Bye Bye October!

I can't believe I completely missed blogging in October...well until now, that is. Wow! It feel like it flew by. Here's a little re-cap of what our October looked like:

Kherington. That girl! She was supposed to be waking up from her nap. I went in to check on her and she was standing behind the door and she looked like she was glistening. Yes, glistening. Her hair looked like it was wet. Vaseline. Mmm-hmm. Not kidding. For real. I was cared to even pick her up for fear of her just slipping from my hands. I quickly ran to the bathroom to start a warm bath....did you know that vaseline is very difficult to get off? So, please picture this:

I'm running around cleaning the house in my PJ's (it's 3 in the afternoon...I know! get it together, Amanda!) Aubrie looks like an orphaned child because Mommy hasn't done her hair or gotten pants on her and Kherington is naked and covered in vaseline in the tub...the house is a wreck.....And then....the doorbell rings!!

I'm hoping it's the fed-ex guy so I can just open the door and no one will be there...Nope. Not so lucky. It's Cindy Bergfeld!! Cindy is a sweet woman in our church and happened to be in the neighborhood and dropped by to discuss the material for the bible study she wanted Mike and I to lead for the next 6 weeks. This is a woman that I deeply respect and greatly admire...and she drops by then- Oh boy. I definitely learned a lesson in humility that day!

Can you see the shine?

I just couldn't be angry! She was so proud of herself.

Allergies hit me like a sledge hammer towards mid-October. There came an evening when I just could find the energy to cook dinner....Mike to the rescue! My sweet husband built a gorgeous fire in our fireplace and he and the kids made dinner out of roasted hotdogs and had smores for a special desert!

Here's Kherington. She loves ketchup! In this picture she's asking Daddy to help her squeeze some of the good stuff onto her hotdog.

Mmm...Melty chocolate!

Jace may have liked the smores...just a little bit!

Sweet Aubrie-girl was thrilled to eat such a yummy treat!

Daddy helping Koko enjoy her smore. This was such a fun night!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe:

1 butternut squash

4 carrots

1 onion

1 clove garlic

couple shakes cinnamon (I know, I'm horrible and don't measure! sorry!)

2 tbsp or so brown sugar

1-2 chicken boullion cubes (or just use some chicken stock...OR veggie stock and make it completely vegitarian/vegan!)

olive oil

*next time I will use an apple as well...just to make it even more sweet/savory/YUMMY! I'll let you know how it goes.

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400

peel garlic

halve/peel your onion

wash/chop your carrots into large chunks

halve your squtterbutnash...ha! I kill me! Anywho...scoop out all the seeds and stuff

rub some evoo or regular oo...whatever, onto your veggies and lay them down on a sprayed cookie sheet to roast

I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't watch the clock. It took at least 45 minutes..I think. Mostly I just smelled the wonderful aromas coming from my oven and check on the veggies every once in a while.

Be careful because the onions go quickly. You may have to take them out before the rest of the veggies.

Roast everything until they're all mushy and squishy and sweet and YUM!

Take everything out and let it cool a little bit. Add it to blender with water (or stock- be fancy, show offs) and the rest of your ingredients and puree! I had to do mine in batches. Definitely taste along the way to see if it needs anything and to make sure that it's the consistancy that you want. Mine was chunky and thick at first, and then right before I served it I decided to add some more water and thin it out a bit. I tends to get thicker as it cools.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, or stir in some heavy cream if you're not on weight watchers. (If you use heavy cream, you must let me know how it is!)

Hope you guys enjoy this. The kids loved it- I served it with toast and they dipped and munched and are now down for naps! I call lunch a success!

Baby Shower Gifts

Right now our church is crawling with pregnant women (SO fun!!) and I'm always trying to come up with a gifts that are cost-effective and special. One of the things I love to give/make are personalized onsies.

Here are the easy steps to making some of your own!

Supplies:

Scissors

Iron on transfer paper

fabric (you'll only need about a 5x5 inch square at most)

Onsie

Sewing machine with a complimentary thread. (I'm lazy, so my complimentary thread is usually just white)

1) Go to your local Wally World and buy a 5 pack of plain Gerber Onsies in the size that you'd like. I usually grab some 0-3 month ones for newborns.

2) Iron your transfer paper to your fabric according to the package directions. I do this step first because it makes cutting easier- you'll only have to cut once!

3) Trace your shape onto your ironed on square. Be sure to remember to trace is opposite because you'll be turning it over when you iron it to your onsie! (learned that one the hard way!)

4) Cut out your shape and iron it onto your fabric.

5) Stitch the cut out in place (because it's cute and to keep it in place in case the glue gives) using whichever stitch looks prettiest to you. I find that a long strait stitch is my favorite, but a wide zig-zag works too!

Have fun!

Elephant Onsie

Cupcake Onsie

Other ideas: Ladybugs, letter of first name, monogram, tie, shoes, candy-cane, football or other sport ball....the options really are endless.

Tuition, Funeral Homes, and Dog Days of Summer

Times are tough, peeps. No not just for the economy (that's another blog), for our little family. We knew this was coming up...Jace's school tuition is due and the girls have started MDO. And then my car battery went on strike and a screw found it's way into my back tire. Oh, life.

