Pumpkin Patch, a broken toe? and some Fall Festival MADNESS

I have decided that the most efficient, least stressful approach to blogging is just going to be me updating every couple of weeks with a "what's happening around here" kind of thing. So, here is my latest installment of "What's happening around here."

I gladly volunteered to go along with Logan's kindergarten class at the beginning of October to the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton. After all, it was Logan's first field trip EVER and I woudln't have missed this for anything! We had a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures to document the day.

I was responsible for these two silly boys! Logan and his buddy, "Casper." Yes, that is his nickname.

Mrs. Hughey's first kindergarten class, 2011-2011

Logan on the horse or pony, or whatever the correct term is for this animal. ;)

Logan and his buddy, Ethan.

Me and Logan

So, I've never had a broken toe before...or a broken anything, for that matter. But when I kicked the bocephus out of my ottoman a few weeks ago, I thought I was going to look down and find it dangling by a tendon. It hurt like no other but now I'm not really sure I even broke it. It swelled up and turned several shades of purple, blue then yellow....and it actually still hurts when I hit it JUST right today. But Alan says he can't even tell I did anything to it....what do you think? {Please excuse my knarly, need-a-pedicure, feet.}



The Friday before Halloween, Logan's school had a Fall Festival. The kindergarten classes were in charge of creating a "box maze" for the event, so me, along with a few other parents, were at the school that morning cutting and taping together boxes for the maze. I'm gonna say it was quite possibly THE BEST box maze that school has ever had. ;-) After we finished the maze, we headed to our kids' classes and ate a sack lunch with them. I decided to take a few pictures of Logan and his classmates in their Halloween costumes. Here are some shots of these cuties in their get-ups! :-) I always enjoy time I spend with Logan at school.

Logan's friends Casper, Michael and Moses (spiderman #2) :)

Logan shares a table in class with 3 of these 4 friends: Mackenzie, Casper & Moses.

Naturally, Logan has a couple of "girl. friends." in class. ;-) Addison and Colsyn.

And, finally a class-shot...Yes, they are saying "Halloween!"



Making a change this Christmas

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." ~ James 1:27
I began making my Christmas list, i.e. who all we plan on buying for, a couple of weeks ago. The same list, same people, but this year I've decided to change how I shop. This year, I have decided that the people on our list will be getting presents that make a difference. These gifts will come from adoptive families selling products, organizations selling products with proceeds going to help widows, needy mothers or orphans in developing countries. My friend, Anna Dreyfus, posted 3 blog posts on her blog a couple of weeks ago hightlighting many ideas for gifts. (I kinda stole this idea from her!;) You can read her 3 blog posts here.

I have found several things on the sites on Anna's blog that are definitely going to some of our family members. But I have a few more sites I'd like for you to check out that are definitely worth sharing!

Heartline Ministries
in Haiti's ultimate goal is to empower women to take control of their lives emotionally, spiritually, and financially. They try to achieve this: 1) through their women's program where women learn to sew and make beads for jewelry and purses; and 2) through their maternity center where pre-natal and post-birth classes are taught weekly.
So, how can you support their ministry this year? By hosting a purse party, buying a purse (or 2 or 3!) or buying their jewelry. Find a link to their products here:
http://www.heartlineministries.org/

Krochet Kids....BUY A HAT!
This organization teaches women how to crochet so they can make a living for themselves. Have a hat lover in your family? Go buy them one of these beautiful crocheted hats!
http://www.krochetkids.org/

Punjammies!!! ~
Okay, how many of you know someone on your list who LOVES pajamas?? I know I could buy every female on my list a pair of these and they would LOVE them!  Each PUNJAMMIE is created in an after-care facility for women who have been rescued, released, or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. These pajamas are SUPER cute!
http://www.punjammies.com/

Amazima Ministries - Uganda
This ministry was formed by Katie Davis,( "Kisses From Katie"). At age 18, Katie moved to Uganda, giving up her affluent lifestyle in Tennessee and now, at the age of 24, she is the mother to 13 beautiful girls who were once orphans in Uganda. You can read all about her ministry and what they do, here: http://www.amazima.org/  There is a ton of beautiful jewelry you can purchase to support her ministry. If you aren't completely touched and moved by her story and how God is working through her, you must be dead. :)

