Friday Favorites!!!

My Thirty One stuff finally came in this week! I love my purse! It is a hipster and easy to hold on to when I carry other stuff around, too. The monogram color I picked shows up great on it, too! I also got the paisley print wallet. It is pretty big and holds all my stuff. 

My younger brother got married! I now have a new sister-in-law, Ariel. And a new 1-yr old niece, Brielle! They live in Florida and we don't get to see them much, so that sucks :( But they ARE coming to visit at Christmas! I can't wait!!!

The other night at Lifegroup childcare, Erika was really on top of things! She brought a lot of Halloween crafts and goodies for us to do with the kids. First we made skeletons out of q-tips. Then we made spider crackers with pretzel legs. Then we decorated cookies! (even the adults did... gotta love sugar!) We made  HUGE mess.. glue and crumbs and icing all over the floor... oops! But I think the kids had a great time! 

I looooved watching Jill and Derick's wedding Tuesday night! I was crying through so many parts of it! Seeing Derick's mom get to be at the wedding, seeing Jim Bob tear up, seeing J & D so excited about being together.... it was all just beautiful! I was even imagining Arnold walking our own daughters down the aisle one day. Everytime I think about that for even a moment I tear up!!! I heard the episode had like 4.4 million viewers! Wow!! 

The other day we had absolutely beautiful weather! So we met up with some friends at the park after school. Rachel is wearing a dress because she had school pictures earlier that day. She got to play with her BFF Kenzie, so they were thrilled :) I got to sit and chat with Erika and another new friend, Megan. We did have a few incidents though.. Rachel got her poor leg pinched in one of the play gym metal things, and Caleb busted his lip open on the slide!!!! But they are ok..... I am glad we decided to spend that time outside because later in the week it has started getting COLD!!!! 

Tuesday the kids had school pictures. I love Rachel's Carter's dress with the polka dots and sparkly collar! I like Brooke's dress but kinda wish I had picked something cuter for her pics now. Oh well. All the kids said they smiled big for the camera.. I can't wait to see the pics when they get in! 

This arrived in our mailbox yesterday!! I always love getting the Toys R Us and Target toy books every year. They usually have sales and coupons that go along with them, too. I loved flipping through it along with the kids! They saw a bunch of things they wanted of course.. some I had already bought (yes!!) and some were new requests and waaay too expensive ($100 Monster High Castle made of plastic?? I don't think so!!!) But I can't believe how close it is getting to Christmas already! I love this time of year!! 

~A friend told me about Paperback swap, a website where you can list books you don't need anymore, and if someone requests one of your's, all you have to do is mail it to them and then you get a credit to pick out a book for you! I have already mailed 7 books since signing up and am waiting on my new books to arrive to me (already have gotten 2!) I think it is pretty awesome, and a cheap way to get some new books! Only thing is I wish there was a better selection of newer books, but it's still worth it to me!

~Happy Halloween to everyone! The kids were so excited to go to school today. They got to wear their costumes, have parties in their classrooms, and go to an after-school halloween dance. Tonight we are taking them trick-or-treating, then to Ihop for dinner. They do free scary face pancakes for kids!! Hope everyone has a fun and safe evening!!!! :)

Five on Friday!

#1

I just finished reading this book. It was amazing! I have read some of her other books, and she always "speaks to me." I ended up so enlightened and motivated. A lot of the things are "simple" but make a huge impact. I'd recommend it to any other women who want a good read! I also just finished Francis Chan's new book about marriage and eternity. You think being Christian and I would have made the connection but I never really thought about it til now. How people can see Jesus through Arnold and I, as we show each other love and kindness in our marriage. Great perspective on how marriage is more than just pleasing each other and being comfortable!

#2

I found this Carter's dress at the mall, and got it for Rachel. I think it is going to be her outfit for fall pictures next week! This is a bad pic.. the dress looks so much cuter in person. The collar is sparkly! Adorable! I am going to buy Carter's stuff for Rach until she grows out of that 6x size.. then I will be sad!!!