What is really awesome though (seriously, not being sarcastic!) is that even though things are a little (a lot) tight financially right now, I'm not freaking out. Part of that definitely has to do with Mike being super Type-A. He has an excel spread sheet tons of formulas that let me see that this is temporary and will be over soon. The other part of why I'm good has everything to do with my God. He's going to provide. He has come to our rescue many and more times before now. So instead of worrying and fretting, this time I decided to skip that step and go strait to being thankful to Him for taking care of us. Feels good.

On the subject of finances, Mike and I have decided to get creative and find ways to make a little extra here and there to give us some breathing room in anticipation of the next time something like this happens. I have been super fortunate to be a stay at home mama to the little ones, but I feel convicted to do something with myself while the kiddos are at school/MDO that will contribute something a little more than clean clothes (which are highly valued around here!). Whilst brainstorming and going through what could possibly work I came up with the idea of singing at funeral/memorial services in the Austin area. It's the one that stuck. So today Carson (my sweet friend Cara's son was out sick from MDO today and so I unexpectedly had a buddy!) and I trucked it on to a few funeral homes in the area to see what we could see. The response from each one was warm and encouraging and I'm hoping to hear from them soon.

You may be wondering why the idea of singing at a service would appeal to me: I'm a sick person.

No, no, no. Kidding. I feel like it would be a great ministry for me. I'm compassionate by nature and have a great love for people. Singing is a way of communication for me- to people, to the Lord. It fits. I'm hoping that whether the bereved family are Christ-followers or not, they may be able to find comfort in a song sung by someone praying healing and comfort over them. May be a stretch, but we'll see where He takes me with this. If this is not what I should be doing, I'm sure He'll make it known!

On another note, a little update on the Moore Kids:

Aubrie is definitely full-time potty trained!!! *does the happy dance* Praise. The. Lord! Her MDO teachers tell me that she's a joy to have and that she's also the only PTed one they have right now. Go, Aubrie!

Kherington is loving MDO. I made her a little mat with a pillow to lay down in her MDO crib when she naps there and she just loves it! It's the cutest thing to watch her carry it into MDO all by herself (she insists!). It's almost as big as she is. I need to get a picture.

Jace recently got his 'Pledge Badge' and his 'America Badge' for reciting the Pledge of Alligience and singing My Country Tis of Thee. I love all these precious little developments!

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago on a bubblingly hot day. Mike was off work and the garage needed a good scrub down. We figured that if we got to play with water the kids should get to as well! The slipped and the slided and snacked while sitting on a quilt under the shade of a tree in our front yard. They made mud and felt its squishy coolness between their toes...and on the rest of their little bodies. Then mommy brought ou the shampoo and hosed them down outside in the backyard. It was a glorious day. It was a day to be treasured.

The picture of Jace is by far my favorite. I want to blow it up and frame it. To me it epitomizes childhood.

Rain Drops Keep Fallin' On My Head

Good-ness! It has been some kinda rainy the last few days. Complete with lighting and thunder and howling winds. I've just loved it! Really, Mike and I tend to genuinely enjoy stormy weather. I find comfort and peace just sitting back with a good book listening to the world get watered. The only way yesterday would have been more enjoyable was if it hadn't have been Aubrie and Kherington's first day at MDO (Mother's Day Out). By the time I got back home from dropping them off I was a soaking mess!

They had SO much fun though. Kherington is in Aubrie's class from last year and I hear that she was behaving like quite the little Mommy. She enjoyed loving on the other babies. As a rule she generally doesn't believe that she's little. She calls every toddler in the store 'baby' even if they're bigger than her! Aubrie had a great day as well. She's in Mrs. Pam and Mrs. Nichole's class. Mrs. Nichole was impressed with Aubrie- she's the only one potty-trained in her class! I'm so proud of my big girl!

Today us gals are going to sit around the house and do exciting things like laundry and organizing my sewing area. Oh! Exciting news there!!! My sweet friend, Elisabeth passed her mom's sewing machine (a BERNINA!) and serger (WOW! and it's a BERNETTE!!) to me! I'm a little (a LOT) excited. After setting it up yesterday I cranked out 3 pairs of pajama pants (one for each of my kiddos) and a sleeping mat cover for a friend of mine's little girl. I can't wait to get things organized. Right now there's fabric here and bobbins there. I won't feel in my element until everything has it's place. So- we're working on that today!

Here are some fun pictures of the kids from our visit to Aunt Meg's in Waco. We hung out with Meghan and Wayne while Mike traveled to San Francisco for work and the kids had a great time in her pool!

Jace

Aubrie

Kherington

Summer 2010 Recap

I'm sitting here trying to recall what we did this Summer. I know I'm going to forget some things, but I'm hoping to hit some highlights. I'm going to start with the most recent and work my way backwards. Here we go!

