that we were sitting in a mainstream theater watching this incredible work of God. If you can, make time for a date with your spouse or significant other and see this movie!

Sharp Dressed Man!

Last Sunday Kyle was kind enough to help with getting the kids ready for church while I was showering and getting myself ready. Now, as most moms can probably relate, unless we're just staying home, I typically cringe a bit when I know Kyle's going to pick out the kids' clothes (sorry Babe!). Well, this time Kyle did a great job! Look at that little sharp dressed man! We just couldn't resist taking a bunch of pictures of the kids looking so snazzy before church. Here are a few of our faves.

We've been attending a new church and have brought the kids for 3 weeks now. It's a pretty sizable church (about 1,000) so I didn't expect the nursery or Sunday school workers to remember our kids. Wrong-o! When I brought Mac to the nursery today the gal said right away, "Maguire, right?" I said, "yeah...good memory!" And then she said she remembered him because he was dressed so cute last week :)

Ashlyn's at that stage now where when we ask her to smile she gives the biggest cheesiest smile. I remember my nephew, Stone, going through that same stage too :) We're working on it with her. This bottom one is the best we got...we'll keep working!

Ashlyn is really funny with the "names" of her dolls and stuffed animals. Like her mommy, she's really creative with their names. Ok, I'm being totally sarcastic...my dolls when I was her age were named Heavy Baby and New Baby. Can you guess why? Hee hee! Ashlyn has named her stuffed frog Froggy, her stuffed lamb Lamby, her little rattle doll Dolly-Dolly and most of her other animals/dolls are named similarly. She cracked me up the other day and then again today when she mentioned some names. She has this huge life-size pink stuffed dog that my cousins got her for Christmas. She used to call it--creatively--Pink Puppy. The other day she informed me that it's name is "Lindy, you know, Mommy, like Miss Julie's dog is Lindy." Miss Julie is our neighbor. She and her husband have an enormous great dane puppy named Lindy who is incredibly energetic and hyper, but loves our kids. Ashlyn is oddly fascinated with Lindy and loves to look at her when there's a fence between them, but she's quite terrified of most dogs when they get close to her. Lindy's no exception, but what a compliment to name her dog after her! The "naming" today is much more odd. Ash likes for me to make people out of pipe cleaners for her to play with. She handed me one tonight and asked me to make a boy out of it (and a purse for the boy, but that's another post!). Then she found a mom that I had made another time. She told me that the boy's name was "Church-a-lot" and that the mom's name was "Haive-a-Lord". What the--??? Silly girl...

Random musings....

So, what is it with guys who work at coffee houses? I mean, between the Starbucks near my house and the Biggby Coffee (my two major coffee weaknesses) near my house there are some...interesting employees there. Does anybody else encounter things like this: employee impersonating Christopher Walken at the drive-thru, striking up a several minute long conversation at the ordering box thingy, asking a trivia question at the drive-thru and MAKING me guess until I get it right (anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely despise guessing games), asking for a run-down of my plans for the evening, engaging me in a lengthy conversation about the virtues of a cinnamon chip muffin versus a blueberry muffin. All this done as if we're great friends! Not that I mind, mind you, but I always drive away (since I go through the drive-thru 99% of the time so I don't have to drag 2 toddlers inside, just to have them stare directly at all of the yummy pastries available and therefore begin begging relentlessly) thinking, "What the??" Do they specifically train coffee house employees to engage in this kind of stuff or do I just get the chatty ones?

Up to My Ears in TOMATOES!!

