Happy Friday!!

It's an absolutely beautiful day here! I'm excited to be feeling better and up to some fun things! 

First, I have to share two recipes that we tried this week. I got them off of pinterest of course! 

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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

It was delicious! My only complaint was that ours turned out pretty thick, so I added about a cup or more of extra broth, just until I got it to the right consistency. 

Pinkies

How cute are these? I whipped these up last night to take to Anna-Kate's class for their snack. They've been having color days and today's color is pink. It's a really simple recipe (similar to cake mix cookies) and super fast to whip up! Oh and I did have to try one- so good! 

I've been meaning to share a few pictures of my class at school. I don't know all of the parents well, so I will only share Thomas and his friend Jackson right now. We have lots of fun at school and Thomas is doing really well with everything! He loves to play with the other kids.

Sorry for the poor quality- these are all from my phone!

I had planned to coordinating themed Halloween costumes for the kids this year. I've gone back and forth on this because I can't completely decide on what I want Anna-Kate to be! Plus, Thomas is very interested in mickey mouse and monkeys and even buzz lightyear right now! I love to see him get excited when he sees something he likes! Right now he'll say "loooook!!! looooook!!!" It's super cute. So, I don't want to share what he is just yet, but it is one of those three! I got his costume in the mail this week and it's adorable! Now all I have to do is decide on what Anna-Kate should be! I'm probably going to make her costume, but I'm a little worried about how that's going to go. October is going to be a busy month for us! 

We are kicking October off by going to Lepanto for their "festival," Terapin Derby. This is our first time going back (as a family) to Lepanto since last December! I'm looking forward to seeing some of our friends. We've missed them so much. 

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Tomorrow night I am going to a Busy Bag Swap with several other moms. We are getting together and putting together an activity for our children to do. Each activity helps develop skills and keeps the little ones occupied. By the time we leave, we will each have 13 little activities to take home for our children! It's a really neat idea and a great opportunity to get together with other moms! I'm making this color matching game. 

Oh and just in case you didn't see it, I'm participating in a 31 days challenge this month! I'll be sharing 31 days of fall cleaning. Look for posts about our organizing projects, cleaning tricks and even some simple fall decor! Not to overload you with posts, but I'm still planning on doing a few of my regular posts too, so I've created a 31 Days of Fall Cleaning tab at the top of my blog (under the header) next to my Menu Monday tab! If you'd like to participate, go here and get all the info!

Happy Friday Y'all!! 

Tidbits

I'm super sleepy today, so I don't feel like I'm going to make much sense if I try to make a huge blog post! I just had a few tidbits to share! :) 

We had a wonderful weekend! We got some good family time in and then spent an evening with some friends on Saturday night. It was so much fun! Sunday we had more friends and Derek's family over for some meatloaf cupcakes and homemade macaroni and cheese! It was SO good! 

Yesterday I had a lazy day so today I'm trying to get lots of things done! I feel like things are suddenly extremely busy, even though I don't think they are! I've got to plan Thomas' birthday that's coming up in a couple of weeks, so that has me pretty distracted! 

My 2-year old class did so good today! I'm really getting excited about how much they are learning and interacting. The first week was pretty tiring for me, but now that everyone is getting used to school they seem to be loving it! I'm going to attempt to make some finger paints for Thursday. I think everyone is going to really enjoy that! I've been looking for lots of toddler activities, but I'm always looking for more ideas! Any tips or ideas for 2-year olds would be great! There are 3 teachers and 11 students if you count Thomas. I'm thinking about putting together some small, basic sensory bins too. I think they might enjoy that. 

I'm going to a La Leche League meeting tonight. It's something that is very special to me and I am going to start learning more about becoming a leader. I'm excited about getting to help other moms! 

We had a crazy week last week and I had several meals left over to make- so I didn't post a new Menu Monday this week. It's kind of nice to have everything I need for several meals- made my grocery shopping much easier! 

I'm really excited about the fall premiers coming up! Thanks to DVR Derek and I are tv junkies! ha. We will give just about any show a chance. There are some new shows out that look really interesting! I can't wait to see how they turn out! 

Well I'm off to clean! I promise to work on using my camera more this week too! I know picture-less posts are just no fun! 

