Will she always love him this much?

One of the many benefits of working with students can be being subjects for class projects. Sounds funny, I know! But, last Fall, we benefited in an extra special way by helping a student with a class project. He was a photo journalism major and needed someone to take pictures of. He asked if he could journal our pregnancy, birth, and first few weeks with Baby #3. Well, of course! He took some fabulous pictures - ones we will treasure all of our days! This picture was taken on Halloween night (about 10 days before Bankston Hays joined us) and it is one of my most favorite! Don't you love it?!?!

TWO fun things today!

1) Our after school project for the day was to carve our pumpkin. I usually buy a pumpkin earlier in the season and enjoy it in and around the house up until the last few days before Halloween. Then, I enjoy carving it with the kids.


They had fun watching me carve it, pull out the insides, and were anxious to see it lit up!

2) My cousin, Woodman, is in town on business for a few days. It worked out for her to come over tonight. She seemed to have a good time eating Cheesy Chicken Rotel Soup, hanging with the kids, and seeing our house for the first time. I know I sure enjoyed her visit! Her company and conversation were a true treat!

Sweet Treat

Just about every day this week we have a little fun planned! After school today we made Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies. Have you ever seen them? I think they are precious and so easy to make! I plan for Wes and Ann Elise to take them to school tomorrow for their friends. Here is how you make them:

You need 1 tray of Nutter Butter Cookies, 1 bag of Chocolate Chip Mini Morsels, 1 package of Vanilla Almond Bark

Melt Almond Bark in a double boiler until smooth and runny. (please excuse my "double boiler")

Dip Nutter Butter Cookies into Almond Bark, one at a time. Hold the cookie by one end and cover most of the cookie.


Place cookie on wax paper. Add three Chocolate Chip Mini Morsels to make two eyes and a mouth.

Let dry (10 minutes or less...not long). Bon appetit!

Reminiscing...

As we are planning this year's costumes and gearing up for all that is planned for this week of Halloween, I have been reminiscing of the past few years and how much fun the kids have had dressing up...

2005
Wes: Fireman; Ann Elise: Dalmation



2006
Wes: Spiderman, Ann Elise: Ladybug (and scared to death of Wes' mask)


2007
Wes: Pirate, Ann Elise: Mermaid

Tag, I'm it!

I was tagged by Erin to share seven things you may not know about me. Here it goes:

1) I really enjoy traveling...especially outside the country! Most of my opportunities have come through BSU in College. I have traveled to Jamaica, Cozumel, Guatemala, Taiwan, Philippines, Bahamas, and St. Thomas to name most of the places. There are many places I'd still love to visit. I am really looking forward to taking our children over seas. I can't wait for them to see the world around us, experience other cultures, and expand their view of the world. I pray they will come to understand the Great Commission, in a very real way.

2) There are several words in the English language that my ears do not tolerate very well! Most of them have to do with actions or bodily functions. I don't like what they represent. I don't like what they mean. I don't like the sound of them being spoken. Unfortunately, my children and their vocabulary are are being redirected...they are being taught code words...and the general public has no idea what they are referring to...all because their mom has issues!

3) I had the exact same bedroom for 27 years. Yes, I went away to college and got married...but my childhood room didn't change.

4) I have a problem with sitting in someone else's seat. Let me explain. When we go to a function (mainly sporting events) I need to sit in the seat my ticket says. I am very nervous in the expectation that the rightful ticket holder will come and ask me to move. I know that I am in the wrong. So,why sit there in the first place?!? (I am so pathetic...I have been known to stand in the back of stadiums because of this very problem)

5) I am highly allergic to cats! So much so, that I would have an "attack" when my freshmen roommate would return from being home with her cats. (Sorry, Gigi! Erin, this explains my skiddish-ness at Bunko last month)

6) I am not a fan of talking on the phone.

7) I started life guarding the summer after 9th grade and did so every summer thereafter through college.

I am tagging: Woodman, Casey, Brooke, and Christi.

**EDIT** Sorry, if you looked at my post earlier today! I had started to do this last week and ran out of time. It posted this morning and I had not come back to finish it.

