Girl's Night

Dave went camping last night with the other men in our Bible Study group. Evidently, they ate a lot of meat, shot some guns, slept on the ground, and had a lot of fun. All that to say, the girls and I stayed here, and did girly stuff. I made a wonderful dinner for us, and then we watched Cinderella while eating ice cream. We also made those three videos in my previous post. I'd planned on painting our finger nails too, but we didn't get to that. I decided not to mention it as an option.

I got the girls down on time, and sat down to relax. I stayed up way to late doing nothing on the couch, and then Lydia woke up at 5:15a.m. I got her laid back down and re-quieted, and then Julia woke up in a state of panic because she had to go to the bathroom at 5:30. I laid her back down just wishing and hoping she would go back to sleep. I came down to bed, and tried to sleep myself, but Julia was in bed with me before I could reunite with the Mr. Sandman at 6:20. Lyd was down at 6:40. And then, our day began. I really don't understand why my girls won't sleep sometimes.

I got up and made myself some coffee and the girls breakfast. We went to some garage sales, and then came home to play awhile. The girls and I had lunch next. With their lunch, they had milk. With my lunch, I had coffee. Then I laid the girls down. They didn't go to sleep as quickly as I thought they would with such an early rise, but they were both conked out by 1:15. I was thinking they were going to sleep forever, that I would have to wake them up, because they were sleeping too long, or something like that. No dice. Julia took a little over an hour nap. Lydia's was longer, but not by much. I barely had time to catch up on my emails.

But, with all that being said, the girls and I really enjoyed each other's company. We had a great time. And by the way, I didn't coax them to sing for those videos at all. They kept asking if they could sing more. They're just my little divas! Dave finally arrived home at 4:30 and we all took a walk before dinner. The girls are in bed now, and I am thinking that going to bed soon is a good idea for me. Praise the Lord that his mercies are new every morning! Peace out. -Amber

P.S. I am so excited that we will have our first wave of family members arriving on Monday. All four of us Stewarts are so anxious and impatient to see you three Hazelet's!!! Yay!!

A Succession of Songs

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star


Jingle Bells




We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Happy little tunes, aren't they? -Amber

Baking Day

With the holidays coming up, I wanted to get a head start on Christmas gifts and be prepared for last minute party needs. So, I figured it would be good to start some baking. If I bake a little on Saturdays during the girls' naps, I should have a bountiful supply of baked goods in our freezer for whatever may come up this holiday season. I hope my idea comes to pass. We shall see.

Anyway, I decided to make some pumpkin bread this afternoon. The girls were not quite asleep yet, so I was not able to devote my full attention to the project at hand. After coming back from yet another distraction, I realized that I had made this:

 I decided to take a picture of my "candy corn" in a bowl.

 Here's a top view....doesn't it look like it'll turn out to be delicious?

Above is the finished product. These loaves are fully cooled and just about to go into the freezer.

Ok, fine. Don't twist my arm. Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the following ingredients together:

2 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2/3 shortening (I used butter...it's what I had.)
1 lb can pumpkin
1/2 tsp allspice
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts
1 cup chopped dates or raisins (optional)

Bake in 3 loaf pans (or two regular size and 3 mini loaf pans) for about 45 mins. (30 mins. for the minis) at 350 degrees.

Let me know if you decide to make some bread. I'd love to know how it turns out! Thanks for reading ya'll. -Amber

A Year Ago

Last year around this time, I wrote a blog about Daylight Savings Time. I had a lot more angst (not teenage) and aggression about my situation in life at that time. I am so thankful for how things can change in a year. Although things aren't perfect, they are great. I love my family, our church, my job, and our home. Thank God that His mercies are new every morning. I praise Him that a lot can change in a year.

