Cow Appreciation Day

Today was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. If you went fully dressed up as a cow, you got a free combo meal, and if you went partially dressed as a cow, you got a free entree!!! I thought this would be a lot of fun, so I invited my grandmother to join us for a little outing today.

Don't the girls look so cute? Our babysitters turned a couple of Daddy's old undershirts into dresses for the girls yesterday afternoon while I was at work. I was so impressed!!!

They even have "horns."

Mooo!

The girls got free kids' meals, and my grandmother and I each got a free chicken sandwich for wearing cow bells around our necks.

What a fun day!

One of those "getting to know you" things...

1. What is your occupation?
Full-time mommy and part-time pharmacist.

2. What color are your socks right now?
Not wearing any.

3. What are you listening to right now?
The beautiful sound of silence. Oh, actually - the wind blowing outside.

4. What was the last thing you ate?
Chocolate :P

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
If someone had a gun to my head? Then, yes.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Periwinkle

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My grandmother

8. How old are you today?
29

9. Favorite drink?
Ooh, lots of favorites. Sometimes water. Sometimes milk. Sometimes margaritas. :P

10. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Gymnastics

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Yes

12. Favorite reality TV show?
Top Chef

13. What was the last movie you watched?
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I took Katie to the movies for the first time. We had a lot of fun!

14. Favorite day of the year?
Christmas?

15. What do you do to vent anger?
Get away by myself for a few minutes.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Hmm... My Pound Puppy was IT for a while. :P

17. What is your favorite, fall or spring?
Fall

18. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs

19. Cherries or blueberries?
Cherries

21. Favorite dessert?
Something really chocolatey and decadent

22. Who is least likely to respond?
Well, this isn't a stupid email forward thing, so I guess that isn't an issue. ;)

23. Living arrangement?
My husband and I own a house and live here with our three beautiful little girls.

24. When was the last time you cried?
I don't remember, actually...

25. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes

26. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to?
Not sending this to anybody! I hate forwards...

27. What did you do last night?
Eat pizza and then have family worship time.

29. What inspires you?
The Bible, of course! And some rockin' good preachin.

30. What are you afraid of?
Car accidents

31. Plain, cheese, or spicy burgers?
Spicy cheeseburgers

32. Favorite breed of dog?
Pug

33. How many years at your current job?
With Sam's - off and on for 5 1/2 years now.

34. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday

35. How many states have you lived in?
4

36. Celebrity crush?
Can't think of anyone...

37. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery?
No

38. Who is your favorite NFL team?
I'm not into professional sports.

39. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless?
In a box somewhere in the garage. Does that count? :P

40. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather?
100 degree weather

Gingerbread Toffee Waffles

I haven't made these yet, but doesn't it sound delicious? I think I'll make them for breakfast Christmas morning...

Gingerbread Toffee Waffles

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes

2 cups all-purpose baking mix
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup molasses, slightly warmed in microwave
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup toffee chips

1. Combine baking mix, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine milk, molasses, oil, and egg. Mix well.
3. Add wet to dry ingredients, (add more milk if necessary) and mix well.
4. Fold in toffee chips.
5. Bake waffles in preheated, non-stick or greased waffle iron.

Serve with butter, syrup, and whipped cream.
Makes 4-6 servings.

YUMMY!

Gingerbread Houses and Sugar Crashes

Ahhh...

All three girls are sleeping. The TV is off. All I hear is the computer, gently whirring. It's nice!

Won't last long, though, I'm sure.

Yesterday I learned a very hard lesson. My children do NOT do well with lots of sugar.

As I was leaving work, I picked up a gingerbread house kit to take home to make with the kids. The girls were so excited! It was all I could do to get them to keep their grubby little paws off the gingerbread cookies.

But then there was the icing...

And the candy...

And MORE candy.

Afterward, I thought it would be fun to watch the movie "Elf." I DVR'd it the other night and thought the girls might like it.

Enter another dimension.

After the nun put the baby in the crib and Santa came down the chimney, Katie burst into tears. "He woke up that baby! He woke up that baby! Oh, NOOOOO!!!"

Then Rachel freaked out when the baby crawled into the bag. "Oh, no! The baby! Where's the baby! Oh, no!"

This went on for several minutes before I finally decided to just turn the movie off and make dinner.

I don't care to go into any more details, lest you all think I'm the worst mother in the world, but suffice it to say that dinner making was anything but pleasant. I was sooo happy to see Scott walk in shortly thereafter.

