where do i start?

so, right now i'm sitting in my porch swing in my lovely (FENCED IN! Go DAN!) back yard. i'm listening to the birds, fighting mosquitos and just generally enjoying my afternoon. every now and then i look up and see a fake deer in the yard and i smile to myself. my sweet husband is becoming a deer hunter and my dad thought he really needed something to practice with. dan says that it would make a great reindeer at Christmas time. (i'm not so sure... considering the bulls-eye with all the holes in it on it's side. poor thing. )

{my bow-hunting husband! i'm so proud. seriously! and check out that fence!}

the rest of my sweet family is inside sleeping. good ole sunday naps. we just got home from my grandma's house a few minutes ago. we had hamburgers with the fixins, a great selection of desserts and good conversation. that place is so peaceful. like a little taste of heaven.

{sophie loves to wear her hate like this. }

my life changed quite a bit this week. i went back to work. "working 9-5... " well, more like 9-1 about 4 days a week. my dad called me on monday because our family's business had lost their receptionist and needed some fill in work. it turns out we had a new one by the next day, but there is still quite a bit of extra work to be done. so... it all happened pretty fast, but i feel good about it. daniel and i have praying for an opportunity to make some extra money and this is a near perfect set-up. my mom (lisa) has GENEROUSLY decided to keep the girls for the 4 hrs that i work for at least 3 of the days and then the other day is split between mom (jackie) and ma ma ma. the girls and i still have to work out a few kinks in our schedule, but over all we are doing pretty good at getting up and around in the morning. i'm hoping i can find my groove at the airport soon and be a help there. my parents live about 100 ft. from there so i can be there in a minute if grace needs her momma. i will definitely continue to nurse her. needless to say, i have been a tired girl this weekend.

i feel like i'm rambling... i guess i just feel like i have so much to post about and i'm so behind on reporting on pictures, events, family news, recipes, etc... and i'm wondering why i feel so drained in the -bloggy-world. i love blogging and i have for years. i crave comments like i crave dr. pepper (and ya'll know that can get pretty intense). i guess when they don't come i feel a hint of rejection. silly, i know. but this thing is powerful. i read a really great post last night about blogging and computer use in general for women and it really convicted me. i want blogging to be a hobby, a creative outlet, and opportunity to meet other women in balance. i certainly don't want it to pull me from my Savior, my husband, my children, or my home. (here is another very thought-provoking post that i read months ago. the last full paragraph really stuck with me.)

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(here is where my computer died for no reason and i got back to this post 5 hrs. later...

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balance. being Spirit-led and not Jennifer- led. i guess that's what i'm after. how that plays out in my life is what i've got to figure out. the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. i want this fruit growing in my life! not laziness, apathy, self-centeredness, self-consciousness, self-righteousness, pride, fear, rejection, ect. ick!
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i just finished nursing gracie to sleep. i watched her sweet little face for a long time. she had her chubby little les folded in a cute way and her little fingers where just so soft and cute. her face is beautiful... long eyelashes, perfect, round features. her baby hair was wet from her sweat and it curled up so cute. i just wanted to take it all in. i don't ever want to forget how she looks and feels in my arms right now. i want to embrace this season of my life because one day very soon it will be over and she won't be a baby any more. i just don't want to lose the wonder.

{grace right after a nap munching on some zwieback toast. such a sweet heart!}

so, i guess that's where i am. i'm sure none of this has made any sense to anyone other than myself, but i'm still glad i wrote it. i will definitely continue to blog. i just need to hear from Him on how to go about it. as i do with everything in my life. sometimes it's easy to take the reins of imy life back and ride for a while.... a rocky and bumpy road. He said His yoke is easy and His burden is light and that i would find rest for my soul. i definitely want Him to hold the reins of my life as I move under His yoke.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay any-thing heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly. " - Jesus (Matthew 11 from The Message)

good stuff. don't you think? i am loving reading from The Message lately. so refreshing.

i guess i better get myself to bed. i am a working girl now. :)

{me and the girls before church this morning. we were running ahead of schedule for once! :)}

And the Winner Is.....

