Back in the Lone Star State!

We're in Texas!!! We made it in around lunchtime yesterday. It's kinda weird being back. We haven't been here since my graduation in May. We'll be at Chris's folks' for a few days and then off to Fairfield. I'm already getting all relaxed with no schedule to maintain!

The boys have been here for a few days, so Chris and I were totally ready to see them when we got here. Can I tell you how great it is to hear "Momma!!!" and see those smiles as those boys ran to hug us? I love being the mom! They had a great time, but I think they were ready to see us. We're having Thanksgiving and Christmas tomorrow, so our holiday season is upon us!

Chris and I made a list of restaurants we must visit while we're down here....we've already had our Whataburger french fries and Lupe's enchiladas....I wonder what we'll tackle next! Most of our "must eats" are mexican joints....not a lot of good mexican food in Arkansas! Just one of the reasons it's good to be back in TX!

Fun Girls' Day

Well, the day started off way too early. You guys know I'm NOT a morning person! Chris and our youth pastor, Justin, were going to a conference at Greenbrier (outside of Conway), and Jamie (Justin's wife) and I tagged along. We were dropping the boys off with Chris's parents today. :( They wanted a little extra time with them, so they met us all the way in Conway this morning to get them. It'll be nice to have a few days with Chris, but I'm missing my boys. The quietness here is a bit deafening! They're having a blast, though. Caleb is so busy playing with his cousin, Nathan, that he doesn't even have time to talk to us on the phone! Little toot!

Anyway, we dropped the guys off at their conference, and Jamie and I headed to Conway for some serious shopping. Loads of fun!!! I haven't laughed as much as I did today in a long time. It's like everything was exceptionally funny today for some reason. (Rebecca, you know what I'm talking about!!! We used to have lots of those days!) We had so much fun just hanging out and shopping. I bought some really cute boots, and I discovered a great bookstore with great prices and bought lots of books. I'm a nerd, I know, but I love books! It was just a great time. Jamie and I don't get to spend lots of time without husbands or my kids. I needed a good girls day. It was totally freezing out, but still good shopping! Now we're home in the quiet hunkering down for a cold night....supposed to freeze tonight!

Breakthrough!

Yes, it is possible.....Joshua can actually go to "school" and like it! We've been taking him to Mother's Day Out since school started. At first, he just screamed when we left him. Then, he'd say "Nooo" and whine a bit when we left. Now, this week we can put him down in his room (with him carrying his own lunch box-too cute!) and he turns around and waves and says "bye". YEAH!!! His teachers are getting more attached to him too. The other day, his sheet for the day said, "He is too perfect!" He is just a little sweetie, I must say!

Caleb got to graduate to the bigger kids class today. I didn't know that was the plan, so when I took him to his room, Miss Carol told me to take him to the next room. I was kind of worried because he LOVES Miss Carol, so I told him how big he was getting to graduate to the next class. He looked up at me, chest puffed out, and said, "I'm big like you now, Momma!" He's 4 now you know. He's decided since he's 4 that he's as big as I am! The logic of a 4 year old!

More Estrogen, Please!

We headed to Conway on Thurs for the AR BMA meeting. I'm not a big fan of these meetings; they kind of bore me! Thankfully, I have 2 sweet boys that can't sit through all that! We packed our bag o' toys and played in the foyer while Chris went into the meeting. It was nice to see a TX face in the crowd there. For all you Ag friends out there, I got to say hi to Bobby, my former pastor. He's serving in Conway now. Always great to see a familiar face!

Then we got to the fun part. We went to Heber Springs/ Greers Ferry on Fri to go camping with Chris's brother and nephew. The drove up for some fishing. I was surrounded by way too much testosterone! I wish Ronnie would have brought along my sis-in-law!!! The camping was beautiful and way cold! We threw rocks in the river and saw an eagle. He perched up in a tree and even flew around a bit. So neat! I realized, however, that Caleb is growing up. So sad! He just ran right into the woods by our campsite with Jacob to go exploring. I sat there and watched him thinking how big he is going out there without us. I hated to have to come back Sat. afternoon. I have found that I actually like camping....of course, since we bought our camping trailer, it's really nice!