But, if you want to know the truth, I still hate daylight savings time. It screws up my life, and I hate that. I think most mother's of preschoolers feel the same way as I do. (At least, that's what I overheard in the bathroom at church on Sunday. I have no real proof...just hearsay.) Most moms in my situation have a little one who does anything but sleep extra during this time of year. For example, Lydia wakes up with the sun, and enjoys the act of promptly waking her sister up to tell her "good morning". (Disclaimer: this doesn't always happen. Sometimes Julia wakes up with the sun, and enjoys the act of promptly waking her sister up to tell her "good morning".) This little tradition can cause turmoil for our family. Like it did this morning. --Since Lydia was sleep deprived, she got over tired today at "school". (Plus she smacked her face on our backyard slide last night, and her big fat lip was probably soar. I hate it when she does that. It makes me cry and ache all over. Lydia is always making herself susceptible to fat lips, bruised cheeks and black eyes. She is fearless.) Lydia's teacher/daycare provider/babysitter called me this morning and told me she thought Lydia was sick, and that I needed to come get her. I picked Lydia up, and took her home to lay her down. She didn't want to stay in bed at first, but a promise of medicine and lunch kept my littlest quiet til I got back. When I did get back to administer her Tylenol, the poor little sweet heart was already mostly asleep. After Tylenol, Lydia slept for about two and a half hours. She woke up hungry, but pretty perky. All she needed was a snack, and then all was right with her world again. I'm glad she wasn't really sick....just in need of a good nap. (Dearest Lydia, I really wouldn't mind if you decided to sleep-in tomorrow morning; despite the 6:30 sunrise.)

But, speaking of sleep, I better start heading that direction myself. (I don't really have a lot of hope that either of my girls will be sleeping in too late.) I hope all of you are doing well, and enjoying your sun-shiny mornings and cool, dark evenings! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love ya, Amber

Halloween Was a Scream

This weekend was a lot of fun. The girls had a great time dressing up two days in a row, and we were all very excited to see my parents (i.e. Mimi and Papa).

Mimi and Papa came for almost 24 hours. They didn't get to stay for long, but we are so glad they could come. They showed up for a late dinner on Friday evening, and then hung around with us on Saturday. They left from First Fest (Houston's First Baptist's Fall Festival). Below is a picture of my mom with the my little cupcake bakers. These little bakers were labeled as chefs, cookie makers, strawberry shortcakes, but mostly just cute.

We got these cute little costumes from Granny Ruth a while ago. I originally thought it would be fun to dress them up as little cowgirls, but then I remembered these outfits, and couldn't go back. I love the picture of them below. They look as sweet as can be.

 After we got to First Fest, the girls jumped, played, petted animals in the petting zoo, received candy, and had a grand ole' time. I only wish we would have made it there a little earlier. It was hard for us to decide when to go this year since the festival is during nap time, but we had a great time with the hour and a half we had.

 The group of four below is (from left to right) Kelly Matte as Olive Oyl, Amber Cessac as Kelly Matte, Joey Cessac as Gregg Matte, and Pastor Gregg Matte as Popeye. How fun!

 Lydia and Julia were very into the candy this year! Well, they still are very into the candy. And, admittedly, so are Dave and I. Dave and I both took some to work to help get rid of it a.s.a.p.

We were all sad that we only got to see my parents for such a short time, but the girls rallied their spirits tolerably when they realized there was another night of candy collecting awaiting them. Dave and I wanted to use Halloween as another opportunity to get to know our neighbors better. We got lawn chairs and sat outside chatting with them until we went door to door and asked for candy. It was a lot of fun to re-learn every one's names and get to know them better.
My mom told me she wasn't allowed to go trick-or-treating when she was growing up because her dad felt like it was begging. I was sorta' in agreement with Grandpa this year. At least we gave away candy as well. Below is a picture of my little candy-mongers.

 Below is a (blurry night-time) photo of Julia chatting it up with Cinderella.

And, I also took a picture of some of the candy. So many people encouraged the girls to "take as much as they want". It was sort of hard to politely turn down the offer as my children scooped handfuls of candy into their bags, but we did our best. (One of the ladies had full size candy bars. They let the girls take from her bowl more than once.)

The girls had a great time, and way too much candy. They got to stay up a little later than normal, but we did have to cut out a little early because the girls started school today. It is an at-home preschool that we are trying out. They had a great time this morning, so I am curious to find out what the rest of this week is like and how the following week goes.