Ah, motherhood. Gotta love it! (And really, I do! Drama and all.)

Ugh! Stupid Wal-Mart...

Katie had her first dance lesson last night. I dropped her off at 6:30, then headed off to Wal-Mart to buy some fabric for a couple of craft projects I need to work on.

I walked back to the fabric department and picked out my fabric, then set it on the cutting table. There was no one working the table at the moment, so I stood around waiting. After 5 or 10 minutes, I walked to the photo department and had them page for someone. Another 5 minutes or so passed, and still, no one showed up to help. There were scissors on the table, so I decided to start cutting the fabric myself while I waited. I cut 1/4 yard of six different fabrics, and 2/3 yard of another. Still, no one. I walked back to the old lay-away counter to try to find someone. A girl in the shoe department said she would page again for me. Finally, a manager came up. He had no idea where the fabric lady was, so he printed off the price tags for me.

By this time, it was 7:10, and I was nervous that I wasn't going to get back to the dance studio before Katie's class ended at 7:25. I walked quickly to the front of the store and found a register with no line. The cashier was friendly and would have been quick, but the tags were not scanning. She finally resorted to entering all the numbers by hand. It was 7:20 when the transaction was completed.

As she handed me the receipt, however, I realized the total was higher than it should have been. Apparently, one of the fabrics was entered as 2.5 yards, rather than 0.25 yards, making the cost $6.68, rather than $0.67. Ugh! She told me I would need to go to Customer Service for a refund. I told her I didn't have time, and ran out the door.

I drove quickly to the dance studio and was, thankfully, only a minute or two late. Katie and I got in the car and went back to Wal-Mart. It took probably another 5-10 minutes at the customer service desk, but finally we left with $6 and some change. Whew!!!

What a mess. I really can't stand Wal-Mart. If only we had other fabric stores close by...

Whew!

So happy for us, although I feel badly for Mexico...

Making me nervous...

Seven inches and counting...

So far we have had 7 inches of rain, and it's not even close to stopping. It's supposed to rain all tonight, all day tomorrow, and all day Saturday, at least.

Here are some pics from my driveway:

Thankfully, our house is high and dry:

Rain, rain, go away...

Texas has had quite enough this summer, thankyouverymuch! Surely there are other parts of the country that could use a little bit of rain?

Tropical Depression Erin is moving through today, and it is raining HARD. Ugh. So much for running errands this afternoon. And I really really really hope Scott is able to get home from work...

Can't stop thinking about my friend Tammi today as she has her very first baby! She's 12 days overdue and they are inducing. Poor thing... I'm praying that it goes quickly and flawlessly for her. Can't wait to find out if she's having a boy or a girl!

Thunder, thunder. I really hope it doesn't wake up my girls! They are all sleeping right now...

I think I'll go rest, too. :)

Thoroughly and totally exhausted...

Must... Sleep.

Zzzzz

So proud...

Note: All names and locations have been changed for protection...

Today our dear friends are moving to Timbuktu. They have sold their house, their vehicles, almost all their belongings, packed up and moved halfway around the world! Why, you may ask, would anyone want to leave the Land of Overindulgence and take their kids off to a third-world country to stay? Because they have chosen to step out in faith and follow the voice of God! I am so very proud of them, but I am going to miss them SO much.

Francis and Red, if you read this, know that I'm praying for you constantly!!! I will lift you up to the Father every time I think of you. I pray that He will put all your needs upon my heart, so that I may intercede for you. I pray that He will guide and protect you, and use you in a mighty way. I pray that your children would be extra blessed because of your faithfulness. I pray they would adjust well, meet friends quickly, and LOVE their school. I pray that you would be quick to master the language. I pray that you would find friends who love board games. :) Please let me know if you ever need anything at all!!!

We love you all so much!

The Winding Path

Once upon a time there lived a young couple that was madly in love with God and wanted to follow Him to the ends of the Earth. They moved off to a far away land and were gravely disappointed to find out it was nothing like they expected. Things were not going well at all, and the young couple begged God to let them go back home. God told them this:

"My children, you are welcome to return to your home. I know this journey has been a hard one for you. I've seen you struggle trying to walk up this mountain. I'm here for you, of course, to help you reach the summit. If you want to take the easier path, you may. It will be a long way, though, as you must wind your way all the way up to the top."

Seeing only the difficulty of their current path and not the short distance ahead of them, they chose to go home. They are still longing to serve God wherever He leads, but are now on the winding path.