guero's

last sunday we got the awesome opportunity to get out and see some live music - in the self-proclaimed live music capital of texas, our own home city! and we took the kids!

one of eric's riding buddies plays base guitar as well as drums and piano and also sings. one sunday a month, he plays base for a guy named trent something-or-other, and this month we had time to go see him. it was such fun! here he is with the green spotlight on him:

the weather was PERFECT and about 70 degrees. our jackets could stay in the car. the kids took a bit to warm up to the setting - not cold, just shy - but then you couldn't keep them from dancing. we had a picnic table at the back of the area, and there was some good open space just next to us. 

ellie used one of the picnic benches for a balance beam and would do her routine from one end to the other and then dismount in a different way each time. kaleb watched with fascination, never was allowed to try, but did kind of roll around on the ground in break-dancing fashion once or twice :)

alan, eric's friend, brought his dog. well, his fiancee mo actually kept up with sweet hudson. kaleb was very thankful hudson was there!

we had such a fun time listening to the tunes and snacking on some chips and salsa - we'll definitely return! 

halloween and other things

i've been home today with kaleb, and what a sweet time for me, but what an awful time for him - he's battling croup, a horrible cold, and all that led to pink eye. his eye looks awful!

but he's been a great helper this afternoon in the craft room. we've hung a shelf (one that i swore i'd never hang again after it was in ellie's room in the fbg house...it took forever to hang and left massive holes. i think it went better this time around) and a curtain rod, and wrapped our first christmas present. kaleb's favorite part was getting out all the tools to hang the shelf and rod with. 

and then i got ready to get the pictures from my camera to the computer and realized i hadn't transferred the halloween pics over yet - which means they haven't been shared! it's been a crazy couple of weeks...

the kids got to dress up for school on halloween, but took a spare outfit to change into after the costume parade. i went to work a bit late to make sure there were no wardrobe malfunctions...especially since kaleb's pants were homemade. i've never before made a pair of pants and i had that feeling that they were going to rip down the seam to moment he stepped into them. that happened later in the day.

ellie and the la-loopsy that inspired her costume standing with ellie's pumpkin.

argh matey! kaleb and his pumpkin. never could get one of him looking at the camera with a good expression on his face...

and one of him just getting started trick-or-treating. he used his sack to collect the acorns along our front walk before putting candy in there from the other houses. my friend, katie, and her family walked over from the next street over, and we trick-or-treated with them.

about 2/3 of the way down the block, we saw lights and a little commotion, and thought, "ooh, cool...the people in the cul-de-sack must have a halloween block party." and about 2 houses later, we realized that that was no block party but rather a city of austin sanitation truck trying to fix a sewer problem...it was shooey!

when walking up to the last house, ellie caught her toe on the driveway and took a hard fall forward, catching herself on her elbow and knees. she screamed (wailing for the entire street to hear) uncontrollably. we dusted her off, katie offered their stroller for ellie to sit in, but the sweet tooth she has wouldn't let her stop...through the sobs she got out she wanted to go up to the last house. so we did. with many tears. and were rewarded with not one but two handfuls of candy. just what she needed :)

we made it home to find she had a pretty good strawberry and knot on her elbow, and despite first impressions of a possible break, it is healing just fine without any treatment beyond bandaids. lots and lots of bandaids. for 10 days after the event.

pretty fun night out, actually. and i think ellie just as much enjoyed passing out our treats to the kids who stopped by as she did collecting treats of her own. she'd answer the door and put some in each kids' bag while i held the bucket. she is so sweet!

Reflection

 I sat in a budget meeting today at work for Capital requests for the next year. The OR management gets together and throws all wish list items together for someone higher up in the organization to deem worthy or unworthy of funds. And if unworthy, you're just left with what you already have. We are asking for everything from a couple of wheelchairs in OPS to new retractor sets for the robot. And as the session continued for a bit longer than 20 minutes, discussion escalated from a conservative nature of what we really might need to what we would absolutely love to have..."if we never ask they can never tell us yes." They could still tell us no, but the unasked question will always be a no.

And then tonight in small group, we discussed our memory verse for the past week.

Ephesians 3.20-21

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all we could ask or think according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Jesus Christ for all generations forever and ever. Amen."

 We talked about the limitations we place upon God by not being creative enough and by not giving enough credit to Him to do all He is capable of and wanting to do. We continued on to discuss other things from the passage of Ephesians 3.14-21.

