Kissy Kissy KISSY!!!

Charis is a bit infatuated with people kissing. Just this morning when Alan kissed me goodbye, she was laying there next to me, and she watched, and asked us to kiss again. And again. It was kind-a cute and funny. Then just now she was trying to watch a movie, and she was frustrated because she couldn't get the previews to rewind. I wasn't sure what it was about, but upon starting it over, I noticed a clip from Pirates of the Caribean where there is a quick kiss on the commercial. I've noticed this little "interest" that she has had for awhile (hence the picture I snapped while window shopping in Old Colorado Springs). She will stop and take note if she sees some kissin' goin' on, and she always wants to know who is whos boyfriend, girlfriend, etc. So I just now said to her "you like watching people kiss, huh?" And she responded saying "I need to watch people kiss because I'm trying to figure out if I want a husband or not. That's why!"


AYE-YI-YI!!! Believe me... we do play it down. Some things just come natural I guess.

Entrepreneurial... I Think It Runs In The Blood

Charis has developed a love for flowers this past spring and summer. Everywhere we go, if she sees flowers, she wants to pick them. Even just a teeny-tiny one. It could be outside a restaurant, a weed flower from the grass in the yard, or a bright yellow rose from the flower beds! We have tiny little vases that she will frequently fill with flowers, and set them in her room and around the house.

A few weeks ago when we were in Colorado, she brought a pretty creation to me. It was a pine cone she found in the wild, and she had poked little wild flowers inside the little holes all around the cone. It was actually quite cute!

Well, today we were driving down the road, and we had a conversation that went like this:

C~ "Mommy! If you're dwiving and you see those leaves that are weally smelly good, can you stop and pick me one!?!?"

Me~ "Which leaves are you talking about?"

C~ "You know, the ones I found when we wuh going to Colowado. Not IN Colowado, but on our way tha-uh."

Me~ "Okay. You sure do love flowers don't you? Should we plant you a garden that can be just for you to grow your own flowers! Then you can cut them and create pretty bouquets!"

C~ "Yeah, but where would we do it? We don't have a spot."

Me~ "We can make one!"

C~ "Yes! Is this for when I gwow up?"

Me~ "No, we can do it for next spring! When you are still 4."

C~ "Okay. But when I gwow up I want to wuk on making flowuhs for people. I can gwow them, and people can pick them. They can bwing me flowuhs, and I will make them all pwetty."

Me~ "That's a great idea! I can help you if you want!"

C~ "Yeah, you can pick flowuhs and bwing them to me."

Me~ "Okay! I would love that!"

C~ "And I'm gonna gwow some that are all white. And then I'm going to pick them, and paint on them to make them weally pretty, and then I'll spwinkle them with glitt-uh. I will go to Wal-mart and buy vases and glitt-uh, and aft-uh I paint the white flowers I'll spwinkle them with glitt-uh."

Me~ (stunned) "Wow Charis! That is an amazing idea. I would love to see that!"



Wouldn't that be neat? A huge garden for people to come and pick and freshly cut their own flowers. Then have them arranged on the spot. Wow. And the idea of trying to paint on white flower petals? Can it be done? Wow again.

So.... the gift goes on. Creative. Artsy. Entrepreneurial.

Alan riding in the MS150

He did it! And he only trained for it two or three times. Alan and a group of people from Chart rode in the MS150 from Tulsa to OK City. It was a Saturday/Sunday ride. One of the guys Alan works with is married to a lady that suffers from MS, so they put a group of guys and gals together to ride to support them.

The first day they rode about 90 miles. Alan said it was a good ride. He stopped every 10 miles at the rest stations for a quick drink and break, and then would hit the road again. The second day was harder. It was more hilly and with the exhaustion from the day before, it was pretty tough, but he did it. He finished 3rd in for the Chart group. He said that for him the worst part was having to wait several hours until all the other Chart people made it back before they could load up and come home.

Alan rode in a 150 back when he was in College. He was proud to ride again, happy to support the cause, and had fun being a part of that group. It's cool that he accomplished a big ride once again in his lifetime, but says that it just might be the last time.


Ready to take off ~ Alan is front and center


Here he is calling me on the first day to tell me he made it.


Finished with the ride. Already changed and waiting for all the other Chart group to make it across the finish line.


PS. Notice off to the sides in the last 2 pics... the people that are laying on the ground ~ WIPED OUT!!! :-}

After School Playdate with BFF's

Selah had her first official after school "Friendzy Friday" as she's calling it. She had her 2 BFF's over to play. They played doll house in Charis' room, listened to books on tape on Selah's bed, played guns, ie. Charlie's Angels, cooked in the gameroom kitchen, and had a good time together.

