Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from my little pumpkins!!!

Be a good pumpkin today and..............

Say "thank you to the Lord for being so good,

for always being so loving and kind.

Psalm 107:1

Until next time..........

Robin

Pssst, Mommy's Been Tagged!!!

Yes, it's true, I've been tagged!! Stefanie at http://www.nihaoyall.com/ tagged me. I've never done this before but I think I am supposed to list seven random facts about myself so here goes. Very boring I am sure!!!

1. Like Stefanie, I am also cheap(ahem, frugal). I can't stand to pay full price for anything and I don't. I LOVE, repeat LOVE pretty clothes but I will not pay ridiculous prices for them because to me they are disposable items. This is true for my children also. I love the hunt for a good bargain. I don't get to do this as much as I used to because of the little ones but when I do it's GREAT FUN!!!
2. I think peanut butter is an absolutely delicious treat especially when licked directly from the spoon! I was recently "CAUGHT" in the kitchen doing this by Emanuiel and Clara Beth. What could I do but grab two more spoons and let them enjoy also, now when Emanuiel wants this special treat he just goes and grabs the jar out of the cabinet and starts licking it!!
3. I detest the sound that Styrofoam makes when it rubs against things especially in cup holders. Ugh, the thought of it makes me cringe!!!!
4. I can't stand (hate) Play- doh. I know, I know, I am a kindergarten teacher for goodness sakes!! But in my classroom I use colored clay because the smell of Play- doh makes me gag!
5. I love to vacuum but hate to dust. I love vacuum cleaners, Dust Busters, Dirt Devils, etc, I even got a Shop Vac for Christmas one year(yes, I did ask for one). The more powerful the better.
6. I love chocolate(not surprising) of any kind, even the little cheap chocolates that you get in the $1 Valentine's boxes. I have been known to buy these for myself just so I can indulge. Yes, I do bite them and put them back in the box at times. No, I am not embarrassed to admit that!!
7. And finally, I always look at people's pocketbooks. No, not to see what kind they are(that doesn't interest me at all) but to see if they match what they are wearing. I do not like to see pocketbooks that do not go with one's outfit so you can imagine my embarrassment right now because I am sporting a cute canvas summer bag people when in just three days it will be November!!!! I MUST find the time to change!!!

Now you know all(most) of my crazy little quirks!!! Now I am supposed to tag someone else so here goes:

Lisa (I am sure you have done this already) http://thelongroadtochina.blogspot.com/

Nancy http://joyofchina.blogspot.com/

Kim http://www.catecomeshome.blogspot.com/

Tara http://www.eastandwestkids.blogspot.com/

Adele (new bloggy buddy, you may have done this too) http://makingmemorieswithmalloryandmeredith.blogspot.com/

Karen (my great photographer friend) http://www.kholubek.blogspot.com/

That's all for now!

Until next time......................

On a more serious note, please pray for a precious family that traveled to China with us. Bekah Grace's daddy is having surgery on Thursday. He found out in July that he has cancer of the esophagus. He has undergone chemotherapy and radiation and this is the next step in his treatment. Please pray for peace and healing for this family. I love them dearly.

Isaiah 46:11

The Lord proclaims"Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it.

Lord, proclaim and speak your healing over Mr. Bobby and provide peace and comfort to Lynn as she also endures the long wait through his surgery. They are expecting it to take from 8 to 12 hours. Please everyone who reads this pray................You can see Mr. Bobby and Bekah Grace decorating their pumpkin in our slide show below. Jeremiah is also Bekah's big brother.

Robin

****Update*****

Bobby's surgery went very well, the doctor was able to do every thing she wanted to do. Continue to lift them up because the next 24 hours are critical. God has already answered so many prayers and I know He will continue to do so.

Halloween Party Fun

Some Cuteness and a Question

Who would have ever thought that brushing your teeth could be so much fun!!

Taking turns with the toothpaste.

Brushing away!!!

Need a little more toothpaste!!!

I don't think there's anymore in here. I guess we're done now! Time for bed!!!

Just a quick question for all of you that visit our blog..................On our trip to China(and back) we racked up quite a few frequent flier miles which we plan to use for a fun vacation next summer(or sooner). We are trying to decide where in the continental U.S. to go. I would love suggestions for fun, fabulous, child friendly destinations so if you have one please leave a comment and tell us where you think we should go. Even though we LOVE Disney World(numerous trips there and we will be returning very soon) we want to use this for something else. We want an adventure somewhere we have never been before!! So please bring on those suggestions we have to make a decision very soon!

Until next time may God bless you abundantly today......................and always.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us.

Psalm 67:1

Robin

Too Pooped For Words Wednesday!!!