Happy Birthday, Wes!

Today is our first born's sixth birthday. Hard to believe it has been six years since our world was rocked by such a precious little person we never knew we could love so much! I love that Wes lives life to the fullest, that he loves people and is outgoing, that he loves to spend quality time, and that he is eager to learn everything! Here is a little slide show of his life (maybe it is not too long to enjoy :)

A few things I asked him today:
Favorite Color: orange, red
Favorite Food: Chicken Nuggets, Poppyseed Chicken, Hot Dogs, Pizza (his first answer was "can I say a dessert?" - I am not kidding!)
Favorite Sport: Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse
Favortie TV Show: Ruff Ruffman, Extreme Home Makeover, America's Funniest Home Videos, Power Rangers
Favorite Movie: Peter Pan, The Bee Movie, The Incredibles
Favorite Book: "the book about sharks"
Favorite Game: Checkers
Favorite Bible Verse: John 3:16
Interests: sports, drawing, reading, riding his bike

Tonight we will have a small celebration - just the five dubs. We will scarf down his favorite food (Poppyseed Chicken) before heading to TeamKID. I also made a little cake for him to blow out some candles...couldn't let the official day get by without doing that, right?!?!

I promised!

Honey Mustard

1 quart Kraft Mayonnaise
1 pint Mustard
24 ounces Honey
2 tbsp Vinegar
6 tbsp Oil
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Mix all ingredients. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. Makes approximately 4-5 cups.

Fall is in the air

For several weeks I have been seeing fellow bloggers post their Fall/Halloween decorations. I have seen several good looking wreaths and many cute decorating ideas (spending WAY too much time surfing). I pulled out my decor several weeks ago and have been working on getting it put out. But, I have found that I don't like some of my stuff any more so I am also weeding out as I decorate...leaving places pretty bare! So, I am not going to post pictures of those areas. However, I will post a picture of my front door wreath because I am pleased with how it turned out! This is the same arrangement that has been hanging on my front door since January (I should be ashamed!). I can explain...I was in Michaels' shortly after Christmas and they had this wreath on 90% off!!! It was worth the purchase just to get the container! I bought it and added a few sprigs of yellow and lime green to lighten it up a little. This Spring we were busy finishing our upstairs and in doing so we moved alot of our items being stored (including my wreaths) to the attic. We finished the upstairs in July but have been waiting for it to cool off a little before pulling out all the stuff we stored. With that said, I have not been able to get my hands on my seasonal wreaths, thus leaving the same wreath on my front door for nearly a year! This week I bought 3 sunflowers to add to my arrangement and I cannot believe what a statement $3.00 made! What do you think!?!?

Laughter is welcomed

TV is not a priority in our house, and has not been for many years. At one time during our marriage we paid to have many channels (few of those we enjoyed). As time passed we made the decision that TV was not that important to us, that we did not have that many shows we were interested in, and we felt the price we were paying was no where near what we were getting out of it each month. Eventually we chose the minimum cable which costs us less than $10 a month. I know you may be scoffing at this and I understand. But, I must admit, we rarely miss it. We get the news, the weather channel, and PBS Kids. What more could we ask for? I know, I know: ESPN, HGTV, Disney, Nickelodeon, Food Network, etc. But, seriously. We rarely miss it. With three little ones around the house we don't have much time to watch TV and when we have it on we have to be so tuned in to make sure it is appropriate for little ears and eyes (and really only the Weather Channel and PBS Kids fit that bill) that the TV hardly gets turned on.

Kris works on a college campus and has been hearing students talking about The Office for years. It actually comes on a channel we receive, but not at a good time for us to watch it. Well, this summer, a friend of ours offered the first three seasons to us. We started watching them at night after the kids would go to bed. And we had the best time. It was so nice to relax and laugh together. We really enjoyed it! (I will admit that the show can be more than we bargained for at times) Since we have gotten back into the school routine we have not been able to watch it - but we are looking forward to getting caught up!

Well, the BSU interns decided to play a joke on Kris and they put his stapler in Jello. If you watch The Office, you know this scene well! It was very funny! They took pictures and I knew I had to put them up...