I had a really fun time at work too. I got to sit in on instructional classes for realtors wanting to learn how to better use social networking for their businesses. I learned a lot! I really think I am going to enjoy my job, and I didn't even feel like I didn't get to see my girls. There were a few tears this morning when I dropped the girls at preschool. However, they didn't come from my independent, inquisitive daughters. Just me.

I am so excited about these next few months. We are already listening to Christmas music in the car, and I am looking forward to a cooler week. Lydia loves the "Tinkerbell song" which is actually the well-known nutcracker song. Julia asked me if we could take her to the ballet to see them dance to the nutcracker song today. Of course, I am just dieing to make this happen now. We'll see. Anyway, thanks for reading. You all are the best! -Amber

Par-tay!

This weekend was great fun! It flew by way too fast, but it was great for sure. Dave and I went to a costume/scavenger hunt party with our Bible study class on Saturday. The costumes were awesome, and the scavenger hunt was fun and challenging. Below, you can see Rainbow Brite, Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Rain, and Napoleon Dynamite.

 The scavenger hunt list was about a mile long. One of the challenges was to ask a stranger to take a picture of your entire group hanging spoons from their noses. There was definitely some cheaters in this shot (Dave, and Jeremy) but I noticed when we got back that we were really the only group who actually asked real strangers to take pictures of us. Hmmm...interesting.

 Below you'll see a facebook comment page, a baker, a hippie chick, Deb (from Napoleon Dynamite) and Napoleon himself. We are doing that beatles walk thing. What is it called? I, Deb, am trying to be funny in this shot, while pretending I know what in the world this walk thing is. (I understand now....I looked it up.)

 This is me, I mean Deb, "sneezing" onto a deck of cards.

 There were four groups playing the scavenger hunt, but the one that decided to do there own thing is pictured below. Can you guess what they did instead of wracking up scavenger hunt points?

They call it "wrapping" a house here in Houston. I am used to it being called "t.p.ing". But, either way, when their pictures came up, there was a lot of laughter. They ended up wrapping five houses, I think, and even though they probably had the least amount of points, this team won the game due to their abundant amount of creativity.

After the hunt, we went back to the Hill's house, where our kiddos where being watched, and Josh was making us an amazingly delicious dinner. We packed our kids up right after the last picture was shown, and headed home so that we could all crash. Whew.

Sunday night, we got to meet and fellowship with some people who used to attend Houston's First. They live in our neighborhood as well, and go to another church here in Missouri City now. But, it was a joy to get to know this great couple and their adorable son. We hope to get together with them more often. (Shannon's cooking was delicious as well.) 

Tonight, the four of us got to go out and celebrate by eating at P.F. Chang's and then Piccomolo's Italian Ice Cream. It was delicious. (I think I'm gonna have to run every day this week.) But, do you wanna' know what we were celebrating? I got a part-time job! I am so excited. God has given me peace about this job since I first interviewed for it in August. It's been a long time coming, but I know that God's timing is perfect, and I am praising Him for that. I am praying about Childcare/Mother's Day out programs for my kiddos. But, I know that God will smooth these details out as well. Life isn't easy, but it's so much better with Christ on your side!

Anywho, that was our wild and crazy weekend and week-beginning. How was yours? Thanks for reading my blog! I have enjoyed writing it, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading as well! Love, Amber

Weekend in Port O'Connor

On Friday, Dave, the girls and I loaded into our mini van and headed to Port O'Connor TX to visit family and have tons of fun! Dave's Uncle Erny lives in Port O'Connor, but all of his aunts and uncles joined the fun as well. We also got to see Dave's grandpa, and great uncle. As well as, some of Dave's cousins. But, the persons of the most import, especially to our girls, were Granny Ruth (Dave's mom) and Papa Don (Dave's step-dad). We didn't have much time, but we packed in as many exciting activities and delightful family events as we possibly could.

On Friday, after we arrived, we barely had time to say hello to family before it was time to get our wired girls to bed. After we got the girls to stop jumping on their beds (and bouncing of the walls) and lay down, Dave and I couldn't help but snooze ourselves. Getting to bed slightly early on Friday night proved to be a very good idea for us. We had no idea at that time that the next day would be loaded with great things to do.