Thank you all so much for the great Fall Scents comments. I enjoyed reading all of them. The first scents are definitely in the air and I am looking forward to the yummy smells of Fall to come!

Today I entered each of your names (some twice) into an Excel spreadsheet and then I cut them out. I folded the names and put them in a mug and my sweet hubby drew out the winner. Probably not the most scientific way... but fair all the same.

And the Winner IS......

......duh.....duh......duh.....

ALICIA TERRELL!!!

Here's Alicia's comment...

"Jen this is the funnest thing EVER!!! I too love fall. Man, there are just so many smells I love, if I have to choose I would say the smell of the air (you know that smell) and the smell of anything being baked but especially apple pie or apple crisp. "

Woo! Hoo! Good for you, Alicia! I will get your new candle and room spray to you asap! :)

Thank you guys for playing! And if you are still looking for some yummy fall candles check out Home Interiors and let me know. Check out our September Candle Sale that will go through next Friday, Oct 3. I can order you some and have shipped directly to your home.

Have a great weekend and Happy Fall!!


Jennifer

Sophie's 3rd Birthday Party!

Ok, I'm going to try this again... :)

The Invitation

Sophie's "garden" party shifted to an inside party as Hurricane Ike headed our way. It was a little bit tight, but we still had a great time. Thank you to all who came and loved on our girl!

Here are a few highlights...

Food & Decor

The theme was set around the paper ware that I found at Oops in Springdale. I had fun making the felt birthday banner. (Two weeks later... it's still up! HA!) We added some more butterflies, tulle, some flowers, balloons and ta-da, a party! We served some yummy peanut butter bees, butterfly pb & j's, cha cha chicken salad for the adults, dirt cake, ice cream and amazing strawberry punch to drink. Yum!

Party Games & Fun

{Click on the collage to enlarge}

After snacking we got busy with some "buggy" games. Dan led the games- "Pin the Stinger on the Bee" and a Bug Toss (a throwback to the wildly popular Bozo show we watched as children.:). The kids did great! After that we all sang to Sophie and she proudly blew out her three candles. She was definitely anxious to look inside all those pretty gift bags. She was so blessed with sweet new fall clothes, fun toys, sweet cards and some super cool bigger gifts... a new scooter and a swing set... YAY!!

Each friend was sent home with a little flower pot and a cute little pansie to plant and an artwork fridge magnet and suckers, of course!

A BIG thank you to my moms (Cheryl, Lisa and Jackie), Jaclyn and Dan who helped me (the sometimes a little overbearing party gal... :) so, so much. She is one super blessed little girl. She is definitely our little "love bug" and we are so thankful to have her in our lives. These past three years have flown by and we have cherished every day of her little life. May the Lord show Himself strong and near to her each and every day. We love you Sophie! PS- Aunt Jac embellished a really cute shirt for Sophie's party. I wanted a personalized shirt for Sophie that would match her new skirt from Junie. Jac did a great job embroidering Sophie Bug.

You can tell Sophie had some fun with the strawberries & grape jelly, huh?! :)

PSS- Aunt Suzy posted a sweet birthday message to Sophie and a few more pics from her party on her blog. Sophie is so blessed in the Aunt department. :)

Sweet Little GIVEAWAY!!

Happy 1st Day of Fall!!

How about a sweet little giveaway to celebrate this great season! (And to continue to celebrate my husband and daughter's recent birthdays! We like birthday's around here!)

I love fall. I love the crisp air, the beautiful leaves, football games, warm comfort foods, fall decor, thanksgiving, the smell of burning leaves, comfy jeans and sweaters, and I love to light all my fall candles.

Don't you love fall candles? Baked Apple Pie, Pumpkin, Cinnamon Bun, Chocolate Cookies, Vanilla... MMMMMM!!!



Want to start the candle-burning season off right?

Win a yummy Baked Apple Pie Petite Jar Candle and a Baked Apple Pie Roomspray and your home will smell delicious!