With all my heart, I will celebrate, and I can safely rest.
Psalm 16:9

Until next time....................
Robin

Not Much and Party Pictures Update

Here we go up, up, up the giant climbing, sliding thingy.
Waiting at the top to take the plunge!
Emanuiel having a ball! I know it's out of focus, but you get the idea. He was much too fast to catch with our camera.
In the jumpy thing!!! This was Clara Beth's favorite. One of them was always jumping out of the picture frame so that's why we only got part of Emanuiel in this shot.
And what Monday post would be complete without "dinner in a dash". Tonight it was so cool and crisp outside that it was a perfect night for Turkey Pot Pie, corn on the cob, and of course broccoli.

And as if the Turkey Pot Pie wasn't crusty enough, we had Easy Apple Pie in all of its gooey, buttery, crusty goodness.

This picture kind of sums up our weekend, not much going on, just very relaxing. We spent Friday night at home(it was raining) so we had a pancake supper and then game night. If you can imagine trying to play a board game (on the floor) with the two little ones climbing on, over and around the entire time! Somehow we managed and it was actually FUN! Saturday Land had a birthday party to attend(it lasted ALL day) so the rest of us did a little shopping. Saturday night we had dinner with friends. I can't tell you how nice it was to just eat and talk, talk, talk!! Of course we had two big ones and three little ones running around, but they didn't bother us. The meal and the company was delightful. On Sunday after church Anna Kayla and Greg joined us(at our favorite Mexican restaurant) for lunch. Sunday afternoon, Emanuiel and Clara Beth had a birthday party to attend. I'll post pictures and more about that later. Let's just say that our little fellow had as much, if not more, fun as the birthday boy. The party was at one of those places full of jumpy, sliding things. Emanuiel jumped, slid and rolled with the best of them. Miss Clara Beth was a little more cautious and had to have her mommy accompany her as she jumped, slid and rolled. Let's just say that I AM sore this morning. This body is not used to to quite that much activity in one afternoon. It was worth it though. I really liked all of those jumpy, sliding things!!!

So even if you are like me and wake up a little stiff this morning, I hope you have a hallelujah in your heart.

Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you:
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
"The Lord be magnified!"
Psalm: 40-16

Until next time...................
Robin

Too Cute For Words Wednesday

**** A Great Way to Start The Week ****

This Monday doesn't even compare with last Monday. If you missed my "Manic Monday" post from last week just scroll down for a recap. Today the "living was easy". After school the weather was so nice we went outside for a while. Daddy took the little ones for a ride(very slowly) on Land's motorcycle. Don't worry Land did a little riding too(not slowly) around the yard. We got out of his way!!
Then the little kiddos rolled around in the grass for a while.
Land decided to do a little tree climbing and of course....................

These two were not far behind.
Try as they may they could not get very high.
Clara Beth gave up and started examining the tree but of course the little daredevil continued to try and hoist himself high into the branches. They ran, giggled, rolled and played until it was time to come in for dinner. So wonderful when you already have something thawing from the freezer that you can just pop in the oven. That's just what we did tonight.
My Chicken Tetrazinni recipe makes two, so there's one to stock in the freezer. Thaw it out, warm it up and there you have it. Add a salad with homemade Creamy Italian Dressing, and Parmesan Garlic Bread and your meal is complete. (almost)
While the Chicken Tetrazinni was baking I had time to make Cinnamon and Raisin Rice Pudding. How cozy is that for a fall evening!!! The meal was delicious and the children(and parents) were happy!!! The sounds of laughter drifting through our house and yard tonight was music to my ears and a blessing to my heart. And to know that the love I feel for my family is only a shadow of what our Heavenly Father feels for us blesses me even more.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

1 John 3:1

Until next time......................

Enjoy the blessings of our Father,

Robin

Weekend Fun!!!

We had a very busy but fun weekend. It started as soon as school was out on Friday. We hurried home to get things ready to head to the lake. Paul's parents have a lake house and they always cook hash or chicken stew on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. There were conflicts this past Labor Day so they decided to have a fall hash cooking. All of Paul's family gathers at the lake for this. We have hotdogs, hamburgers, a huge pot of boiled peanuts and delicious desserts. Papa Ty cooks the hash in a huge black pot on the screened porch and he stirs it with a big wooden paddle. He's been cooking hash and chicken stew like this for almost 30 years!! I always try to take something to have at our cook-out. My pasta salad is a must and I usually bring a dessert. This time I made something new. It turned out so yummy. It was a Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake. The icing was homemade gooey goodness. Chocolate fudge and pecans what could be better. We got everything packed up and hopped in the car. When we got there Paul and the little ones headed down to the pier to take a look.
They had to get on their tummies to get as close to the water as possible under the watchful eye of daddy.
Then they trampled up and down the hill in the leaves.
We tried to get a few good shots.
Land even came down for a picture. It was a fun, family filled fall evening. We stayed until the hash was done and the little ones were yawning(way past their bedtimes). Then we said our good-byes and headed home with several quarts of hash to freeze away for a cold winter day. It was great fun, we did miss having Anna Kayla and Greg there though. They were away for the weekend. We had to hurry to bed to get up early Saturday to head to the zoo!!!