Random Happenings...

This week has been such a good week, but it's been really busy! That's the way I like it. I just wish I was not so tired! I've been really bad about staying up late- that just seems to happen when we are out until 8 or 8:30! 

I made the scarecrow crunch mix on Monday. (I know, I'm going overboard with talking about this stuff...) It turned out so good! The recipe made enough for about 2 1/2 gallon size ziplocs! I sent one ziploc to Anna-Kate's school and then we ate a good portion of it at our Bible study. It's nearly gone because we've also been munching on it quite a bit ourselves! From what I've heard, it was a hit with Anna-Kate's class too! 

Derek and I have been doing a Dave Ramsey financial class the past few weeks and it is so good! I was a little worried that we weren't ready, but really it is good for people in all stages of life. Today, I've been working on organizing our student loan information and it's driving me crazy! I really it was easier to deal with student loans! 

Although, I might understand it better if I had not gotten distracted by this website my mother-in-law told me about- 6pm.com! ha! I've only checked out the kids shoes, but it looks like a great place to get good things for less. Anyone else know about this website? I've got my eye on several different things and am fighting the urge to search for some things for me! :) 

Thomas looked so cute at lunch today! I'm still needing to get him some jeans and our weather today is (beautiful) only around 70, so he wore a hoodie and shorts. I don't know why, but I think that's cute together! ha. Plus, with all of the Hogs things he's been into (I still need to share that), I thought he needed a little Tennessee infusion- you're welcome Grandpa! 

Anna-Kate was in the paper this week! Her class visits Harding's retirement facility every month. This month they read a story together about fancy hats and they took a picture with everyone wearing their hats! It's pretty cute! I didn't realize she was in the paper until Wednesday, so I didn't get a copy of it! This morning they had a Thank-You letter in their box with a copy of the newspaper article and a picture of their class in the hat! I'm so glad to have that! 

I am so excited about fall! I think it's my favorite season because it's so busy and it leads right up to my favorite holiday (Christmas)! I love all of the fall smells and the leaves turning colors and falling. It just puts me in the best mood! I'm looking forward to actually getting my fall wreath from last year down and hopefully doing a little decorating this weekend. Hopefully even making a few new decorations! I also found a recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice latte and you better believe Derek and I will be trying that asap! If it turns out good, I may even make it for our Bible study group! It's also time to get started on those Halloween costumes! Halloween is extra exciting this year because we will be in Franklin- the first time in YEARS! 

I am constantly feeling God's blessings all around me and I am so thankful to Him. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm off to do the cleaning that I can't put off anymore! 

Random Happenings...

It's been a BEAUTIFUL week here! I am loving the break from the hot weather... although Thomas has gotten a little longer and so all of the pants I had set aside for him to wear this fall and winter are too short... so I'm hoping the warm weather stays around for just a little bit longer! :) 

Thomas started his first type of preschool this week. He's with me and my two year old class, so I count that as starting. He's enjoying it, but he definitely does not like sharing his momma! He's been a little congested this week, so that's made him a bit more attached. Thomas also took quite a spill the other day and face planted into the side of my (rock) house. I think he wanted to make sure he got plenty of sympathy from me! I'd show a picture, but it looks pretty rough. The side of his little nose is scraped, and he also managed to get a bump on each side of his face, scrape under his arm and his leg! It was so sad! Last night he was playing in our church nursery while Derek and I were in a class and he fell and his his cheek, so he has a big bruise there too! It's really pitiful! 

Thankfully, we decided to have a day at home, cleaning and baking some cake pops for a friend's first birthday! This morning Thomas and I took a nice long walk around our "neighborhood." 