There were a few touchy moments, as would be expected (3 can be a crowd...), but over all it was a fun afternoon and a fun way to end the week.

I had some Madden 09 time with Bryce.

Princess Charis and her Royal Birthday Court

Charis' 4th Birthday!

Boo-hoo-hooooooo! My baby turns 4 today!!??!! OMGosh! The time is flying by! I seriously had a melt down last night. I held her on my lap until the other kids were fast asleep, and then I even let her sleep with me :)

((deep sigh))

But this 4th birthday really has been a happy happy fun-filled day! We started the day out with pancakes for breakfast ~ complete with 4 burning birthday candles for her to blow out.
We took Bryson and Selah to school, and then she and I had a blast together. We made her a homemade cake with homemade frosting (no... not the kind out of the can). Don't get me wrong... I like frosting out of the can! But this was the cake she wanted. And for some crazy reason, I only have 1 8in round cake pan. WHY in the WORLD I didn't get 2, I don't know. Maybe it was a wedding gift, and I didn't realize I should have asked for 2... or even 3! Come on!! The only time we use a round cake pan is when we are baking a 2-3 stacker! Right!!!???!!!
Anyhoo... we - she - had to wait patiently for both cakes to bake. Separately. Then cool. Then we had fun with the oooey gooey frosting. YUMMO! And she came to me with a bottle of pink/white/red heart sprinkles she found in the pantry that she wanted on top! Perfect!

We also were getting excited about her Princess Party on Sunday, so we started decorating and setting up in the dining room. That was fun too. She loves all of it... the decorating, the preparing, the excitement! She received some birthday wishes on the phone from family living far away, so that was fun for her too.

She wanted Chick-Fil-A for lunch, so we met Daddy.

At 3:00, after spending all day contemplating, she decided that she wanted me to make chili (and fritos) for her birthday dinner. And about that time, we got a call from Uncle Dedo saying he was in town, and wanted to come hang out with us for the evening. Soooo, I made a HUGE pot of Chili, and we had James, Daniel, Lydia, Dad, Janice, and Janice's sister over for a little family dinner, cake and birthday celebration. The chili and the cake were delish! And so was the company. Charis' new huge puppy named "Tom" was the hit of the party. She was scared of it at first. Papa had it hidden around the corner, and she had to pull on a rope until it came around the corner. She wouldn't even look at it after the first glance. But after about 5 minutes warmed up completely to it. She even wanted me to hold her and "Tommy" while we snuggled before bed, and she slept with him too.

Happy Birthday Honey Baby! Love you sooooo much! Here are a few of my favorite things about you...

~ your spunk!
~ your little face
~ your laughter and sense of humor
~ your gorgeous blue eyes
~ your creative and artsy self
~ your independence
~ how strong you are... strong in spirit!
~ that you like to sleep with me at night
~ how aware you are of everything going on around you
~ that you are 200% girly!
~ your self-confidence
~ your love for fashion and sense of style!
~ your leadership
~ did I mention how strong you are ;)
~ you are sweet and understanding beyond your years already

Thank you, Lord, for this baby!

Big O' Pot of Chili Recipe

Last night for Charis' birthday she wanted chili and fritos for dinner, so I threw together a huge pot, and it turned out to be my best yet! I thought I would share, mostly so when I go to make it again this fall/winter, I'll remember where I can find my recipe ;)


This made 1 huge stock pot full... fed 8 adults and 3 kids.

3 1/3 pounds ground beef, browned in the stock pot.

add:
2 cans black beans
2 cans dark red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans (all beans rinsed and drained)

add:
2 cans diced tomatoes, "seasoned for chili" kind
1 can diced tomatoes, "basil, garlic, oregano" kind

add:
2 pkgs. mild chili seasoning
1 pkg. hot chili seasoning

and some salt and pepper.


Did I mention that it was deeeee-lish? Oh yeah, that was in my previous post. Well, it was deeeee-lish!! Try it!

Rejoice Spirit Week!

"We've got SPIRIT! Yes we do! We've got SPIRIT! How 'bout you?"



Day #1 CRazY HaIr DaY!?$#&&!!!







Day #2 Hat Day





Day #3 Bling Day!! (Can I come?)





Day #4 School Colors Day!!






Day #5 Pirate Day

Yeah, I got nuthin' on this one.

Colorado Springs

I think we're up to 4 or 5 road trip/vacations for the 2009 year, with one more to come in November. Wasn't planned... but things just come up, ya know! And this weekend was one of those things.

My Dad, his wife, and my Dad's parents were heading out to Colorado Springs for Labor Day weekend to enjoy the mountains, soak up some fresh mountain air, and attend a hot air balloon launch. They threw a line out... something about us tagging along if we wanted to... and we bit!