We met several CWA families there. Here's our group picture, kind of hard to get so many little ones to cooperate but we managed.
Daddy and the kiddos waiting to ride the carousel. They don't look too happy about having to wait do they???
A highlight was feeding the giraffes little pieces of lettuce. It was so funny watching their faces when the giraffe stuck his big tongue out.
Another mouthful.
All in all it was a fabulous weekend but it put me so far behind on laundry and everything else I spent most of my Sunday catching up(I usually rest on this day) so after church today it was lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then home to get busy and ready for a new week.

As we begin a new week my prayer is that we turn each day over to God and let Him guide and direct our paths.

In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.

In your strength you will guide them.

Exodus 15:13

Until next time.........................

Robin

Hanging Out at Home and Fun Times at the Fire Department

Tonight thankfully we didn't have anything that we had to do or any where we had to be. So we just hung around the house. Paul was working outside so I went out to keep the little ones out of his way for a while. Land was at a football game with friends. Things were going well until they decided to play some kind of crawl down the steps game. Fearing injury I had to steer them in another direction and quick.
Clara Beth wasn't as anxious to leave the steps as Emanuiel was. She took a little more coaxing. I finally was able to lure both of them in the house with the promise of letting them help me cook. Yes, you read that correctly!! So in we went with much excitement I might add.
Once inside the measuring and mixing began. It was a simple menu for tonight. The weather was cool so we had decided to have "breakfast" for dinner. Here are the little chefs stirring away.
Of course they had to do a little tasting too!
Clara Beth assured me the muffins they were mixing up were ready for the oven.

Here's just a little peek at our dinner. Paul makes fabulous French Toast and tonight was no exception. We also enjoyed biscuits, scrambled eggs, milk and juice. It was all YUMMY!!!
After our "Manic Monday" we went out for dinner on Tuesday(Mexican, one of our favorites) and then off to the Fire Department to celebrate Fire Safety Month. They had a great time.
Possible future fire fighter.
Too cute but an oh so heavy hat!!
And the best part of all we met up with family that we had not seen in a while. They all had a great time together. That's just a little glimpse into what we've been up to this week. Tomorrow begins the weekend and we have fun plans ahead. We can hardly wait.

Remember:

He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25

I hope you all have a refreshing and restful weekend.

Until next time..................

Robin

******Manic Monday******

For some reason(that will later be understood) the old 80's song "Just Another Manic Monday" kept running through my head this afternoon. It all started out pleasant enough but went downhill fast. At 3:00 I still wasn't sure what we would have for dinner tonight so after school I quickly headed to the grocery store and viola a meal was planned!!(in record speed I might add) I rushed home because Anna Kayla and Greg were joining us and they had somewhere to be at 7:00. This didn't give us much time to we set things in motion. Our dinner turned out great: Grilled Bar-B-Qued Chicken, Baked Potatoes with Home made Sour Cream, Brown Sugar Baked Beans, Broccoli and Mozzarella Garlic Bread. The Grill master and his little assistant did an excellent job on the chicken!
I whipped up an Oreo Pie(gotta have dessert no matter how crunched we are for time) and we all sat down to enjoy our meal together. Or so we thought............we undoubtedly were all tired from a long day at school and work and a very busy weekend because my happy little family was well, NOT very happy!!! We were cranky and just down right poopie!! The Oreo Pie didn't even help. The little ones were whiny(so were the big ones) myself(sad to say) was also included!
To try and make things better(bearable until bedtime) I decided, while Paul cleaned up the kitchen, Land and I would take the little ones for a ride through the neighborhood in the wagon. Fun stuff right, WRONG! They pushed, pulled, kicked, and sat on each other!!! So back to the house for baths we went. I couldn't get there fast enough!!
After bath time(which was fun, as always) the two toodle bugs decided to sit together and play with the Tinker Toys. Emanuiel LOVES to line things up so he put each little animal in a line on top of the can, which Clara Beth quickly knocked off numerous times. Then the screaming ensued. See the determination on his little face.
So instead of having a night filled with this...................sweet hugging and loving..............

We got THIS!!!!!! Thankfully EVERYONE is asleep now and I am in my favorite pajamas. My sweet husband surprised me with a very early Christmas present today..............Paula Deen's new Christmas Cookbook. Now that the house is quiet I am going to go and snuggle under my covers, with my pillow propped up and read all the delicious recipes in my new book!!

No matter what, even a Manic Monday spent with my family is better than a Marvelous Monday spent away from them!!!

This is what I am going to do:

I will forget my complaint,

I will put off my sad face

and wear a smile.

Job 9:27

Until next time.....................

Robin

And I hope all of you have a terrific Tuesday!!!