After waking up and eating a delicious breakfast, the four of us, and Granny Ruth went shopping for a little while.

After we got back from shopping, the five of us headed to the beach to walk on the pier and visit the ocean. We stopped at the swing set nicely positioned by the pier before we actually went for our walk. Here's a picture of the girls and Dave on the swings:

And then the same three cuties walking on the pier:

This next photo is the view from the swing set. I know that the gulf isn't as perfect as some other beaches, but it's still the ocean, and I enjoy delighting in it's beauty.

Below is a picture of me and my girls right before it was time to head back to Uncle Erny's for lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to ocean (it's about 2 blocks from Uncle Erny's) to see if we could spot a few dolphins with our girls. But all we saw on this trip was this fella':

It was about time for the girls to take a nap, and Dave and I were about to hop onto a boat! ---Thursday night before we left for our trip, Ruth asked Dave if he'd like to go sea fishing. Dave wasn't sure at that point whether or not he wanted to go. It wasn't until Saturday that this rare opportunity to fish in the sea was also presented to me. We decided it would be best not to pass the opportunity up!

We got to go fishing with Uncle Erny's neighbor, Darryl (a great fishermen) and his Uncle Delfido.  No kids allowed- just adults. As we took off, with wind whipping through my hair, I looked at Dave and said, "Isn't this fun? We are on a date!"

 First order of business? Catch a live cabbage head jelly fish with your bare hands. This task was appropriately managed by Darryl. Dave and I got to touch it. Here's a pic:

After that, we got to fishing. Darryl doesn't like to stay put if the fish aren't biting, so we moved the boat around a few times before Dave and I caught our first fishes of the day. They were both grunt fish. They look just like perch, and apparently taste like them too.

After we moved again, we caught some sea robins, and Dave managed to reel in this beast of a grouper:

I wasn't really sure how he even felt this little guy tug on his line. Darryl said we would let him go and grow to be about 300 lbs. In ten years, Dave and I are definitely coming back to find him again!

After catching the little fish, Darryl moved us to a place where he knew we could catch some small sharks. I reeled in the first one. He was about 2.5 feet long, and probably around 10 lbs. It was so great! (Obviously I need to pack more clothes next time, because I did not even have a t-shirt along to throw on to go out on the boat in. Packing light is overrated.)

Dave reeled in the second shark. This little 2.5 footer got a little bloody, but we figured he'd just attract some bigger sharks.

 We got to reel in a few more little guys, and our biggest one was about 3 feet long, 12 lbs. Darryl said he usually doesn't keep these kind of shark unless they get to be 4 foot long. Otherwise, there just isn't much meat. We didn't catch any "reds" (I think these are red snappers) that day, which are "good for eatin' ", but don't worry, we invited ourselves back to fish another time. Darryl was so kind to accept our invitation. He even took us fishing this day after canceling his personal plans, as a favor to Dave's uncle. He won't accept any gifts or money in return. Isn't he a saint?

After fishing, Darryl cleaned his boat up and came back to Uncle Erny's to eat some steak, and boilin' pot style shrimp, potatoes, corn and sausage.  Of course there was also gads of desserts to be consumed, but we won't talk about how much food was actually eaten yesterday....now, will we?

I was also glad to have grabbed a shower before dinner, along with clean pants and undergarments, but unfortunately the same shirt. (My other one from yesterday was dirty as well.) --Don't look at me like that. I know it's disgusting, but what else was I going to do? That's right, I just decided to go on with life.

Then, we had some quick family photo ops before we loaded the girls up to get them in bed late, just to hall them to church this morning. I liked this one:

Granny Ruth doesn't like to take pictures, so I am so glad to have one of all of us. I'm gonna frame it.

As the sun went down, and our girls whined about leaving, we loaded everything up again. I noticed Darryl leaving his house, fishing pole in hand. He's a tournament fishermen, so he's got to practice, I guess.

Today we went to church, and then brought the girls back for some much needed rest. We went to the playgroud to let them play after naptime while we played volleyball in the very nearby sand volleyball court. We thought it would just be the two of us, but another couple joined us and we had a great time. It was fun... however, I think I will be soar and bruised tomorrow.