Anna-Kate has had a great week too! She was home with us on Monday, for Labor Day and so we all 4 enjoyed a nice day at home getting things done. Monday night she got to go play with some friends, Shelby and Riley. She loved that! I love how close Anna-Kate and Kristen are, but I think it's good for her to make other friends too. Shelby will be 4 next month and she is hilarious! She is always saying the funniest things! One day, I watched her and she said "Thank you for having me over. I had a nice time." So cute! Anna-Kate got to go to Uncle Ryne's football game last night, which is always a favorite for her. She and Kristen each filled up water bottles with rocks. I think I have mentioned before how opinionated she is about clothes. It seems like there is something wrong every day. If I'd let her she would probably wear the craziest things and shoes that are about 5 sizes too big. I got an idea from my doctor to try and give her one or two days a week that she gets to pick out her outfit. So I gave Anna-Kate one day of her choice and told her that if it went well she could have another day. She chose Saturday (yes!!). That was going well until we had a huge fit over something I picked out and I took her day away. Now she's back to the same old routine of fighting with us about everything! Shoes she used to love, she hates. Her pants are too big or sag. She doesn't like t-shirts. Anyone have any suggestions on what worked for them, besides making her wear the same outfit every day? I'm probably going to re-introduce the one day of the week thing, but I still think she's going to fight me! Anyone want to take her when she hits 13?? You can give her back when she's over the teenage phase... :) 

Derek has had a pretty good week at work. He's just struggling with the motivation to keep going. His job is challenging Derek in ways he didn't expect. I am so proud of how hard he is working and I know that things will get better. He just has to keep fighting through! He does such a good job balancing family and work. I know it's draining on him but I am so grateful that he's always here when I need him.  

Okay, sorry for the randomness! I just felt like I've missed out on updating about us! I feel like I do too many link ups and I forget to share about what's really going on! I love the link ups though... so tomorrow I'll post my normal Friday link up! 

I've been a terrible photographer and have barely busted out my camera, but here are a few of Thomas lately! 

He cracks me up! 

First Day of Preschool!

Okay- I get the bad mom award for not taking any pictures of Thomas today! We started Carpenter's Kids today (basically a Tuesday/ Thursday mother's day out program done by a local church). 

Thomas is in my class along with 8 other little boys and 3 little girls. He's by far the youngest, but he did really good today! He surprised me by sitting during the Bible lesson and during lunch. He definitely has issues with me holding or giving too much attention to the other little children, but I know he will get used to that. 

I meant to get a picture of Thomas' lunch too. Since our theme this week is God made me special, I wanted to make him a little face sandwich. Thomas loves bananas, so I thought he'd like a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I left the crust on the top and cut the bottom of the bread so that it looked like a face with hair. Then I just sliced a couple of pieces of string cheese for the eyes an a quartered grape made the pupil. He also had a string cheese mouth. I got a kick out of it, but Thomas could care less- ha! Isn't that how it always goes? 

Thomas was absolutely worn out! Derek picked him up and took him home for a nap, while I stayed and cleaned up. I really hate to wake Thomas up when he's sleeping, so it helps to get Thomas on home so he's up by the time I go pick up Anna-Kate. He was still sound asleep 4 hours later, but we had to pick up big sis. 

Anna-Kate cracked me up because she was so excited for Thomas! She told me she told her kids (her classmates) that her brother was going to school and her mommy was the teacher. Then the first thing she said when we picked her up was "Did Thomas have a good day?" Such a good big sister! 

I am one of 3 teachers in our class. Today was the first time most of them had been in any type of "school" setting so things were a little new to them. I know that it's going to be easier for them as they get used to our routine and schedules. We had a lot of fun today, but I was worn out! Who would have thought that teaching 11 2-year olds would be so tiring? ha! 

Sorry for the picture-less blog, but I promise to have pictures on Thursday! Tomorrow is my first day of Ladies Bible Class. I am so excited about getting a little time to study with other women. The ladies in the class are so inspiring. I always love to go and learn from them. 

Swimming Fun!

I can't believe it, but today was my first time swimming this summer! With the 100+ degree weather, it was the perfect evening to go! 

Actually I attempted to go when my sister's came into town, but we got rained out. 

Thomas and Anna-Kate have been a couple of times already. So far Thomas was not having anything to do with the water and he would not leave the top step! 

He would just sit on the edge and drop himself in! Thankfully, Derek and I were always there. 

Tonight he was a little water baby! He was so funny and brave! If he wanted something he would just go after it- I had to watch him like a hawk! 

Anna-Kate and Kristen had lots of fun playing in the pool too! 

