Pumpkin Treats

I love pumpkin and wanted to share what pumpkin treats I stumbled upon. We went to Braum's for ice cream and they had some pumpkin ice cream. The guy told us we could have a sample and that it tasted like pumpkin pie. It was SO good. I ended up ordering it. Then, at Target, they were giving out samples of Hershey's kisses and one of them was called "Pumpkin Twist". I am really not big on candy or Hershey's kisses though I do love chocolate. I thought, "Well, it's pumpkin so I'll have one too." I had no idea they were going to taste so good. They were yummy. We had to sample them again and again in our home.

My Spider Lily is back!

I am so excited about this! Last year I had posted how Dana and I both found one in our yards. I had never seen one before but loved it. My greatmother had actually given me a bulb for mine but Dana's just came up randomly. I came home from picking up a pizza tonight and saw some long thing sticking up out of my garden. I got out in the pouring rain to make sure my eyes were seeing what they were seeing. It has not bloomed yet but here it is.

Uncle Jaared and Aunt Stephanie's wedding

The kids running around on the rocks the day before at the rehearsal while I hoped they wouldn't do that the next day at the wedding.







This was right before I whisked them away from there and brushed my hands over the flowers to smooth them back out. Bailey had wanted to take a picture by the statue.



The red was beautiful.






Isabella enjoying the yummy food that my father-in-law prepared for the rehearsal dinner.



Derrick pretending to escort his grandma with Jaared. ;)


This was at the rehearsal. We told them to sit in the "King" and "Queen" chairs.

This was so much fun! They got married at the same place Derrick and I did so it was neat to be there too. Samantha was the little flower girl, Bailey was one of the ringbearers, and Derrick was the best man. The kids had a great time. They especially loved dancing, dancing, and dancing. I will post some pictures now & put the rest on later.

A New Name

Derrick gave the idea for the new blog name. Though, it sounds familiar to me like I've heard of a blog by that name.
Here are some random pictures:
Isabella and her drumstick.


This was so cute! Isabella thought she was as big as the other girls. She couldn't quite understand she wasn't supposed to keep the golf ball but roll it to someone else. We had a get together with Derrick's running buddies and wives and ate the yummiest food together and played a really fun game.



The girls playing in a tent at one of our friend's houses.

Before we came home from the lakehouse on Labor Day we all went out for dinner & dessert at the Dairy Queen. They have THE best chocolate chip cookie dough concretes or whatever they call them. Derrick and I love them!

Sammer at G-ma Barb & Papa Mitchell's lakehouse.

This is tradition at our house. Anyone who comes over gets a personal goodbye.


The kids on cousin Aaron's back

Pictures of Derrick's Graduation

We didn't get to take a picture with all our crew that was there but here are some pics. You can't really tell but Isabella was wearing a little OSU cheerleader outfit that Aunt Kay Kay had gotten for her!

Poor Samantha

I can't muster up the energy to write out all the details of this day but by looking at the pictures you can guess it was wild. I wanted to atleast put the pictures on because Dana wanted to see them. My mom played a huge role in Samantha's well-being and comfort today. I would have been lost without her.

It all started a little before 5:30 this morning. I had been getting ready to go to Kansas to Grandpa Glen's funeral. But as the morning unraveled it was clear I would not be able to make it. I'm sad about that. Grandpa Glen and Grandma Joy had been married for almost 5 years now. But I am so happy that he has gone on to glory (as he was a believer).

We already knew the night before that Bella had a mild fever and would be going to my mom's house. I began dressing Samantha who was reluctant to wake up that early in the morning. I noticed that she had terrible bug bites? No, there were way too many for that. A terrible rash on random places on her body. I had Derrick take a look at it and he was throwing out ideas of what it might be. Not much longer I heard what sounded like a seal barking from Isabella's crib. She sounded terrible. I looked at Derrick and we knew that they were in dire need of the doctor. I said, "You know, I really want to be there...but I just can't." He went on along with Bailey, his dad, sister, brother, & very soon to be brother's wife.

We went to my mom's (she is a nurse). I left to get her some cream from the store and we were waiting for the doctor's office to open. She took a turn for the worse and looked way worse than she did in these pictures. My mom said I needed to quickly get her some children's Benadryl and she feared that her airway would close up. She hadn't had any dots on her face when I left but suddenly the rash raged and it was now on her face and lips and other areas it had not previously been. Her demeanor had also gone down. She had been happy and her worst problem then was the itching. The Benadryl worked miraculously! It knocked her out so she slept for a long time.

We would check on her and it would fade until her skin was almost entirely smooth and milky. The dr was full and couldn't see her. She ended up slowly gaining the rash again after the Benadryl wore off. I ended up taking her to Urgent care.It was there that I took the opportunity to talk to her about how Jesus had healed the lepers. ;) They said she has a viral infection. Anyway, it was scary because we have never had this happen with any of them before. As for Isabella, well she's still barkin'.

Want to add some sweetness to your marriage?