And speaking of cute dresses, I got that dress on the far right with the pumpkin face, for Brooke to wear for Halloween! It is at Target. They have their halloween stuff for girls on sale this week, too! They were all out of the "nerdy" ghost shirt, but it was cute too!

#3

Arnold and I have been talking a lot lately about re-doing our kitchen. We are just trying to save up some money right now and plan things out. We want to replace the flooring first, and I think we have that picked out. I either want the walls a sunny yellowish or a green shade.. sort of like this one. Any suggestions? I love both colors and can't decide. I am sooo excited about us updating our house though! It is way overdo!

#4

Has anyone seen this new show yet? It is on NBC on Tuesday nights. It is so funny! I love the actors and they seem to have great chemistry. The mother in law already cracks me up!

#5

They put their flannel sheets on sale this week at Target, and I picked up the red set (on the top but the design is hard to see) I became obsessed with their flannel sheets last fall when I was working there. They are SO soft and SO warm.. nice to have on those chilly nights! They have some cute prints, also. I have the Christmas birds/bells from last year and I may pick up the snowflakes this year :) They also have kids' versions that are very cute! So check them out! (listen, I am already trying to sell stuff and I don't even start my job there until Nov. 3rd!! ;)

Celebrations & Festivals! Weekend in Review!

Friday after I got out of class I took mom out to lunch for her birthday. We went to Rancho Viejo. It was fun to eat some mexican food and have some girl time. They come out and sing to you for your birthday, bring you a dessert, and put a sombrero on you. They surprised Mom and even put some whipped cream on her face. I think she was kinda embarrassed! I told her I was sorry though ;) 

Saturday morning we went to a local appliance store to get a new dryer. Our old dryer wasn't even that old, but it stopped heating for some reason. Arnold even tried to repair it twice. We keep getting soo backed up on laundry. Our parents have even helped us out several times so we wouldn't get behind. Mom ended up saying she would buy us a new one as an early Christmas present. Thank you SO much Mom!!!! We went to pick it out that morning, and I love our new one. It was pretty awesome and expensive but it was the last one of a type they were discontinuing, so they gave it to Mom for half off... total score!!! It is being delivered today and I am so ready to get back on track. You don't realize how much you take things for granted until something goes wrong! And we are so, so thankful for Mom for doing that for us!!!!

Saturday afternoon we took the kids to a local church for a fall festival they were having. They had a hotdog lunch, then lots of activities outside. The kids played several games and were able to win tickets to get prizes. They also had bounce houses set up they could jump in and slide down. Then they wanted their faces painted. Brooke and Caleb got their full face painted and loved it. Rachel just got a little heart on her cheek :) And lastly we got sno-cones! They even offered one to me and Arnold, so I got a cherry one :) We let the kids play on the playground for awhile before we went home. It was such nice weather outside too.. the perfect day to go to a festival!

That evening we went to Mom and Dad's house to celebrate Mom's birthday with everyone. Grandpa came over too. Dad grilled steaks, and we also had baked potatoes, asparagus wrapped in bacon, and then an icecream cake for dessert. It was sooo delicious, I left there stuffed! Mom even sent home the extra steak with Arnold, so he was happy. And the extra cake too, so I was happy ;) We ate outside on their deck and it was starting to get a little chilly so we built a fire in their outside fireplace thing. The kids loved picking up sticks around the yard to help Pop Pop out :) Poor Arnold got stung though! Twice! When he was picking up sticks he upset a nest of bees. He got stung just below his chest, and on his arm. I felt so bad for him :( We also played Frisbee in the backyard with Caleb. That is his new favorite thing! He has a pretty good arm, too! We had an awesome time spending time with family, and when we got home they kids went right to sleep. They were exhausted!