Anyway, that was our exciting weekend. It was a great time. Make sure you check back soon because next weekend, Dave and I are going to a costume party with our Sunday School class. We are gonna pull off some pretty awesome characters, so stayed tuned! Thanks for reading, Amber

Hold Your Horses

While I was filling up the mini-van with gas the other day, Julia kept asking me if she could get out. I finally told her "no" in my stern voice, and added. "You may not get out, we will be done soon. Please be patient, just... hold your horses."
Julia replied in a whiney voice. "But, I don't have any horses."
Good times. -Amber

Grocery Story

Some how, by default, Thursdays have become grocery shopping day. I have tried a few different time slots to see what works best for the girls since Thursday mornings can be very harry around here. The girls often get to bed late on Wednesday nights due to church, so they are very cranky on Thursday mornings. For a long time it didn't occur to me that if I just put them down for nap early on Thursdays that they would wake up as much happier little campers. (I think it finally sunk in at library time a few weeks ago when Julia and Lydia both went bonkers. I put them to bed early that Thursday, and it seemed to make the day much better.) So, with that thought it place, it became my plan to go to the store right after the girls' nap times.

This idea is much better than going before nap, but of course, when you're talking about planning things with preschoolers, there are always kinks in the system. So, the girls woke up early, and both needed a snack right away. The snack was packed and promised to be delivered as soon as the girls were securely strapped into their car seats. (This is why are car is disgusting.) There was a lot of whining about waiting to have snack, but they gave that up with a few reminders of the consequences for whining. Then Julia started in on what she can bring:

J: "Mom, can I bring pinkie bear to the store?"
Me: "No, I don't want her to get lost. She can come in the car."
J: "Well, can I have a drink?"
Me: "Yes."
J: "Can I bring it in the store?"
Me: "Yes, I guess I'll pack some water."
J: "Well, can I bring my stick-horse, named Matti into the store?"
Me: "No, Julia. Lydia, stop whining. I am getting you water too."
J: "Why, why? Why can't I? Why can't I bring her? Her name is Matti, Mom? She wants to come she'll be sad all alone here. Can I bring her? Why can't I?
Me: "Because, she is too big. She can't come to the store with us. You can play with her when you come back home..........."

So, we finally make it into the car. Julia wants her window down. Lydia freaks out because she thinks I might roll her window down. She does NOT like her window down.

And then, after arriving at the store, I open my grocery list and start the long hunt. I check and re-check the list hundreds of times, pass out samples to my girls, explain to my girls why running away isn't acceptable, try to let the girls help me put things in the cart without going crazy, fumble with coupons, try not to scream at the balloon that has hit me in the face billions of times, go by the seafood area to show the girls the lobster tank, and then finally I make it to the register to pay. I gasp at the price, and hope that my coupons are better than I remember. I pay, and then I feel "aaaaah" relief. I have successfully hunted bargains with my two wonderful and frustrating daughters with only a few melt-downs and a somewhat low number of "come to Jesus" meetings with them.

However, today it finally hit me as we were leaving. Usually I don't think about it until I pull into my drive way, but today, it hit me early. My job of grocery shopping is only half done when I leave the grocery store. I still have to load all the groceries in the car, take the cart back, buckle the kids, haul in all the groceries from my car to my house, keep the kids from running to play with neighbors, put the groceries away in their proper places, and come to the unhappy realization that there was still one or two things that we needed that was left off the list. I think I forget the ordeal from week to week due to God's goodness and grace in my life. By next week, hopefully I will have forgotten all about today, so that I can get up enough gumption to do it all again.....
So, that is my not so bad, but crazy as usual day. I'm sure it's not much different than all of yours. But, I hope that you enjoyed your's too! -Amber

I'm so proud.

I'm watching the weather right now, and can you believe it? It is currently cooler in Houston than it is in parts of Canada! That is AWESOME. Next week's forcast has highs in the 80's. And, tomorrow's high is in the 70's. That makes me so happy! It feels like fall to me for the first time this year.