We are so thankful for wonderful friends that let us come over and swim! :) 

Weekend Happenings and A Prayer Request

Friday I came home from work to this little beauty...

After my Corolla was totaled I knew I wanted a minivan! I guess I'm on my way towards becoming a soccer mom, but I don't mind at all! 

Derek and I have spent a good portion of the weekend playing with all of the features and driving all around! 

Anna-Kate was super excited about "her" minivan too! 

Friday night, Kristen spent the night with us but the girls were so worn out from playing all day that they went right to sleep. This was a big step for Kristen because for a long time she has not wanted to spend the night away from home! 

Saturday we played around and then loaded everyone up for some Chick-fil-a. The girls had a great time playing, but Thomas was traumatized by a little girl who was much bigger than everyone and decided to play "monster!" 

The girls and Thomas napped and played the rest of the afternoon while I ran to the store with Derek's mom. We might have stopped by Hancock's fabric (which has gotten a refreshing little makeover). 

When I got home, Amanda and Jackson came over just in time to make peanut butter play dough with us!  The girls liked it, but they mostly just ate it. haha. It was really nice to get some time with Amanda, despite all of the chaos! 

I've gotten terrible at taking a lot of pictures, but I did manage to snag a few pictures at lunch today! 

Sorry for the gross food in his mouth! I just thought his face was too funny! 

This is all I could get Anna-Kate to do! haha! 

Tonight we had a sandwich and homemade ice cream supper after church. We brought chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream! Yummy! I love homemade ice cream! 

It's been a great weekend! I'm looking forward to a good week and then party prep all next weekend! 

I do have a prayer request from my church back home: 

Scot and Heather Baker and their new baby boy, Maddox. He had a very traumatic birth and is in the NICU being closely monitored. 

You can read about Maddox and follow his story here. 

I think that the main concern is that his umbilical cord was severed and they are not sure how long he was without oxygen. He has had a few seizures and they are worried about his brain. 

Show Us Your Life- Your Church

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner today to share our church! 

A month before our first anniversary and two months before Anna-Kate was due, Derek started preaching at his father's hometown church in Lepanto.

It was an hour and a half drive, every weekend but we agreed it was the right thing for our family. 

There were so many difficult things about being away every single weekend but it was a HUGE blessing! 

Derek and I grew so close to the families there. I know that Derek enjoyed getting to share such a special place with his own family. 

Just a few years before Derek started preaching, his grandfather passed away. His grandfather was an amazing leader in that church. For many reasons, being in that church every week was healing. I know that it was a challenge but I think Derek felt his grandfather with him when he was there. 

The Sunday after Christmas, Derek and I said our goodbyes. It was extremely difficult but the church needed a minister who could live in town and we were ready to stay put on the weekends. 

When we came back from Franklin, we stopped and I made some pictures of the church and the town. 

Our little Lepanto church

The parsonage. We spent a lot of weekends in this house. The first night that Anna-Kate slept all the way through was in this house.

This is one of the streets downtown. I love this town! :)

Another downtown shot... 

This is the last one. I just love it here.

(ps. Sorry to all you photogs- I like to play around with color in my pictures...)

In January we became "full-time" members of the church that Derek and I had been attending on Wednesday nights. It is conveniently located right across the street!

Derek and I visited several different churches before we started at Lepanto but we never found a "home." Lepanto taught me more about a loving church family and helped me to realize that our Searcy home was at Westside.

I'm so glad we made that choice. The friends that we have made there are wonderful. They have a pretty close-knit group of young marrieds, many of them have children near Anna-Kate and Thomas' age. We have enjoyed the lessons from the minister and it's been so nice to have Derek in the pew with me!

The classes for the little ones have been wonderful too. Anna-Kate is learning so much! She loves her teachers too. On Sunday nights, they have a special class for little ones called "Christian Soldiers." Anna-Kate loves going. She always asks during the week if it's time for Christian soldiers! haha.

The nursery is wonderful too. I try really hard to keep Thomas in church for as long as possible, but he gets really stir crazy. It seems like he just wants to get down and play and talk. If the girls make a noise, he has to compete with them! Usually, we have to take him out because he is so restless.