Tuesday was the day for canning tomatoes with my grandma. I've been looking forward to this since last winter when I ran out of the tomatoes we canned last fall! Not only do I use a lot of stewed tomatoes (tacos, taco soup, guacamole, chili, pasta, etc.), but I get to spend a whole day with my grandma. :)
I told my grandma that I wanted to do WAY more than we did last year. We decided on 2 bushels. She kept asking if I was sure and I assured her I was :) Well, maybe I didn't realize quite how many tomatoes that would be! Imagine 4 paper grocery sacks full of tomatoes. Yep, that's a whole lot! We ended up with 27 quart jars and 7 pint jars full. PLUS, my parents kept a few jars. PLUS, my grandma took home a bunch more to finish canning at her house because we ran out of jars. PLUS, I took about 1/4 bushel home because they weren't ripe enough to can yet. Oddly enough, we don't eat many fresh/raw tomatoes around our house so I had to try to find a loving home for my excess tomatoes, lest they should rot. Fortunately for me, I found some takers after the PTO meeting this morning (yes, I'm on the PTO! That's how you know you're REALLY a parent!). The preschool director, Deb, and Pastor Love (really his name!), the pastor at the church where Ash's preschool is located, were happy to take them off my hands. Pastor Love even spent time giving me a wide variety of ways to prepare tomatoes :)
Ok, back to the day of canning. It was great to spend some uninterrupted time with my grandma. My mom kept track of the kids for me, so that was so helpful! Grandma had started out telling me that she wouldn't be able to last for the whole two bushels because of her back. But she surprised us all and stayed the whole time! Such a trooper, that woman! I think it was mostly because I bribed her with a quart of peaches ;) Thanks so much for spending the time with me, Grandma!!

Next stop: APPLESAUCE!

I am a domestic goddess!

Don't let Kyle or my 4-year-old neighbor, Payton, tell you any different! Yes, I am storing up food for the winter. Last fall I canned tomatoes with my grandma (and loved it!) and this year I've canned peaches and frozen away corn and blueberries. Still to come this fall will be more tomatoes and applesauce.
My neighbor, Carol, cans just about anything she can pick. I was hanging out in their garage one evening and smelled the fabulous smell of bushels of peaches ripening. She and I started talking about canning and I decided I'd like to try it. A few days later she and I--along with two of her kids and her niece, Ashlyn and Maguire--went peach picking at a local orchard. I took home a whole bushel for less than $20! Then, the following weekend Carol and I spent almost an entire Saturday canning my peaches. So sweet of her to take that much time to teach me how to do it and let me use her canner. I ended up with 8 quart jars of peaches and 8 jars of jam. Mmmm! Of course, before canning them, I used some of the fresh peaches and made the most delicious fresh peach pie I've ever tasted...if I do say so myself ;) I can't wait to make another one!
Kyle claimed he didn't like peaches, but while feeding some to Maguire (who goes crazy for them!), he decided to be a "big boy" and try one...which led to another...which led to another. Guess he likes them! He's growing up ;)

At the orchard, playing in the crates and with the huge tractor tires

Maguire, Kayla, Payton, Heidi and Carol pickin' peaches

Maguire took his job very seriously! Nevermind that most of the peaches he "picked" were off the ground!

Child of the corn! The orchard had a little corn maze that Kayla and Heidi (the best neighbors/babysitters!) took the kids through.

The giant chair!

A cute little horse made of scrap wood--Carol, Maguire, Payton, Ashlyn, Heidi, Kayla

Today, while I was taking Ashlyn and Payton (Carol is Payton's aunt and she watches her while Payton's mom is at work. Carol and her family lives next door to us and Payton and her family live across the street from Carol. The dads are brothers.) to and from preschool, Carol went pear, plum and corn picking. She asked if I wanted any. I don't care for canned pears (too mushy!) and had no idea what I'd do with a bunch of plums, but I said I'd take some corn. She told me how to freeze it--cook as usual on the cob, cut the corn off the cob and stuff it in ziploc freezer bags. So simple! She asked if I wanted a bushel or half bushel. I said half. Good thing! A half bushel is 30 ears of corn, and all for just $6! We had some corn for lunch, then I gave a few ears to Kyle's uncle who came over tonight. When I cooked/bagged it all, I had 7 quart bags full to freeze!
I've always loved when Carol brings me a meal (for having a baby, because they have "extra", or whatever reason) because it usually includes her homemade applesauce. I'm not a huge fan of store bought applesauce--it's a texture thing for me. But homemade chunky applesauce is SO good! Well, this fall we're going to pick our own apples and then I'll spend another day with Carol making applesauce! So looking forward to it :)
I never thought I'd be a "canner", but it feels so good to have the finished product to show for your work. Not to mention the FRESH frozen/canned fruits/veggies we'll be able to eat throughout the winter! It's a lot of work, but I enjoy the process and enjoy spending the time with Carol, and with my grandma when we do tomatoes. That time is just as precious to me as the actual jars I end up with.
***Oh yeah, the reason I mentioned my neighbor Payton in the beginning is because of some things she said to me a week ago while at our house. She walked in, looked around at my "lived in" house and said, "This place is a mess!" Then she proceeded to point out things that were out and should've been put away! Now, I don't claim to be some master housekeeper--of wait, I did just claim to be a domestic goddess, crap--but next to Lisa, Payton's mom, I look like Peanuts' Pigpen!***