Originally it was gonna be a caravan thing. Them in the RV, and us tagging behind in our minivan. Then we decided we needed to be able to speed - uh - I mean - go our own speed. So we took off Friday night, and made it to Colorado Springs Saturday afternoon. They had several minor problems with the RV along the way, and didn't make it until Sunday night.

Alan, the kids and I had fun while we were waiting for them to arrive. We went to the Colorado Springs zoo, rode a sky-ride up the side of the mountain and down (above the zoo), hiked Seven Falls, and thoroughly enjoyed the hot air balloon festival. The camping thing was really fun too. We called ourselves "cheater campers" because we pitched our tent in the front yard of Janice's house. So we had bathrooms, a kitchen and fridge, etc. right there. But it was still fun. Campfires at night, snuggling down in the sleeping bags, exploring in the trees and rocks. Her house is on the side of a mountain, and the kids had a great time hiking, collecting pine cones, and just enjoying being together. Once Dad and co. finally made it, we got to spend a fun day with them driving to the top of Pikes Peak, and relaxing at the camp site.

The hot air balloon launch was really neat. We went the night before to the "balloon glow" which is where the balloons, still tethered to the ground, all light up the balloons at the same time, and at night it looks like a bunch of huge lamps lighting up. Really pretty! And the launch the next morning was really fun too. I think the kids thought the coolest part was eating funnel cake at 7:00am ~ ha ~ kidding. No seriously, we did have funnel cakes and cotton candy that early, but they were fascinated with the balloons and watching them set up, blow up, and launch. I think there were a total of 77 that took off that morning. All within about an hour and a half.

We made some great memories with our little family, and with parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents too. What fun!

School Days... School Days...

Thanks to Charis' "singing songs" video, I get that old-fashioned song stuck in my head this time of year.
But here we are! School started. I'm definitely in the minority. Most of the moms I know can't wait for school to start! They are counting down the days... but not me. I love summer! I love having my kids with me all day. I hate (yes, hate) the idea of them spending 7 hours a day at school. Then only a few hours at home in the evenings, not to mention having to share that time with sports, dance, church, homework, etc.

No, this is not a commercial for homeschooling... but it is how I feel about it. And it's my blog... I can gripe if I want to... gripe if I want to... gripe if I want to... (there's another song for ya).

ANYHOO... school has begun. We made the first day fun and exciting! The girls wore their cute outfits we made the day before, and Bryson and the girls had their new backpacks, lunch totes, and water bottles. Their teachers were fabulous, and all is well.

Selah was the least excited. She begs and pleads to be schooled at home, but the closer it got, the more excited I helped her to be. Her BFF is in her class. I prayed for God to place her in the right class, with the right teacher, and with the right kids, we can already see how He has answered our prayers. Her teacher was a homeschoolin' Momma herself. Her teacher is a very soft-spoken and a sweet, spiritual woman. Selah is really enjoying what she is learning, and every day she is having fun with her friends. Everything is going great. She's such an awesome kid!

Bryson has a fun teacher that we go to church with. She has known Bryson since he was in the nursery, and still talks about how impressed she and her son were with Bryce when he was 1 year old and talking and doing all the things he could do. She had him read a book to her last year when Selah was in kindy, so she knows how bright he is, and she is very excited to challenge him and watch him grow. She's very fun and animated, and I know Bryson will have a blast with her this year.

Charis can't make up her mind as to whether she likes school or not. She likes it when she sees brother and sister going, but when I go to drop her off, she walks in the room and then right back out. The first 4 times I had to peel her off of me and pass her to her teacher... leaving Charis crying for me. That was TOUGH! But we've made it through that. She is getting ready to turn 4, but she is the 3rd kid in these short weeks to turn 4, so she is with "older 3's and 4's" which is good for her. She is having fun doing art work and she will end up loving school, I'm sure. When I ask her about things, she is still very mixed in her opinion of school, the kids, etc. I started to get a little concerned that maybe she was unhappy during the day, so I e-mailed her teacher about her and asked if things were going okay... this was her response... which made me proud, and made me laugh, because it's... so... Charis! And I quote:
"Charis is doing really well. She is my top student in this group. I never have to ask her twice to do something. She is "Johnny on the spot". She does want to be line leader ALL the time, so I have been talking to her about how we have to share that important duty with everyone. We have just been taking turns right now as some children are still learning the basics of lining up" You have absolutely nothing to worry about with Miss Charis!"

So, for now, we're off to another great year at our Christian School!


ps. here are pics from the day before...the girls and I making their "school rocks" shirts. The pics from the 1st day of school with all 3 kids is on the other camera and I can't find the cord. ahhhhhh! Hopefully I'll find it soon and upload pics of all 3 kids on the morning of the 1st day.