My friend, Kelly (teachandtickle.blogspot.com and, yes, I am mentioning her yet again ;)), has something really sweet on her blog. It is titled, "100 Things About Me" and it was 100 things written about her by her husband. I thought it was an incredibly sweet thing to do for someone and decided to do it for Derrick a year or so ago. He ended up writing one for me some time after that, as he was really touched by his. It made me feel so special. Not too long ago, I was organizing some things and found it again. I was moved as I read it again and framed a page of it. Now I read it quite a bit. I highly suggest spouses to do this for each other. You learn things that you didn't even realize the other person even thought or noticed of you. I periodically go back to Derrick's and add new numbers to present at a later time. I think it also helps us to remember how blessed we are to have each other. It is, after all, good to keep good accounts of each other rather than bad ones. Here are some excerpts from mine to give you an idea and to share some things about myself with you. Some of them are sweet, some funny...

1. Amber loves to cook.
5. You carry a little Bible in your purse with gum.
6. Your dream is to teach the kids His ways.
12. You are a Bueno head and love party burritos
13. You don't like change.
14. You handled the Bueno close better than I thought you would. (They tore ours down in our town but, thankfully, built a new and even nicer one in time.)
24. You read 12 books at a time so I never know what you're reading.
27. You like surprises.
28. You like to make special moments special.
29. You think I forget them but I don't.
34. You love to be outside with your family.
35. You love walks.
36. You like the door open when it rains so you can hear.
40. You have a God-centered worldview.
64. You think it is cold just about every night...sometimes it is cold.
75. You want people you know to know the Lord.
87. You speak with your hands.
90. You have an all or nothing personality.
92. You wanted to name our first child Rafe. (Guess you can figure out he didn't go for that seeing that our first child's name is Bailey!)

I left some of my favorite comments out but there you have it!

Tale of Two Households

I found this on a blog I have been reading. This mom is a jewel. Her life is poured out for Him. If you get a chance, you should check out her blog at afirefighterswife.blogspot.com. If you do, you should also scroll down on the right and click on her "disclaimer" for her blog. It is precious.

Tale of Two Households
"I got two A's," the small boy said.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father very bluntly asked,
"Why didn't you get three?"
"Mom, I've got the dishes done,"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmly said,
"Did you sweep the floor?"
"I mowed the grass," the tall boys said,
"and put the mower away."
His father asked him with a shrug,
"Did you clean off the clay?"
The children in the house next door
Seemed happy and content.
The same things happened over there,
But this is how it went.
"I got two A's," the small boys said.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father proudly said, "that's great;
I'm glad you belong to me."
"Mom, I got the dishes done,"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said,
"Each day I love you more."
"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said.
"And put the mower away."
His father answered with much joy,
"You've made my happy day!
Children deserve just simple praise
For the tasks they're asked to do.
If they're to lead a happy life,
So much depends on you!
Author Unknown

My latest favorite snack

I feel like I have to tell you this or I am depriving you of something wonderful. ;) But, first, let me warn my pregnant sister-in-law of something. Dana: Don't read this; it's about peanut butter.

Okay, so I have been eating this peanut butter for days. It's called White Chocolate Wonderful and it's from Target. I eat it on big granny smith apples. It is double the price of regular peanut butter but totally worth it! Okay, don't say I didn't tell you...

Random Happenings

Sorry, all these pictures are crazily out of order!

Isabella in our new fridge (What do you think, G-ma Barb?). Notice the mismatched shoes of Samantha's she is wearing! ;)

In history, we have been studying Christopher Columbus. So, here they were blowing the Santa Maria, Pinta, & Nina in the Atlantic ocean from Spain to America. Samantha's poor little "Nina" sunk before it even got going!

What does Bella do while we do school? Well, random things! No, she has "blanket time" and plays with toys, she has one-on-one time with her sister. She sits and has school snacks with us. She colors...

A Science lesson right in our backyard!

A school snack. This was the day we studied that God made the moon, sun, and stars. Day 4.

At Deanna's birthday party!

We didn't know Derrick was such an artist!

At the lake with Lili and the cousins. Please excuse the smudge right in the middle of the lens!

Derrick and Bailey in a race car at Incredible Pizza!

More of the zoo!

We are absolutely OVERJOYED that we are getting a new cousin! The baby will be here in early April.

Zoo fun!

They love bike riding!

This is amazing! Derrick has taught Molly to walk with us without a leash. I know from experience if those Rat Terriers want to leave you in the dust, they good and well can!

Aww!

Here are our other joy bringers.

As you can see, she brings great joy to our family!

"Bill" holding a piece of styrofoam that came out of the box from the bookshelf Bailey and Derrick were putting together.

Meet Bill! Derrick was calling her Bill (or Billa) and telling Bailey that she was the brother he always wanted. We dressed her in one of Bailey's old outfits (that I am saving, lest he ever get a brother!) This reminds me of Bella's birth story. For the first time, we waited the entire pregnancy to find out if she was a boy or a girl. Not too many moments after she arrived, the nurse said, "Isabella ain't a fella!" We had told her both names we had picked out. She is precious!

The 4th of July at our beloved friends, the Bishards.

She's so much braver with sparklers than I was, huh, mom?

Apparently, Bella is not the only one in our family who likes to wear other people's shoes!

The bridge where he proposed!

D & I had our 7th anniversary! This is an awesome Chicago style pizza place we celebrated at. I can't think of of how to spell the name of the place right now. Something like, Savostanos?? It was really good! We also got some of our favorite smoothies from Jamba Juice and walked around LaFortune Park.

Walking around the neighborhood.

We had a busy summer getting ready for this year and now we are having a busy school year!