Then in sharing prayer requests, I asked for Gods provision of a new job for me to continue to provide for my family as needed but to allow me to work less and have a bit more freedom and flexibility to serve my husband and kids as well as minister to those around me. I discussed my need also for some contentment for the moment, resting in knowing that God has called me to this, and that He has purposes greater than I can see or understand.

And as I was just in the shower, where I do some of my best thinking, I was struck with the realization that I so quickly after reciting the memory verse limited God to one way out. I asked for peace to be granted in the moment, but ultimately for me to find a new job. I revoke that and ask for what I truly want...

I want to feel effectively used by God to be a mother and wife and neighbor and friend and employee/coworker/boss, all for His glory and His Name to be made known. I want to trust Him with the power He has (really, is there any other kind?) to creatively grant my request as He sees fit and to provide understanding for me through this process.

I can ask all sorts of things of a group of men/women who control a limited amount of money and power within an organization, yet when it comes to the Creator and Maker of all things, I get specific and controlling of what I think I want. May I be bold in my faith to stretch things, knowing that if I, "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you." (Matt. 6.33)

And I know it's been awhile since I posted any pictures, so I promise some kid pics to come soon...they're pretty stinkin' cute, so stay tuned!

fun-filled weekend

so much going on here! the past few weeks have been the same old thing for our stay-home days. then last weekend happened - coach and nonna came for a quick visit (coordinated with coach's meetings). then this weekend (details to follow). then next weekend with fabo and cacky and aunt b coming to see us, among other things (like a wedding). 

so what to do during this fun weekend? well...

last night, we had leftovers for dinner - it gets better - then went for a walk to pass out grocery sacks. in anticipation of halloween, where you knock on doors to get things, our church is knocking on doors to help give something to others. we passed out bags last night with a note of what we're doing - asking for non-perishables to help replenish the capital area food bank just in time for the holidays. we'll go back by sunday to pick them up. last night, actually was just dropping them off - no door-knocking. tomorrow, we'll actually knock on doors to ask for collections. it was a great family event to prayer walk through our neighborhood, the place where God has blessed us with a house to live in and live among our neighbors. we prayerfully placed the bags, asking for God to bring us to get to know those who live closest to us, and for ways to share the Gospel and encourage them (and them, us) in their/our walks of faith. after our walk, we came home to pop popcorn and watch "mickey's treat" on dvd. 

great night :)

then comes today...american heart association's heart walk this morning!

the hospital for which i work is part of a partnership of 6 hospitals around austin who very much support the efforts to raise money for heart disease research and treatment. and our surgery department had a team (led by my director) who raised more money than any other team at our facility. and then the walk came today. so we donned our matching t-shirts and headed out in the 50-degree weather to walk for a good cause.

i persuaded 2 of my coworkers to walk with us, so we all threw our kids in wagons (thanks, peytons, for loaning us yours!) and walked away!

kaleb really had a much better time than he shows on his face here. lots of snacks, and we were outdoors the entire time - his dream morning.

getting ready for the race to begin, we all crowded the starting line. and then we were off!

we visited daddy at work afterwards, and warmed up with a snack from the coffee bean just down the strip from him. he was excited to hear about/see all the swag we came home with. everything from balloons to mardi gras beads (no flashing involved) to tattoos to bananas and granola bars (thanks, heb). and kaleb's personal favorite...chap stick. i thought ellie loved the stuff, kaleb has shown even a greater appreciation for it!

both kids are resting (and i soon will be too) for the afternoon full of open house at tcby, complete with bounce house and free yogurt - what a great combination. then back home to fire up the grill for dinner with new friends who have a son 1 day younger than kaleb.

it's been a great weekend exploring the city we have grown to love, and to spend having fun with my kiddos while doing so!

meal prep

i've gotten into a rhythm of weekend meal planning that consists of laying out a menu for the week every saturday morning, and then the kids and i go the grocery store after eric leaves for work. sunday afternoons are usually reserved for getting things ready for the week - if it can be made ahead, prepped and frozen, mixed together before the night we eat it, i do it! and today, kaleb's helping :)

 last week was rough for us...i worked longer hours due to busy-ness at the hospital, so i went straight from work to pick up the kids. it was full of cafeteria lunches for me and last-minute dinners for the family. so i strive this week to do better on both fronts!