How do you win?? Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite fall scent... it can be a candle, a food, or something else. I will enter your name and do a random drawing.

Want a greater chance of winning?? Subscribe to my blog through a reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader or sign up to have new posts sent straight to your Inbox. If you subscribe either way, let me know and I will enter you twice! (Check out my new RSS buttons at the top of this page.) You can comment on this post until Midnight Thursday night and I will post the winner on Friday!

I look forward to hearing about your favorite Fall smells! :)

Have a great day!
Jennifer

PS- Reading blogs through a reader such as Bloglines is so convenient and it really saves time! Check out this post by Simple Mom about Readers. It includes a clever video that explains RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds really well!

UTI again?

the week before last and the first part of last week i had some pretty major back pain. back pain takes the life and energy right out of me. i suspected a urinary track infection, but hoped that it was maybe just dehydration. (unfortunately, i deal with both of these fairly often.) i started drinking LOTS of water, taking cranberry pills and d- mannose (a simple sugar that is supposed to help prevent these). nothing was working and i was majorly dragging. (not good during a birthday week!) on thursday my grandma ninkie called and really encouraged me to go to the dr. i finally went and sure enough had a UTI. ick! i started on anti-biotics (a new 5 day rx), took them faithfully and felt some relief by the end of the weekend.

today the pain is back with a vengeance. uuuugh! i guess i will call the dr. tomorrow, but i am really hoping that they can help me without a full-fledged appointment. please pray for me. i want to get over this for good!

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i posted about sophie's b-day party and lost it all. :( i'll try again tomorrow.

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"sweet little giveaway" info coming soon! :)

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.... way past bedtime! 'night!

trip to hot springs

today, the girls and i accompanied mom (lisa) on a trip to hot springs. mom had a dentist appointment so we went along for the ride (1.5 hrs) and to spend time with her. here are a few highlights from the day...

1- gracie b. is heavy! last month she weighed 20lbs. TWENTY POUNDS! that is 1/6 of what i weigh. (why in the world i am sharing my weight on the internet is beyond me!:) she was a little fussy today (while we were in tj maxx for 2 hours) so i spent a lot of time holding her (TWENTY pounds) in one arm and pushing a cart in another. by the end of the day i felt like my left arm was going to fall off.

2- i love tj maxx! i've known this for a long time, but every time i go back it is confirmed again. bring on the bargains! the clothes, the shoes, the housewares, the cute little stationary and note pads, the bedding, the kids clothes, the toys, the specialty foods... i love to look around in there.

3- italian gelato is YUMMY! mom & i both had mint chocolate chip and i sophie had butter pecan. (i think she was drawn to it's yellow color.) gelato is so smooth and creamy and yummy!

sophie checking out all the yummy gelato flavors

sophie & mammy gracie snoozing...

4- excessive sugar does have a profound effect on my 3 year old daughter. she had sprite at on the border, gummy frogs in tj maxx and the gelato after that... by the time we made it to hobby lobby she was talking non-stop and singing made-up tunes for all the shoppers to hear. the sugar high finally let down about 40 minutes into our trip back home. sleep called her name! :)


5- i am a blessed woman. thanks for inviting us mom! we had a great time! :)

olivia, francine, and tuna

this morning i was feeding gracie in the bumbo and sophie announced that her name was no longer grace, but "olivia" instead.

me- "no, this is grace adeline and she is 8 (EIGHT!) months old today!"
sophie- "no, she's olivia"
me- "well, ok. who are you? francine?"
sophie- "yes!"
me- "ok, francine. who am i?"
sophie- "tuna."
me- "tuna?"
sophie- "yep, tuna!"

tuna, huh? why can't i have a pretty name like olivia or francine?

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side note a- the three year old said "actually" this morning. when did she learn that one?

side not b- "francine" reminds me of francine in "gidget." what a great movie!
"moondoggy, oh moondoggy... "

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i'm gonna try to get some pics of sophie's b-day on here today.

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stay tuned for the "sweet little giveaway!"