Band Trip!

We hit the road with Price Hill again last Wednesday. Max as per usual got sick as soon as we left. He has high fevers, vomiting and a nasty cough. So, we were lovely house guests to the Salas family that hosted us for 2 nights. We pretty much took over that house. Max was afraid of the dogs, so they had to stay in their kennels. Max got sick and fearing that it was a stomach bug, I kicked Chris and Ramona out of our room the second night to sleep in the game room. But, our hosts were so nice, they gave us their another one of their bedrooms so that we would be more comfortable. Their poor son had to sleep on the couch. Best house guests EVER! Thankfully we spent the third night in a hotel and their family got their beds back. Aside from the sickness, we had fun! One of the best parts of Chris' band playing at churches is that there are playgrounds, instruments, nursery toys and sporting equipment to play with. Otherwise the children would revolt and this would never work.

Guess which one's gonna be the drummer.

Ramona introduced Max to slides!

He loves the danger.

We had to skip out on the second half of the trip this weekend. Hopefully Max will be better by tomorrow, if not it's off to the doctor!

It's Halloween Night!!!

For as long as I can remember, my Dad and his good friend Billy have called each other every Halloween night and screamed at the top of their lungs: IT'S HALLOWEEN NIGHT-A! No, that is not a typo. My Dad adds an "A" sound to the end of "Night" for effect. You know, like the count on Sesame Street. One-A-A-A, Two-A-A-A...well you get it. I don't know how this tradition started, but it always makes me smile. I'm pretty sure they call each other on St. Patrick's Day also and yell, "TOP OF THE MORNIN' TO YA!" Again, I don't know why. But who cares, they've been doing it for 30 years!

What does this have to do with my kids' Halloween night this year? Nothing! It's just a fun story.

Ramona designed the Jack-o-Lantern this year.
This is what she wanted us to carve.

This is what we actually carved.

Princess Ramona

Froggy Max and Fisherman Poppy

Step 1: Knock on Door
Step 2: Say, "Trick or Treat" and accept candy

Step 3: Sit down, make yourself at home
and befriend the whole neighborhood
while ransacking their bowl of candy.

Hope you had a wonderful Halloween! We are slowly eating all of our candy...the kids are, I mean. I am, of course, pounding back handfuls of fun sized candy bars all day long. Stupid chocolate.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Get ready for pumpkin picture overload...

Super handsome!

Max tripped over quite a few pumpkins.

This one's perfect!

Yep, it's the exact same size as my belly.

Put me down!

Oh yeah, Max walks now...no big deal!

And bear crawls.

Max couldn't be bothered with family pictures.

Tiny orange balls, FUN! Do they bounce?

Mom, they have tiny pumpkins!!!

A lady never goes anywhere without her purse.

As I mentioned before, Ramona goes to her Cubbies Class every Wednesday night. We were practicing her Bible verses this morning. Chris and I hear her talking to herself in the kitchen with what sounded like her reciting her own, made up verse:
"Ramona will obey her teacher. Ecclesiastes 6:8-toot" Chris laughed till he cried.

J&M Salvage Yard

Hello, Friends and Family! My friend, Justine, and I have been super busy the last few weeks crafting our little hearts out. We signed up for a booth at our church's craft fair with hopes to make a little extra cash doing something we love...CRAFTS. This quickly turned into a small business we named J&M Salvage Yard. Most of our products are made from everyday materials, either found at home or in garage sales. We then upcycle those materials into beautiful items for you. Our main focus is recycling. We want to cut down on waste and cost, thus keeping the cost low for you! If this sounds interesting to you, check out our Facebook page (search J&M Salvage Yard) and you can see all of our products and shop online! Just message us or comment on a product picture to buy. Most of our products are one of a kind. Our products will change from month to month (maybe week to week). So if you see something you like, act fast! We have 3 craft shows coming up also: Central Baptist Church's Craft Fair, MOPS Home Based Business Fair and Jonestown Street Festival. Thanks for all of the positive feedback we have received so far!

Sweet, Tiny, Newborn Baby Jesus

Ramona has been learning a lot about God and Jesus in her Cubbies class on Wednesday night. She has memorized the following verses:

1. God loved us and sent his son. 1 John 4:10
2. All have sinned. Romans 2:23
3. While we were sinners, Jesus died for us. Romans 5:8
4. God is love. 1 John 4:8
5. And of course the Cubbies motto: Jesus loves me!

I am absolutely amazed at how quickly she learned these. She loves to stand in front of the mirror in her Cubbies vest and say, "Hey, Cubbie, what's your motto? Jesus loves me!"

Ramona is also learning how to say her prayers. The other day, she asked Jesus to forgive her for sinning when she disobeyed me earlier that day. And then last night while we were saying her nightly prayers, she thanked God for her family. There is nothing sweeter than hearing a 3 year old pray.

And on a low note for Jesus, Ramona was vacuuming her room earlier and I hear her frantically yelling, "Baby Jesus is in the vacuum!" Apparently, she was cleaning too close to her doll house and her tiny Jesus doll got in the way.

Ramona with her new Cubbies vest and book.
Also, notice her new haircut!

Max's love affair with fish continued at the San Antonio Zoo.

Rain and Name Calling

It rained! And it came at the best possible time. The whole family went to the park on Friday to feed the ducks and after 10 minutes it started pouring! Ramona was so excited and started dancing around in the rain (not that she realized we were having a drought for the past few months). It was wonderful, we waited out the storm under a tree by the pond (don't worry, no lightning...I don't think). We were soaked by the time the rain stopped. But the fish, turtles and ducks were glad we stuck around. We fed them 2 bags of bread. But best of all, we made some good memories.

And here's a conversation from earlier tonight:
Ramona: I ran all the way to the house! I beat Daddy!
Me: You did? Is he slow?
Ramona: Yeah and fat.
Me and Chris: Fat?!?
Ramona: Yeah, like Paw Paw.

Wow. Neither Chris or Paw Paw are fat, by the way. I was temped to ask if she thought I was fat, but was afraid of what the answer might be. The other day she was watching me change in the closet and she came over and grabbed my stomach and said, "Look at this chunky belly!". RUDE! I told her she and Max were the reason for that! She's lucky she's so dang cute!

And now, for your enjoyment, here are some chicken pictures.

More of Max's Birthday

I finally found Max's cake pictures! Enjoy!

He LOVES cake.

This is my favorite family photo!