I know I'm wierd,

But I'd rather....

...spend time with family in front of a glowing fireplace while sipping hot drinks while it snows outside than sit on a hot beach.

...talk on the phone than sit on facetime. Video talking is awesome when you want to see how kiddos are growing or how a house improvement is going, but just sitting, talking face to face with another adult is a tiny bit awkward. (Especially when there is a small video of you in the corner.) On a regular basis, I don't sit with my face super close to someone else's while we talk. It's also awkward if you can't stop checking out your complexion in the small side box.

...drink coffee from a small, locally owned coffeehouse than from a large franchise coffeehouse.

...be with family over the holidays than go to the bahamas or even Europe. I'd rather go to those places at some other time.

...put up Christmas decor too early than too late.

...have a ton of pretty sterling silver or costume jewelry than one small diamond necklace. (Not that it wouldn't be nice to have a diamond necklace someday!)

...read a good book than watch a scary movie.

...dance with my daughters than watch Dancing with the Stars.

...listen to Christmas music than just about any other music.

...have peace and quiet from time to time than constant noise/music/television. (This has definitely changed from when I was in highschool.)

...buy a house that needs paint and a little restoration than a house that needs no work at all.

...eat at home than eat fast food.

...have a sentimental Christmas with no gifts than get everything I've ever wanted and be alone.

...look out my window and see snowy mountain tops than just about any other landscape known to man.

...live in a small to medium size town than a huge metropolis.

...Dave be happy at his job than make a ton of money. 

...my kids memorize scripture than 100,000 facts about other things. (But my kids are smart. They'll probably be able to do both.)

...dream up fun adventures with my family than become bitter and crotchety.

...learn to let go and have a crazy-messy house than have my kids remember me as someone who cared more about having the house clean than about them. (But I can't wait 'til the girls start real chores start around here.)

...have spontaneous fun with family and friends than plan the rest of my life out. -- Even though I love a plan.

...experience life through the eyes of a child, than the way most adults do.

...lose some sleep than go several days with out a quiet time.

These are a few of my "I'd rathers" I'm sure there are more. But, right now, I'd rather get dinner on the table, and feel like a good wife than keep thinking of "I'd rathers". I would love to hear some of yours, though. I'm curious what yours are, even if they conflict with mine. Tootles, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!! More holiday blogs to come! :) -Amber

Costumes, Candy and Chaos

This weekend was filled with fun and craziness. We were "busy bees", and I have the pictures to prove it! We went to a birthday party and a block party on Saturday. We went to church on Sunday, and then to First Fest followed by Trick-or-Treating on Monday.

I didn't buy costumes this year. I actually had some stowed away. I think most of them were given to us by people whose kids had grown out of them, but I'd totally forgotten I had them. I laid out what we had, and let the girls choose.

My Bumble Bee and My Hula Dancer

Bumbelicious!

Luau Ready!

A friend's birthday party on Saturday

 So there's a story that goes with that pinata picture. (Don't worry, the little boy is not injured. He was moved before Julia started swinging.) Julia went first to hit the pinata because she was outside, and ready to whack the cute little Minnie face. (She went without a blind fold the first time.) So, she hit the pinata, and it broke. They taped the pinata up with all the candy back inside because no one else had a chance to go, not even the little birthday girl. Julia was dieing to go again but, I kept telling her she needed to wait until last. They let her go before the two older girls got a chance to go though, and even blindfolded, she whacked the pinata and broke it open again. I felt bad that not everyone got to go before the candy was spilled. :( Maybe I should get her in t-ball?

This was at our neighborhood block party.

A bumble bee with her glow stick.

 Lydia won best costume in her age group at the block party. Julia, of course, was in Lydia's age group, and did not win. This brought Julia to tears, but she got over it pretty quickly. I tried to encourage her to be happy for her sister when she wins, but I think in the end, it was the bajillionith peice of candy that someone at the party offered to her that made her feel better.

My girls on Sunday- goin' to Church!

Petting Zoo at First Fest

 First Fest is our Church's outreach on Halloween. There is so much to do, and it's tons of fun. There is a preschool area, inflatables, food, pony rides, live music, and obviously, a petting zoo.

I'm not sure if it's 'cause she didn't win at the block party or what, but Julia decided to switch to an OU cheerleader for Monday's fun.