Top Secret Recipes

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and come away realizing that something you had was the best you have ever had?!? Sure you have! Then you find yourself searching and searching for the closest product or recipe and it still is not quite right? Well, I have recently come across a website featuring top secret recipes (the title links to the website). I am impressed and want you to know about it, too! They have lots and lots of recipes from all sorts of restaurants featuring all types of foods. (Some of the recipes free and others are not...I have only looked at the "free" ones so I am not exactly sure what is entailed if they are not "free")

When it comes to menu planning for our family of five, it just about always includes chicken and salad. With that comes the need for condiments and/or dressings. Ranch and Honey Mustard dressings top the list at our house! I have been making our Honey Mustard from scratch for about 10 years now (I'll share that recipe next week) and we love it. But, I had never tried making our Ranch dressing...until this week! I made the following recipe and it is delicious!!!!


Outback Steakhouse's Ranch Salad Dressing

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (Buttermilk Recipe)
3 cups Mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
3/8 teaspoon Red Pepper
3/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Mix all ingredients together. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. Makes approximately 4 1/2 cups.

Annniversary Trip to NYC IV (and final)

One of the best decisions we made in planning this trip was the scheduling of our flight home. We decided to make the most of our last day in NYC and not fly out until late afternoon. This allowed us to take our time and still enjoy the day. With that being said, we started our day a little later. Kris walked down to Starbucks to get us some coffee and breakfast while I stayed in the room and packed. After we were ready, we checked out of the hotel (the hotel was so nice - they kept our bags locked up until we were ready to leave). We decided to spend the morning finishing more of the Grey Line Sightseeing Tour. We hopped on the double decker bus not even a block from out hotel and rode the Uptown Loop. This tour took us by the Museum of Natural History, through Harlem, around Central Park, down Museum Mile, and by the Dakota Apartments (where John Lennon was killed) to name a few. This tour was very relaxing as it took us through a more residential area of the city. At one point we were looking over the edge of the bus and they were filming on the side of the street. We are pretty sure we saw Katie Holmes on the set! We finished the tour around lunch and decided to take a walk through Central Park and get a bite to eat. I had read about this neat restaurant, The Boathouse Central Park, with great views overlooking the Lake that I would be charming and a nice way to end our time. So, we did our best reading the map to find it. After walking FOREVER, we were greeted with a wait ofover an hour for a table! Luckily they had a side cafe that served a smaller menu in more of a "to-go" style. Needless to say, we went with this option forfeiting the great views :) We both ordered and enjoyed our lunch on a park bench (that is until I lost the balance of my plate on my knees - leaving the pigeons a tasty snack). We continued our walk through the Park taking in the sights.


We stopped and watched a city league co-ed softball game. Check out the views from home plate. Amazing!


We were mesmerized by the trees and enjoyed the shaded walk.


We enjoyed the scenery of ponds, animals, beautiful flowers, and people.


Central Park is huge. It just goes on and on. Every turn we took led us to such neat places. Whether you choose to lay out in the meadows, row on the Lake, play a pick-up game with your friends, roller blade alone, or watch a street performer, it offers it all! It truly provides a unique retreat from the city.


One of our favorite movies is A Night at the Museum.

The movie takes place in the Museum of Natural History. Our hotel was across the street from the museum and we had hoped to make it there during our trip. After walking through the Park we still had a little bit of time and made our way over to the Museum. We did not think we had enough time to go through the museum, but the air conditioning and benches were welcomed by our tired feet! I knew the entrance of the museum contained three dinosaur skeletons

that I wanted to see and we rested while enjoying each other's company and doing a little people watching.

Before long it was time to gather our bags, hail a cab to LaGuardia, and return to real life. Our flights home were uneventful and before we knew it, we were loading our bags in Lloyd's car headed home.

My sister (who had lovingly been keeping our kiddos) and the children were all asleep when we got home. However, they had left a little surprise for Kris. You see, this day was also my sweet husband's 36th birthday! The kids had made red velvet cupcakes that spelled out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and they each had drawn him a special picture. What a welcome home!