Sunday morning I worked at church. First service we didn't have any volunteers show up, so I worked in the class and Arnold helped me out. I always love it when he's in there because he is so dramatic when I do the lesson with the kids, and when we read them stories he does silly voices. The kids love him :) 2nd service he had to work in his class, and we had plenty of helpers with the babies, but since there were also baby girl twins in there, I decided to stay in there  and help out. Ok, so I really wanted to snuggle a baby! ;) I told Arnold I wanted one of those for Christmas but he just rolled his eyes at me! Ha! ;)

After church we went and got a quick lunch, then headed to a local park to help Mom out. She works at a local crisis ministry, and they put on a Walk for Hunger to raise money. The weather was beautiful and the kids got to play on the playground while we set things up. Mom had asked Arnold to come help out and do face painting for the kids, since he is so artistic ;) It was a lot of fun. Some of the adults even ended up getting their faces painted too, for fun :) They had filled up a lot of water balloons for a balloon fight at the end of the walk, but most of the people had gone home by then, so the kids ended up getting to throw water balloons at their Grandma. They thought that was the best ;) I think they had a pretty good turnout and it went well. I had a major headache when I got home from allergies though! :(

Before we went home we stopped by Walmart to pick up a few grocery items and some pizzas from the deli for dinner (they are yummy!) We ran into someone we hadn't seen in a very long time, so that was neat! When we got home we made the pizzas and watched some tv. When the kids went to bed Arnold and I watched "Resurrection" like every Sun. night. The show is getting more creepy now! Grandma is so evil! What is going to happen next??? I have no clue! Why won't they tell us???? Arghhhh!!!




Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!!!! :)

They even put a sombrero on me and made me dance around too! 

Mom opening her gift. I got her a taco bell giftcard because she loves going there on her lunch break sometimes. And a shirt.. we actually have matching shirts now!

She was surprised by the sombrero but it was funny!!!!

We took a selfie outside the restaurant! We weren't even looking at the right spot! Haha!

The kids at the church festival on Saturday

A ninja turtle, Hello Kitty, and a little heart :)

This sweet dog was at the festival running around and Caleb just loved him :)

My new "A" shirt. This is the kind I got Mom too so we could match!

Brooke won a prize! She loved this unicorn and has been carrying it around all weekend.

Our little monkey! She went all the way across the monkey bars! She is strong!

Cuddling babies at church on Sunday! I was in heaven!

Rachel and I matched in our leopard prints Sunday!

We both have new shoes! Her's are from Old Navy and mine are from Target :)

Mom at the walk on Sunday afternoon

Arnold was ready to paint some faces!

He painted an owl for me to practice!

The kids played in the sandbox while waiting

Brooke loved throwing water balloons at Grandma!!! :)

What I Read: 3rd Quarter

I know I am very late on posting my book list and reviews for the 3rd quarter of the year! And I did not read nearly as much this time around as I have in the past. Thanks to starting school I don't have the time to read as much anymore! But I still wanted to share the list to keep track and to post suggestions for those of you who might be looking for your next read. So here are the books I read for the 3rd quarter (July, August, and September of this year.)

NONFICTION

This was about living on less and being happy with it. It was very eye-opening. I'd rate it as "great."

This is a parenting book. It was hard for me to get into, and I didn't finish it. I'd rate it "fair."

This was a book about a woman who lost her baby, she was stillborn. It was very sad. But it talked about her faith and it was a wonderful book. I'd rate it "great."

FICTION

This is one of my favorite authors. Another in her series I have read. I'd rate it as "great."

Another of my favorite authors. Didn't disappoint. Another "great" from me.

This was a kindle book a friend suggested to me. I read it in one evening while at the beach. It was amazing! An unlikely love story... I'd recommend it "very great!" Seriously... read it! It isn't even that long.

Another one of my favorite authors. Easy read. Chick lit. "great".

I know the girl (sort of-- she was in a mom's group I was in) who wrote this. I read it and liked it ok but it also has some very suggestive content, just for your information! I'd rate it as "good."

Another fave author! Good one for the animal lovers out there. Kindof long. I'd rate it "good."

I loved this one.. it was a page turner. Not for suspense or anything, but interesting characters and I loved a peek into their lives and stories. I'd rate it a "great."