We had a great time hanging out with family this weekend. It's always nice to have visitors up here. Yesterday afternoon, we got out to play in the leaves again, and Ronnie buried Caleb and Jacob. They were "leaf monsters!" Joshua was more occupied with pulling around the wagon!

On a more serious note, I'd like to ask you all to pray for us as we minister here. I don't want to go into specifics, but you minister's wives/ kids out there surely understand where I'm coming from, and the rest of you know just how stubborn I am and how much I want to lash out! Pray for wisdom and strength for us. Thanks so much!

It's Raining Leaves!

I wish I would have gotten my camera out this morning when I looked out my window. There are a couple of huge trees in the back yard, and their leaves have turned a beautiful yellow in the last week. Well, so many are starting to fall off that it looked like it was raining yellow leaves this morning! Now our back yard is covered with leaves and in desparate need of a rake! We took the boys out back a while ago and let them play in all the leaves. Lots of fun throwing them up in the air!

Pardon Caleb in his underwear....He still hates wearing pants even though it was a little chilly out! At least he knows to keep them on in public! The pics don't do the colors justice at all, but maybe you can tell a little bit how pretty it is up here right now! Happy Fall!

To God Be the Glory

I think that title adequately expressed the theme for Jill (Jarvis) Atteberry's life. I found out about Jill's tragic death last night as I was browsing through blogs from my Aggie buds. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was expecting to see her and Scott this weekend at a meeting in Conway. I actually look forward to meetings for the simple reason that talking with Jill and Scott seems to brighten those dreary hours!

I don't know that Jill will ever know the impact she had on so many lives. She loved God and she loved people. An awesome legacy to leave to her little man, Bryce. As a mom, I am saddened that she will not see him grow up. As a wife, I am saddened that she and Scott will not have a long, happy marriage and enjoy growing old together.

However, I must take comfort that Jill is rejoicing in Heaven today and sitting at Jesus' feet. My little tiny mind doesn't do a great job comprehending that there is so much more that this short life. May God help me to have a Kingdom mindset in all things.

We will all miss Jill. I remember teaching aerobics with her at the ABS center. I remember so many things about her. She was always a light in a dark world. Please pray for Scott, Bryce, and the rest of the family during this time. I can't imagine what they're going through. Chris and I were talking about how this could happen to any of us at any time. All of us have unbuckled to turn around and take care of a baby at one point. I know I have. I hope we all realize what a gift each day is and what a gift our loved ones are. I'll not let folks not know how much I love them now. May God allow me to be a light like Jill.

On to the next holiday!

We made it through Halloween! The boys were adorable, of course. We went to one of the local church's "Trail of Treats" for our trick or treating. The boys liked it, but Caleb got scared of some of the other kids' scary costumes! Then we went to a Halloween party at some of our friends' house. My friend Jamie bought Caleb some special Diego trick or treat candy, so we couldn't miss that!

On Sat., we did some "spring" cleaning in the fall. Whew! That was not a fun job. We cleaned out everything but the closets. Thankfully, we had cleaned out the pantry because our sweet congregation pounded us on Sun! They did that for us last year, and I have yet to buy paper towels. Now my pantry is overflowing and my bathroom closet is full of toilet paper and paper towels! These folks up here are so sweet! They take good care of us.

Funny story....I made cupcakes this afternoon after I got home from work. A little while ago, I was icing them when I heard this "Mmmmm" behind me. I look down and Joshua had taken one of my non-iced cupcakes and was eating the top off! The little thief! He liked it even better when I put a bit of icing on it. He's a sweet lover like his daddy!

Here are a few pics from the last week, minus Caleb's birthday party. Still haven't downloaded them from my friend's camera....