World Vision International Catalog
Who They Are
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
Who They Serve
Working in nearly 100 countries around the world, World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

YOU can search through their catalog to find a way to support what this organization does. There are animals, necessities, ways to just donate, and even SOME jewelry, purses and coffee items.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a great gift to buy for your loved ones this year! Something unique that they will love but will also benefit someone who is in need. I am really excited about getting started on my Christmas shopping! Now, GO, buy something and make a difference in someone's life this Christmas!

Just catching up...

Okay, let me start off by stating 2 things:

#1- Let me get this off my chest: I don't really like the new blogger look. I am not all about some change and this is just confusing. Same with Facebook. I hate that Facebook keeps changing stuff. I really think they are just trying to confuse us into allowing us freaks who don't let just anybody be their friends, somehow slip up and let the whole world see our life without us knowing it. The government is behind it all. Maybe I should just close my Facebook... :-/

#2- Please don't chastise (coughBrittanyShamblincough) me for taking so long to write a new post. I really really really want to be a [good] blogger, but I always think of cheesy stuff to write about and then I think about how funny/uplifting/cool other people's blogs are that I read and then I think "That's so stupid. People will make fun me if I say that." So I avoid this computer, with all my pictures on it, in Alan's office like the PLAGUE! Now, feel free to brag and brag on me when I do write a clever/funny/uplifting blog post. (heehee;)

So, I thought maybe an update on what's been happening in our lives in the last few weeks. For those of you who may not know, Alan, along with 3 of his friends, have bought a small (very old, very inexpensive...) airplane. It's a Piper Cherokee something or other from like 1969. Don't get too excited. Here it is:

Over the past couple of months, Alan has been working hard on getting his pilot's license. Which was the sole purpose in buying the airplane. One of Alan's friends is a pilot, and a flight instructor, and he agreed to go in on the plane and teach the other 3 how to fly. Alan has solo'd quite a few times in the last few weeks (yes, I get nauseated and pray like a mad woman every time) but Bryan (the pilot) has said Alan is ready to take his test and doesn't need him at all. So, I guess I'm pretty proud of my husband, but I have told him that if he doesn't like me getting nervous all the time he should probably just stop flying. 'Cause I'm not gonna stop being nervous until he's back on the ground. Safely. :)

September 10th, we had a birthday party for Ford and it was so much fun! We were afraid it was going to be too cold for the water slides, but it turned out to be warm enough and all the kids had a blast! Except for Ford, who really wasn't very fond of the water slides. Oops. Guess I should ask him first next time. Here are a few pictures from Ford's 3rd birthday party.

 

We are almost through the first 9 weeks of kindergarten with Logan!! That means it's almost report card time! :) We made it through the first 6 weeks with his sub, who did an A-MAZING job with the kids, by the way. Logan fell in love with her and was sad to see her go! But his permanent teacher has been back for a couple of weeks now and things are going great! We even have our first field trip with the entire kindergarten class tomorrow and I am looking forward to getting to know his teacher a little better then. When the sub-teacher left, she gave each child a disc with some photos from the first 6 weeks of school! She had no idea what an great gift this was for me! I sit around and wonder what Logan is doing during the day and to see pictures of him in action at school was super cool! Here are a few pics from that disc:

I have to say, I am extremely proud of Logan. I was worried that kindergarten would be an adjustment for him because he tends to be a little clingy. I was worried that when I went to help out in his classroom, he would grab my leg and beg me to take him with me.  Au contraie!! I took goodies with another mother for a party to say "thanks" to his sub on her last day with the class. I was anxious about the time I was supposed to leave.....when it came time for us to walk out, I had to get his attention and MAKE him tell me bye! Oddly, it didn't hurt my feelings at all. It just made me so proud that he has become comfortable in that environment and LOVES to be at school.