Jace starts school! On August the 25th our big boy started K-4 at Strickland Christian School. Getting ready in the morning was SO exciting! Mike didn't have to go in to work until 12:30pm, so it was a whole family affair. We all got out together at Strickland and walked Jace inside. Jace acted like an old pro when we got to his class room. He remembered which hook was his (he became familiar with the classroom at a meet-the-teacher night two days prior) and trucked it on over there to hang his backpack. Then he walked over to his desk and sat down. He looked back at us and said "Bye Mom!". And that was that. Wow! I knew he'd do well, but I wasn't quite prepared for how ready he was for us to be gone. I was glad of it though. And in case you're wondering- no, I didn't cry. I'm not sad or disappointed that he's starting school. I'm so proud of him and I can't wait to guide him during this phase of his life. I was struck that day by how big this event it. Yes, it's just K-4, but wow! This day marked the beggining of his school career! I was so thankful that God entrusted this special little boy to us. We were there when he took his first breath, his first steps, his first tumble, his first words, his first prayer (more on that later!), and we were both able to send him into this part of life as well.

Aubrie had a thought on that first day as well...we turned away from his class room to walk to the car. The class room door hadn't even shut yet! Aubrie says "Oh, Dad! I miss Jace!" What a sweet sister.

A few weeks ago was Promotion Sunday at church. Jace of course was promoted into 'big church' with Mom and Dad. This particular Sunday we were also doing The Lord's Supper. (I've talked to the Children's Director...they're going to make sure this doesn't happen next year! Ha!) Jace was curious about what was going on. Jace was sitting between Mike and I. I bent down to whisper to him. I explained that the night before Jesus was crucified he had a special dinner with His disciples. At this dinner He asked His disciples to remember that He loves them and to remember who He is when the did drank their wine together and ate their bread together and that that's what we're doing now as a church family. I asked Jace to watch as we all drank our juice together. He did. He wondered why he didn't get to participate. I explained that the people who were participating had a relationship with Jesus and he stopped me. He looked at Mike and I and whispered

"Hold on! Wait! I have to do something." and he bowed his sweet little head and folded his hands and said "Jesus. I believe that you died on the cross for me. And that you love me. Thank you. Amen!" Well Mike and I were floored! We know that he's a bit young to understand what entering into a relationship with Jesus means, but we were over-joyed that he prayed such a heart-felt prayer to the Lord and has a child's understanding of what Jesus did for us all.

We were also so thankful that the way we live our lives at home (we try our best to incorporate Jesus into conversations with the kids so that He's not just a Sunday friend to them- He's a part of our lives all the time) are having such a positive impact on Jace. As a parent, I'm constantly wondering if I'm doing the right thing, or saying the right things, or acting in a way that will lead our kids along the road toward Jesus. For Jace to initiate a prayer like this was a huge blessing!

Another big to-do for this summer would be that Miss Aubrie is now potty-trained! We're still working on night-time, but I'd call what she's accomplished so far a raging success. I'm so proud of our sweet girl!

There were many, many other things that deserve attention, but I'll just end for now by saying that we had a glorious summer. I'm so thankful for the people that are in our lives and that He cares about the little things.

The Life and Times...At Least For Now

Hello hello! I'm still around, though I don't blame you if you're not. There hasn't been much to keep you entertained on this ol' blog of mine for the last couple of months. I'm going to try and remedy that as much as possible.

**Warning** This post is going to be all over the place. Ready? Set? Go!

Jace's Visit to the ER-

Yes, it's true. My little man had his first and last (What? A mama can dream) visit to the ER in may. He seems to be susceptible to asthma when mold, pollen, and all that other yuck stuff is having a ball floating around. Usually we're able to keep it under control. This time that stinky asthma got ahead of us and his medicine was just not able to kick it. Off we trudged to the ER at 11pm. After waiting an hour we were taken back...after waiting another hour they brought in the albuterol and the nebulizer and got him fixed up. He was fine and dandy and not just a little wacky after that. When asked what the medicine tasted like he said "Like melted broccoli!" What? Where in the world did I find such a funny kid?

The mask is a precaution they're taking with children who have flu-like symptoms (in his case it was the coughing).

Welcome Luke and Lola Fields!-

Luke Michael and Lola Grace Fields were born on May 31st to my best friend's brother Rusty and his beautiful wife, Monica. We're so thrilled for them! These precious babies are tiny little miracles and I cannot wait to meet them.

Our Plans vs. God's Amazing Plans- More on this in another post, but look for it!

Exploding Dr. Pepper-

Before leaving for Greece, Aunt Meg stopped in and brought Fun with her. Did you know that when you drop Mentos into a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper you get a geyser?? It's true! Jace and Kherington LOVED it! Aubrie...well just call her Miss Priss and be done with it. She had a good time looking on from afar. Our family is so incredibly blessed to have Meg and Wayne.

Karaoke-

My goodness! This was a Night! I ate sushi all alone (never happens), then headed over to Austin Karaoke with Jen Miller (a good friend of mine) and a group of her girl friends to celebrate her birthday. First of all- it was entertainment just to sit and watch the girls have at it, but what topped it off was the fiasco of trying to get things to work- everything was in Korean! Ha!

Stay tuned! I'll update more asap.