i planned everything out yesterday, trying to incorporate more crock pot meals (kaleb doesn't like me to cook dinner after school. if anyone's in the kitchen when we get home from school, he thinks we should be eating!) and using ingredients from my own pantry/fridge/freezer to save on the grocery bill. i did pretty good!

and because i scourge the internet for new recipes each week, i was on pinterest and found this link. it inspired me - what a great way to do lunch! so kaleb and i just finished chopping, dividing up, and stuffing quart-sized mason jars for all 5 of my lunches for the week. a couple of ranch...a couple of balsalmic vinegar...a french. i've got some hard boiled eggs and avocados to take along and add to the mix when i empty the jar each day.

 

i'll keep you posted as to the success/failure of the salad-in-a-jar.

happy columbus day

school's out for the day...that's right: an extra stay-at-home day! and all in honor of christopher columbus. how nice of him to sail the ocean so we could have an extra day to play :)

i went in to work for a couple of hours today, then came home to two kids and a husband ready to have fun! we ran a couple of errands, and then stopped at chick-fil-a for lunch before heading home. daddy complained he never got to eat chick-fil-a with the kiddos, but i informed him really it was that none of us ever ate chick-fil-a. i think the last time we ate it was in march when cacky came for a visit. not so recent  for us either!

kaleb fell asleep on the way home, so i put him in bed and covered him up - it's frigid here these days. i don't know if he sleeps with enough stuff in the crib with him:

and then i headed to the craft room to work on one of SEVERAL unfinished projects. this one's for ellie's bed. i made a list of all i needed/wanted to finish by the end of the year, so maybe i'll stick to it now that it's written down...

the e's stayed out front when we got home so they could see the recycle bin being dumped out. when we got home, the truck was doing the opposite side of our street, so they stayed out there for him to go all the way down the long street AND turn around AND come back - like 25 minutes! and what better to do than to pick up a bunch of acorns?!? 

they collected a whole tupperware container of them. daddy told ellie he'd dump them over the back fence to see if any oak trees would  grow. she liked my idea better, though - i'm going to pinterest (is that a verb?) craft ideas to do with acorns, and we might get crafty after nap time. 

loving fall weather these days! loving the extra time i get to spend with my family today!

thank you, nfl

that's right. i am thankful the nfl referee lockout is over...not nearly as glad as my mother-in-law is, but glad none-the-less. it has provided the perfect opportunity for eric to catch up with a friend while watching a real football game. which has provided me the opportunity to hang out in the craft room all night.

prior to that, though, it's relevant to report that kaleb went to bed at 6.45pm. just couldn't handle himself tonight. and he took a 3-hour nap this afternoon. is there such thing as a nap TOO LONG? i only hope this isn't the sign of a worsening ear infection...or one in the other ear. and after he went down, ellie wanted to write words on the paper in her folder, and this had to be done (she told me) in the playroom.

"can i sit in there and read?" i asked

"no, that's ok. i'm just going to teach my class while i write words."

oh, ok. i'll just sit like a loser by myself on the couch and waste infinitely valuable time searching pinterest for random crap.

don't pity me too long...she came back about 20 minutes later to curl up on the couch with me and watch fun food videos on the ABC Foods app (a GREAT one btw, for all you moms) on the ipad. she fell asleep mid-video while learning about whipping cream - and they're only about 3-minute videos! so i got to enjoy her a little more in my arms and then carry her upstairs to bed - so i worked out today, too!

i finally stopped by yesterday to get the needed fabric to finish the next border on our bed quilt, only to find that i still need a 3X3 scrap piece...dang dangit (ellie's newest phrase). so i did as much as i could and will stop yet again tomorrow to buy just a smidgen more to really finish this border. which means i can then sew on the final border and get to finishing the quilt!

i also broke out the easy dresden tool i bought months ago, and am thinking some kind of modern dresden plate quilt (normally a very traditional quilt square/pattern) might be in the making. and this is all from scraps!

and what kind of crafty evening would it be without christina aguilera radio playing, thanks to pandora?!? that's right...on right now, womanizer by britney spears. pretty good music to craft to :)

big plans this weekend to hopefully spend a bit more time in here, making more progress on our bed quilt, a gift quilt i'm hard at work on, a couple of patchworky gifts, and more blogging. pics this weekend will include kids...stay tuned!