A little more bragging and I'm done. ;) Logan has started reading! I checked out some books from the public library that are easy-readers for beginners. Most of the books have a good many of his sight words he's already been learning at school. But he has done such a great job sounding out the letters and sounds of the words he isn't familiar with and gets so excited when he figures it out all on his own! He has this cute little, almost sneaky-sounding giggle he does when he learns something all by himself. It is a sweet trait of his that squeezes my heart! I love that boy! He is such a joy to raise and love. I feel extremely blessed to be both of these boys' mama! :)

THREE YEARS? Already?

Tomorrow (9/10/11~ cool, huh?!) is my baby....MY BABY boy's third birthday. He's THREE! My sweet little chubby, round-headed, laid-back baby boy is three!

It's hard for this mama to believe that there is no longer a baby in our house, but two "big boys."

I decided to post Ford's birthday post today since tomorrow is his actually birthday and we have lots of activity going on at our house tomorrow. But as I sit here and write, it has truly hit me like a ton of bricks at how quickly these angel babies grow up. It only seems like yesterday we were moving back into our newly renovated home just 2 days before Ford was born. The last three years have been so much fun with our two boys and Ford has definitely shown us just how different he is from big brother, Logan. Ford likes to do puzzles, read books, SLEEP, and eat. His loves Thomas the Train (like Logan) and his favorite train is Toby(pictured above:). His favorite things to eat are a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, gummies, applesauce, and pretty much anything chocolate! Unlike his big brother, he DOES like to sit down and be still occasionally and he ASKS to go to bed almost every night. :) He wakes up with a smile on his face (immediately asking for milk and a pop tart) and loves to give me hugs and kisses at least several times a day! He is such a joy and I absolutely love being his mama!

God has truly blessed me with two amazing boys to raise and minister to and nurture. I attended a funeral this week of a woman in our church who had raised 6 children: 5 boys and 1 girl, and at 64 years of age, God felt it was her time to go home. One of her sons stood up and praised her for teaching him to love the Lord, teaching him how to pray, how to be a friend, and teaching him how to be a godly man for his family. It was a blessing to hear him talk about his mother that way.

~~Proverbs 31:26-30~~

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27 She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

He talked about how she WAS a Proverbs 31 woman, and today her husband and her children rise up and call her blessed. What an amazing testimony and a legacy this godly woman, wife, friend, mother of 6, grandmother to 20 has left behind.

My prayer today, as I ponder the 3rd birthday of my second child is that I will have just a fraction of what this precious woman had, what she was able to share and give to her children. To me, that is a gift that far exceeds any earthly gift I can give my children. To not only tell them about my Lord, my Savior, MY HERO, Jesus, but to show them how to love as HE loves and how to pray and trust and obey Him. If my kids stand up to speak at my funeral service one day, I hope that they will be able to say that the best "gift" I gave them was an example of how to live a godly life and not that "mama bought us a lot of "stuff" and we never wanted for anything." I pray my example to them will leave them never wanting anything BUT the sweet joy Christ brings through an intimate relationship with Him.

 Happy Birthday my sweet baby Ford!! 

You are mama's little happy, affectionate, cuddle bug and you bring so much joy to our lives! 

I thank God for you every day!

Friday's photo...

Favorite. Picture. Ever. :-)

Buddies and TKD

Ford has gotten himself a new little buddy. Caleb Shamblin is the newest toddler on his "buddy" list. Every couple of weeks, Caleb's mommy (my sweet friend, Brittany Shamblin, read her blog here) and I try to get together and let the boys play and to give us some "adult conversation" time. :-)

So, today we decided we'd take the boys to Mound State Park in Moundville, Alabama. They have just recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation to their museum, and we felt like we just HAD to check it out! So, play date at the Mounds it was!

Here is the only picture we got of the boys together inside the museum. It's a terrible picture but it just so happens to be the best one we got of both the boys in front of this amazing display of a Native American wedding ceremony. They were overjoyed as you can see. :-)

Ford gladly posed in front of the Moundville high ruler (i have no idea if this is actually the proper term), the air to the Moundville high ruler, his mother,

and the medicine man preparing for the upcoming wedding ceremony.

Caleb and Brittany in front of the same statues.