Sunday mornings with little ones are tough! I'm always looking for quiet "pew activities" and ideas. (So if you have anything... please share!!) I usually pack a couple of books and a coloring book or notepad and crayons. I try to pack a few quiet toys for Thomas but most of them get thrown right in the floor... or he finds a way to make them noisy. Anna-Kate enjoys taking her baby doll to church too. I have a little magnetic dress up doll that she likes to take sometimes too. I try to let her pack a bag (with supervision) so that things kind of rotate in and out according to what she is interested in.

Wednesday nights Derek and I host a home Bible study. We decided to start doing that this fall so we could branch out and make some new friends. It has been so wonderful doing this! It's really easy for people with young children, since we are right across the street.

I'm standing in our yard. We have no trouble with finding a parking spot! :)

Sorry for the terrible picture!

I've enjoyed getting to link up with Kelly's Korner and share our churches with you! God has richly blessed us with two wonderful congregations and lots of loving family!

Link up and play along too! 

Sunday Pictures

I'm sure it's silly, but I have seen this before and I thought it was really sweet. I've been trying to incorporate these into my posts during the week. I've been playing a little catch up this week, so they get their own little post! 

I can't believe how quickly time flies. My babies are getting bigger and bigger every day. 

We had a wonderful, lazy Sunday. Anna-Kate had trouble and ended up only taking a 30 minute nap. Thomas was a toot in church and when we went to eat, but he is working on a new molar. 

Here are their Sunday pictures: 

He's so hard to catch on camera these days... especially with a smile! 

Thomas kept scooting away from Anna-Kate! He did not want her to touch him at all! haha. 

Our Weekend- Lot's of Pictures...

Since I went on an unplanned blogging hiatus last week, I wanted to include the rest of the week's pictures, along with this weekend. So that made this post loaded down with pictures! Sorry! 

Last week, we did lots of playing! I realized how much Thomas loves to play outside and that even though Anna-Kate can sort of swing herself, she will not if someone is there to push her! Acceleration is just not something that a 3 1/2 year old understands... hmm...

Thomas enjoyed swinging with the girls and whoever else would get on this with him! 

When he is outside he just goes and goes... it's hard to keep up with him! I was trying to catch him before he fell out of Kristen's car, but I was too late and he fell and scraped his little cheek and nose! 

He's also getting to an age of boundary pushing! If only the two's could just hold off a few months... 

Wednesday we went to lunch with Derek's parent's. 

He's such a ham! 

The girls- goofy as always!

Wednesday after church, we did a little baking with her Easy Bake Oven! She was so into it! 

Wearing her apron and heels :) 

Baking with her is always interesting... she has to taste everything! haha. 

Turns out we had the wrong kind of light bulbs for her oven, so we wound up baking them. They were still good! 

Thursday, I decided to let her bake the pink cupcakes my mom got her for Christmas. She loved that idea! 

We mixed them and then they baked during her nap. I iced them and then let her "decorate them." 

And by decorate I mean dump the whole section of pink sugar on the cupcakes! ha! 

Friday and Saturday we had a yard sale with my friend Amanda! Anna-Kate was hardcore and woke up at 6:15 with me on Friday. She did great playing on her own. 

Anna-Kate picked these flowers and we decided they would look perfect in Maddie's hair! :) 

After the yard sale on Friday, we went to Chick-fil-a and did some shopping with Derek's grandmother. When we got back, Anna-Kate was so excited about Derek getting home that night, that I could not get her to take a nap. She was worn out though! 

After dinner, we went to Derek's parent's house and they watched the kids while I picked up Derek. 

When I pulled in their driveway, I looked back and Anna-Kate was OUT! haha. I took about 100 pictures... between her still holding the monopoly money and the balloon and her drool, I couldn't help myself! :) 

We had a great day Saturday. We are all so glad Derek is home! 

I'm trying to get a Sunday picture of Anna-Kate and Thomas (I just thought it would be fun). Here are today's.

After church, we had a picnic at the park. It was fun, but Thomas just wanted to roam everywhere! 

Sitting like such a big boy! 

Anna-Kate helped push Thomas! 

I just love them! :)

 Sorry for the picture overload! 

We are all looking forward to getting back into our routine this week!