My Baby is a Preschooler!

First of all, who STOLE the last 3+ years from me?! When did my baby girl all of a sudden become old enough to go to preschool?? Doesn't she look so old? Ashlyn's first day of preschool was today. She was so excited! Anyone who knows Ashlyn knows that she's our super-sleeper. Kyle and I have been wondering for months how it was going to work out having to wake her up for school. We needn't have worried! Our plan was to wake her up this morning at 8:15, but she woke up at 7:45...singing in her bed! She greeted me with a huge smile and a squeal :) So by the time we were going to wake her up, she was up, dressed and ready to go! {So why did we still leave 5 minutes later than we had wanted to?? Oh yeah...that's just how we roll!}

When I went outside to take Ashlyn's official "first day of school" picture, we noticed that her best friend, Elizabeth was out with her mom (Kristi) getting her picture taken too. Here they are running to greet each other.

Think they're excited??

After showing each other their backpacks and ponytails...and getting a few more pictures taken together, they were off and running! They ran back over to Elizabeth's porch, then to our porch, then to Elizabeth's porch...you get the idea.

After trying to keep up with them for a while Maguire said, "Forget it! I'm just gonna stay here with this ball!"
Then...off we went! The Neeleys in their van, our other neighbors in their van, and us...5 minutes later...in our van.

When the girls saw each other in the parking lot of the church/preschool you'd have thought they hadn't seen each other in weeks! We thought they were going to knock each other over as they collided in a hug. We've seen that running/hug thing end badly way too many times...

Ashlyn, Elizabeth, and Payton (Payton is our other neighbor who is one year older than Ashlyn--they even have the same birthday!)

Another hug inside. Again, do you think they're excited?! Kyle doing a great job videotaping!

Elizabeth, Ash and their teacher, Mrs. Stoufer. Last week Mrs. Stoufer visited each of the 10 students' homes to spend a little time with the kids. She brought a story, Ashlyn's folder with stickers to decorate it, and some homework! Ashlyn had to color a cutout of a girl and answer on the back what her favorite color/food/toy/show/movie is. First thing Ashlyn did when she got into the classroom was to start a load of "laundry" in the Fisher-Price washing machine! (???) Then she quickly ran over to Mrs. Stoufer to show off her glittery cutout :)

We attempted to get a partial-family shot before we left (Maguire had already made himself at home playing with some cars...I'm sure he wished we would've forgotten him!). Ashlyn wasn't thrilled that we interrupted her for this pic! And I'm not thrilled with the oh-so-flattering angle of the picture--haha!

The goodbye process for us was pretty uneventful. Ashlyn barely noticed that we were leaving. When I went to say goodbye to her, she ignored me and ran over to her teacher squealing, "We're gonna have a TEA PARTY!" So Kyle, Maguire and I just left. The process was a little more difficult for poor Elizabeth. She cried when Brian and Kristi left. Then, about an hour and a half into it, she was still crying and had worked herself up enough that she threw up. Kristi came and got her. Ash said she tried to tell Elizabeth that it was going to be ok, but Elizabeth said, "I don't want you to say that to me!" I know how she feels...when you're feeling bummed out sometimes you just don't want anyone but your mommy!

Ashlyn was SO hyper after I picked her up! Running, dancing, singing, squealing (where did this squealy girlie girl come from??) all over the kitchen as I made lunch. I'm pretty sure she's excited to go back on Wednesday!