Besides feeling like fall in Houston, we had some other firsts in our little neck of the woods. For example, Julia had her first dentist appointment. She did not appreciate them taking x-rays of her teeth, so she fought and cried a little bit, but she got through and did great the rest of the time. I'm so proud. I watched the x-rays from the hallway, and was greatful that Lydia was keeping me too distracted to tear up very much while Julia was having a hard time. Julia was much calmer after the hygenist laid her back and she got to watch a princess movie.

Also on our list of firsts: Lydia sat on the potty chair long enough to tinkle in it. I don't think she acutally knew when it happened, but at least it did happen. I'm so proud. She's no where near potty trained, but I have confidence that she will learn quickly.

 Julia is getting really good at writing her letters. She has tried to copy letters before, but she usually gets frustrated and upset that the letters aren't turning out the way she expects them too. However, she has really improved the skill of manipulating a pen, and started drawing J's like crazy. This is also a first of sorts for her. I'm so proud.

Here is a close-up of the J's Julia drew.  Of course, I wrote the numbers at the top, and spelled her full name in the middle. I guess I'm doing a pretty good job manipulating the pen as well. Aren't you proud?

So, we had some new things happen last week, and I love that I have the oppurtunity to blog about them as a sort of a digital scrapbook. During these past few weeks, life seems sort of ho-hum during the week, and super packed and crazy during the weekend, but, big things are happening! My babies are growing before my eyes, and I love having the opportunity to watch them do just that. I don't know how things will change and develop for us in the next few weeks, months and years. But two things I know won't change. One: I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with such amazing kiddos. And two: I'm so proud. -Amber

Pumpkin Cookies

This weekend was very fun and very busy. Dave was off on Friday. So, the four of us kept very busy going to the church in the morning for the baby worship cd, going grocery shopping, and running errands. Friday evening, the girls and I made snacks for our young married's Sunday school class. I knew Saturday was going to be crazy, so, the girls and I cooked, and tasted pumpkin cookies, and then put the goodies in the fridge to wait for Sunday to arrive. Saturday we got to visit with our friends, the Igoe's, in the afternoon, and then go to a dinner group established by our Sunday School class at the Pearce's. The Igoe's brought delicious enchiladas to our house for us to share, and we brought drinks to the dinner group where we got to eat grilled burgers with all the fixin's. Yummy! We also got some great deals at a community garage sale on Saturday. Yeah!

The cookies seemed very well accepted at church this morning, so I thought I'd share the recipe with all of you. They're a perfect fall treat! By the way, this recipe comes from a very sweet lady, Kay Little. Her son used to be one of Dave's best friends.

Pumpkin Cookies

4 cups flour (I used 2 cups all-purpose white flour and 2 cups whole wheat.)
2 cups oats, uncooked
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, oats, soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Cream butter in mixer, gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla: mix well. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mxing well after each addition. Stir in morsels. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cut dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, until firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet; cool on racks.
Note: Dough may be frozen in air-tight container. Thaw in frig; then bake as directed. Makes about 32 large cookies.

The following picture is what my kitchen sink looked like after making dinner and baking cookies on Friday. It looks slightly better now.

 Saturday night, I decided to make some cute little flower clips for the girls to wear to church Sunday. These are what I came up with:

 I think they turned out pretty cute, but we already lost one at church. Maybe it'll show up soon. If not, I will just have to get my glue gun back out and craft another.

This morning was great. Pastor Gregg delivered a wonderful and convicting message. Then we went to Sunday School followed by a Leadership meeting at church that fed us all lunch. We rushed home afterwards and got the girls down for nap an hour and a half late. But, it was a great morning. Daniel (Dave's brother) and Dave are working on Daniel's Math homework at the moment, and Xiaolan (Danie's wife) was taking a little nap, but Julia and Lydia didn't let her sleep very long.

Well, that's about it for these Good Stewart's for this weekend. We are enjoying this fall season, and we can't wait to continue with all the festivities! Love to all of you who read my blog! -Amber

BabyWorship

My girls got to do something very exciting today!! They got to get pictures and videos taken of them while they played with toys and friends. These pictures and videos will ultimately end up in a worship dvd for kiddos! The ministry that is heading this whole thing up is called Touch the World Media. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this dvd!! But, in the mean time, pictures I took myself will have to suffice. :)

These are some of the photos I took of the girls as they interacted with everyone. However, I wasn't allowed to use my flash, so some of the pictures ended up a bit blurry.