Everyone had a great time overall, but Caleb was just NOT real sure about the projector Native American telling his story about becoming a religious leader in his tribe (can you tell I was REALLY paying attention?). I tried to capture the anxiety on his face, but he kept looking away everytime he saw me hold up the camera...as if to say "Shame on you lady for taking a picture of me in my time of distress!" Sorry Caleb, but your mommy was laughing, too! ;-)

After a trip through the gift shop, and a tomahawk and a stuffed frog that "ribbits" when you squeeze it later, the buddies were happy (and H-O-T) again, outside!

Aren't they cute? ;-)

In all seriousness, Alan and I will definitely go back, without the kids sometime, so we can browse and read all the displays. It really is interesting and I really do enjoy history (Ihaveabachelorsdegreeinhistory).  ;-)

~~~

Not to be overshadowed, Logan has been taking TaeKwonDo all summer and just recently completed his first test as a Tiger Cub and received his yellow belt. :-) He was very proud of himself. Here are a couple of pictures from his belt ceremony.

Kindergarten!!!! and 2 year preschool...

Logan has been in kindergarten for over 2 weeks now and I can honestly say, without any hesitation that he LOVES it! He comes home excited every day and eager to let me know he has "stayed in the green" all day! Only twice has he come home and told me he had been "in the yellow" that day: the first day of school and 2 days ago. So, I am a pretty proud mama. :)

Logan went to bed the night before the first day of Kindergarten crying himself to sleep. I was pretty stressed out about his first day, #1 because he is my first born and I cannot believe he's starting big school already and #2 because his teacher is on maternity leave for the first 6 weeks of school and he's starting out his grade school career with a SUB! So naturally, when he broke down and turned into an inconsolable mess when he layed down to go to sleep, my nervousness shot through the roof. I truly believe God woke me up at 4 am the first morning of school JUST TO MAKE ME PRAY about it....and you know what? He whispered something in my ear. Seriously. You know those people who talk about "hearing the voice of God" in their ear when they are praying and seeking God's will? Well, I heard it. He said "Trust me." I still tear up everytime I think about it...I'm getting all choked up now. So, I did. I trusted Him..and everytime I would start to worry again, I would just stop myself and remind myself that HE told me to TRUST HIM. Logan woke up the next morning in a GREAT mood, walked into his classroom, sat down, started coloring his sheet, and kissed us goodbye when we left. He did cry, he didn't beg us to stay, he didn't even LOOK at us when we walked out the door. It couldn't have gone any better. On the way to school that morning, he repeated something in his "on the way to school prayer" that I had mentioned to him the night before...I had told him that if he gets scared at school, he could pray, and God would always be with him. So when he said his prayers that morning he said "God, I know if I get scared at school today that you will be right there with me." It was a really precious moment and I'll never forget it. It is SO true what they say about your emotions as a mother of a kindergartener, you never in your life feel more proud, sad, nervous, happy and excited than you do that first day of school!

Ford started preschool, two half days a week, and he couldn't have been more excited! He has hit the ground running every day since and can't wait for his 2 days of school!

Here are a few pictures from the first day of kindergarten and preschool:

 Eating breakfast on the first day of school.

 My sweet little kindergartener.

 Me and my boys on their first day of school.

 Heading out...

 YES, I took pictures of him walking all the way to the car...I even took some video of him. :)

 A little blurry but you can still see that sweet Logan smile.

 Saying his prayers on the way to school.

When asked if he was going to pray, Ford said "No I not. I coloring."

 "I MISS MY BUBBA!"

 "I can go play in the gym now?! SEE YA!"

 Walking in to school with Daddy.

In his seat, ready to start his first day!

Logan and me on his first day of kindergarten, August 10, 2011.

AND...here he comes! YES, I TOOK PICTURES OF HIM COMING OUT OF SCHOOL ON HIS FIRST DAY, TOO. ;-) Must document everything. :-)

His face was all red and he had been crying when I picked him up. It had been thundering while he was waiting for me to get there and he got upset. Broke my heart! :(

But, thankfully, he had a GREAT first day! :)