STARTED READING

I have started reading this one because I heard it got great reviews. It is really good, but REALLY long. Like 900 pages or so. I read a little bit every Mon and Wednesday in between my classes. I am really liking it so far....

Another one of those I wanted to read because it was very popular right now. I borrowed it from my mom. I can't believe it, but I can't get into it! I have heard it gets better, so I am going to keep trying!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am sooo excited that an American Girl store just opened this past weekend, about an hour from us! I have never been in one of their stores.. my mom and Grandma always had to order my dolls when I was younger. Brooke keeps begging to go and to be honest I'm probably just as excited as her to go!! I am thinking maybe wait for the madness to die down a bit.. buy the girls a giftcard for Christmas, then a week later or so we can visit the store and let them pick out a doll? How fun would that be?! 

Diet sundrop is sooo good! Why didn't someone tell me this before?? I don't care too much for diet drinks but have finally gotten used to the tastes of Diet Coke and Diet Dr Pepper. But the diet Sundrop tastes the best I think. I just bought a bunch at Walmart to take with me on morning I go to classes.

This was one of the Amazon toy lightning deals this week, and I got it for Rachel! It was almost half off.. such a good deal! She is going to love it.. the Dora talks and you can "talk" to her on the smartphone is has for the child.. don't know.. but Rachel is still on a huge Dora kick, so I know she will love it. It will be one of her Christmas presents.

When I was browsing the Halloween section at Walmart today, I saw the ELSA costume on the shelf.. the last one! And it was Rachel's size! Well might be a tad big, but it will work! Poor Rachel was bummed when they were all wiped out at Target and Party City. So I scooped that baby up right away! And a bonus was that it was $3 cheaper than the Target costumes!!

I picked this up at the Lifeway Christian store the other day. They were having a sale on some of their popular book. I LOVE Francis Chan. Him and his wife wrote this book about marriage. It is very interesting so far....

I am enjoying watching this season of 19 Kids and Counting! I just wish they'd hurry up and show the actual WEDDING of Jill and Derick though! I am so happy for them :) I can't believe one day my girls will be at the place in life.. makes me tear up! 

I am loving the cooler weather lately, and the kids are getting to wear some of their new fall outfits. I just picked this up from Kohl's for Rachel. Yes, another owl thing...! I can't decide if I want this to be worn on her school picture day or something more dressy... we will see! 

~I finally got around to visiting the Allergy dr this week. I am glad I finally went... it went very well. Our insurance covered all my testing, with just a specialist co-pay. They were all very friendly there and even gave me a goody bag for being a new patient. I had the skin prick test, and they tested me for like 100 things.. no kidding! It was uncomfortable when the little needles stuck in my back over and over again! They I laid there for about 20 minutes, which was nice to rest. Turns out I am not hugely allergic to anything (thank goodness) but I am mildly allergic to some things like dogs, cats, rice, onions, garlic, green beans (strange things!), and pretty allergic to COFFEE!! Isn't that strange? I don't even drink it.. guess It's a good thing! I also have a lot of seasonal and everyday allergies, so they said I would be a good candidate for the allergy shots. I am trying some medicines to help it first. Hopefully my headaches and fatigue will start to go away!

~We had a close call yesterday.. very bad storms and winds, and a tornado warning! It was very close to the kids' school, and they were actually taking cover in the halls and bathrooms for about 2 hrs. I felt so bad for them! I was so worried there for awhile, that I didn't have them with me! I was praying while I was at my allergy appt! They even had a late release from school, but everyone was ok! Thanks to my inlaws for picking them up for me!

~My mom's birthday is this weekend, so that will be fun. We love to celebrate in this family! ;) I might take her to lunch on Friday... that would be fun, just a girls' thing.

~My cousin who is due in February with her first baby found out last week she is having a girl! I am so excited for her! She will have soooo much fun buying all the girly stuff! I would know! Congratulations Stephanie!! :)

~Still having an awesome time doing childcare for the church. got my first paycheck deposited this morning.. it is always nice to have extra money in your account! I am working tonight for a lifegroup, and get to work with 2 of my good friends, so I am excited!! :)