The end result of this is gonna be fantastico!!! I'll let you know where you can buy your own copy when it comes out! (Wink, wink.) Love, Amber

Road Trip

Last week was very different for me and my family. If you have read my blog at all before, you know that in the last several posts, I have talked about going to visit my sister and brother-in-law to meet my new nephew, and that I would be then driving down to Topeka with my parents to visit my Grandpa. Then, my parents drove me to Bartlesville where I got to reunite with Dave and the girls and go to my 10-year class reunion.

I had a great time at each location, but am glad to be home. At my first location, I met this little guy:

I reminded him not to forget me between now and Thanksgiving. I'm sure he'll remember.

I had a great time visiting Josiah and my family, and seeing my friends Julie and Jamie. I was so surprised at how the time flew by and can't wait to host everyone in my home for the holidays.

Seeing my Grandpa was great, but somehow, in the short time we got to see him, I forgot to pull out my camera and take a pic of us with him. He told us several times that he is starting to forget things, but he also told us many stories about things that happened a long time ago, as well as things that are going on in his life and the lives of his freinds' currently. While I believe him that things are harder for him to remember, I am glad to see that he is doing well overall. I just pray that he isn't too lonely. I know he still misses my Grandma, as we all do.

After traveling to Bartlesville, my parents saw Dave and my girls for a few seconds while checking on their house that is still on the market in Bartlesville. (We are all hoping and praying that it sells soon.) I was amazed that we all rode into Bartlesville at the same time. We couldn't have planned it better if we'd tried. My brother also saw Dave and the girls and gave them hugs before he had to get to his house and get ready for work the next day. Dave and the girls and I got to head on over to my mother-in-law's house and visit with her and Dave's step-dad before the reunion festivities began the next evening.

The following morning, Ruth (Dave's mom), Dave, the girls and I went to the Dewey State Fair to visit the animals there. The fair was not very large, and there were no rides, but it was the perfect pre-nap activity, and I am so glad that we went. Below are a few pictures of the girls enjoying themselves at the fair.

We were also lucky enough to see a few friends from Bartlesville at the fair, and that was great fun. That evening, Dave and I went to meet with my former classmates at a local restaurant. We didn't stay very long though because we looking forward to seeing our friends, Jared and Lela. We had a great time both places and I was happily surprised that I was not afraid of all of my former classmates...which was very different from the way it was in high school.

Then on Saturday, we got to see Jared and Lela again as we checked out some garage sales with them in honor of the 100 mile long garage sale of Oklahoma. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch with Ruth and Don (Dave's step-dad) and then got the girls down for a nap. After they woke up, we got to visit with Krista, (Dave's step-sister), and her daughter, Mattisyn. Julia and Lydia L-O-V-E their cousin Mattisyn and were very, very sad to see her go. I couldn't believe how tall and big Mattisyn is getting. She's already 5 years old!!!! I hope my girls never get that big. I mean, I want them to grow normally....I mean, I want my girls to stay small forever...but I know they can't and that makes me sad....you probably know what I mean.

Anyway, that night we got to go to my high school reunion and thankfully, we had a great time!!! I talked to some of my classmates more that evening than I had the whole 4 years I went to school with them. Hallelujah and Praise the Lord, I am no longer painfully shy! I was so glad to see so many of them happily married, and surprised to hear so many of them already have children. Dave and I also hit the dance floor a few times and enjoyed watching others do the same. I wish we didn't have to wait 10 more years to do it again.

The hardest part of my trip was definitely the travel. Everything else was so much fun!! (My flight got delayed on the way there, so I sat on the plane for an hour and a half before we even took off. Then the last 45 minutes of the plane had some major turbulence, and since I am easily motion sick, I seriously thought I was going to lose my lunch snacks. Then, on the way back from Bartlesville, the 4 of us had to travel in the heat because the a/c in our van is broken, and Julia did end up losing her lunch. I think the poor dear is easily susceptible to motion sickness like me. Luckily she is old enough to let us know before it happens, so I had time to pass her a cup before Dave pulled over. It made clean-up a lot easier.) I am so thankful that besides a few little traveling quirks that everything turned out wonderfully!

Thanks so much for reading my blog, and keeping up with what our family is up to. I appreciate you all. Love, Amber

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

In Wyoming, it feels like fall. The air is crisp and cool. The tree leaves are turning the beautiful colors of autumn. It wouldn't feel weird to eat chili for dinner. It feels like fall.

Houston does not feel like fall until December. Last year we carved a pumpkin, but we had to wait until the last minute to carve and put it outside. The poor thing just cooks out there in the warm, autumn Houston sun. Maybe this year, I'll bring the pumpkin in during the day so that it won't rot immediately...

But, I digress. I got on the computer tonight to blog about the wonderful time we are having so far at the Hazelet's. I got some fun pictures of Josiah that I plan to post when I get back home. We made plans for the week of Thanksgiving and drew names for who we are going to buy gifts for at our Christmas celebration in November. We got to hold and help take care of Josiah. We enjoyed the autumn air. It's been great.

Tomorrow we leave to see my Grandpa in Topeka. He is turning 90 this February. I am so sad to leave this sweet family of three, but so glad to be one day closer to seeing my Grandpa, my husband, and my girls. Well, I better get to going. I need to hold Josiah one more time before he goes to bed. Love ya'll! Happy Fall. -Amber

That's My Story...and I'm Sticking to It.

We got to go to MOPS this morning. It was so nice to be back. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves. And, I KNOW I did. I packed lunches for both of them to bring to their classrooms, and Julia was adamant about carrying her lunch box into her class. I think it made her feel big, like she was in school. My friend, Sarah is Julia's teacher this year. "And that makes my heart feel super happy!" (quoting Kai-Lan from Ni Hao, Kai-Lan) And in addition to those tid-bits, I am really looking forward to the next meeting because Annalee, our group discussion leader, will be back.
On Saturday, I am leaving to visit my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephew. I am flying up there, and then riding back with my parents to Bartlesville over the course of 1.5 days. We will be staying one night in Topeka to see my Grandpa who is turning 90 on February 20th of next year. Dave and the girls will be meeting me in Bartlesville on the 9th of September, and he and I will be attending my 10 year class reunion. I'm sure I will be so anxious to see my wonderful husband and sweet kids again! My parents will head back to Louisiana to get everything together by church on Sunday, and Dave and I will stay in Bartlesville, enjoying reunion festivities until Sunday and then we will travel back to H-town.

I have already packed the girls bag for their Bartlesville trip, and have picked out their clothes for this coming Sunday. I still have to write everything in my brain on to paper in an attempt to make Dave's single-parenting time with the girls seem as smooth and seemless as possible. I haven't packed anything for myself yet, but I did decide to bring one black sweater so far. Ha! I figure I need to start rummaging through my winter gear because after spending the last year in Houston, Wyoming is going to feel like the North Pole. I really don't want to think about what I am going to wear to the reunion. You know how reunions are....I'm guessing I'll either have the time of my life, or an experience that feels like the biggest nightmare I've had since high school it's self!

On Friday, we will have faster internet!!! Yeah!! (Too bad I will only get to enjoy it for one day before I leave!) Currently, we have THE SLOWEST internet available. But in exchange for faster internet, we have to give up dvr and all of our good channels for basic cable. Boo. It will be hard, but I figure the girls and I will get movies to watch from the library and hopefully watch less t.v. all together. On the bright side, maybe the phrase I quoted earlier from Ni Hao Kai-lan will stop popping into my head every single time I think of something exciting to write. Maybe I'll read some biographies during the girls' naptime instead of droning out to whatever is on HGTV. (I've been inspired to read a biography on Deitrich Bonhoeffer from the LPM blog.) Maybe this will make our daily lives even better...who knows?

Anyway, thanks for reading my blog posts and putting up with my quirks. I'm not really sure why I got so link happy today...but, just for your information, you all are the best! Love, Amber