Julia got to sing with her little choir at First Fest. Julia kept telling me, "Mom, on Halloween, we have to be at First Fest at 5:00." If she told me once, she told me 1,000 times! The choir was so cute and did such a great job.

Lydia can't wait to be in choir next year, and loves the choir teacher, Miss Star, almost as much as Julia does. Tonight, we were eating dinner at our church cafeteria, and Lydia said, "Mom, that's Miss Star! HAAAAA, she eats too?" Miss Star is definitely celebrity status to my little ones!

I hope that you all had a fun and safe Halloween, whether you stayed in, dressed up, or partied 'til the cows came home. Enjoy whatever candy came your way.

Blessings, Amber

Jail House Rock

This last Sunday, I had the privilege of visiting a women's prison with about 25 other people to sing praises to the Lord. It was such a blessing! I wish I could accurately put the experience into words, but I know that's impossible. So, I'll just do my best!

After church, our group ate lunch together and practiced our songs a little, and then piled into a few people's vehicles and headed to Dayton, TX. We had been praying for this mission as a group for a few weeks, but we continued to pray that we would be let in to the prison without interruption or delay. God blessed us, and we got to go into the prison right away. We were led into a big room with lots of chairs, and about 180 inmates already in the room. We sang a few songs, and then had the opportunity to listen to Shannon, who spoke to the women about redemption, and about how we are clay, that is being molded by The Potter's hands. As we got up to sing again, some of the women from our group had the opportunity to pray with some of the women in the audience. It was a blessing to speak with these ladies. These women were searching for a saviour, and were willing to be transparent in order to receive that. They weren't ashamed of their needs and truly desired to grow, and believe in the change and resurrection God has for their lives. It's too bad more people aren't like that. Too bad I'm not more like that. --I truly hope these women stay like that.

Outside of he Prison, as we drove up.

 Some of the things that amazed me about this trip?
 - The women wanted to keep singing, and even had song requests. We sang, "I can only imagine" at their request, and sang a few of the songs, that we had rehearsed to sing, more than once.
- The women were joyful, and danced as they praised.
- I found out that, there is no air conditioning in these women's cells. That means there cells get up to about 120 degrees in the summer. This is a medical prison, so many of these women are pregnant or have life threatening diseases. Can you imagine?

The Chapel of Hope - where we met to sing

 The Chapel it's self, barely had air conditioning. Suppossedly it was cooler inside than outside, but I think it was the other way around. We were warm as we worshipped! :)

One of the chosen songs was on the play list had "special effects" and cool parts. It was our "gift" to the women, and it was the only song that the audience didn't have the words too.  It is called Beautiful Things by the Michael Gungor band. To listen to it on you tube, click here. (It truly is a beautiful thing.) The words are simple, meaningful, and powerful. When we sang it for the second time, as the inmates were leaving, many of them sang along. How awesome!

The group right after the 2 hour church service

After we left the prison, some of us went to dinner at Sonic before heading home. Cranberry Limeades are the bomb on a hot a day.

More of the complex

I wish I had more pictures, but cameras are not allowed in the prison. so, these were all I could get. --We had a group picture of the volunteers taken, but not with my camera. We are suppossed to be getting a copy of soon, and I would love to add it to this post. So hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to do that.

Thanks for reading about my one-day mission trip. I am grateful for the opportunity in so many ways. -Amber

Rough and Tumbler

Little Lydia has another bump and bruise. :( We were at a birthday party on Saturday, and Lydia fell in the bouncy house, and another little boy fell on top of her. I was pretty scared that it was worse than it was when Dave brought her inside with a bleeding mouth. But, thankfully, her teeth are not loose and her lip wasn't punctured by one of her teeth. She just has a fat lip. She cried, of course. But, overall she was very brave.

Yesterday right after the party.

This was how it looked this morning. The red spot on the right is actually a mosquito bite. Her face was also dyed green from frosting.

Dave wanted her to really show it off. It doesn't seem to hurt her that much. We've actually had to keep her from messing with it.

Oh, Lydia, please don't puncture your little face any more. I don't know if my heart can handle it! A fat lip is way easier to deal with than when this happened to Lyddie Lou's eye, though.

Please stay tuned for a blog tomorrow or the next day. I had the privilege of going on a mission's trip today, and I would love to blog about it. But for now, I have to get to bed. I'm very sad about the fact that my alarm will be going off at 6:15 tomorrow morning.

Happy Week to all of you!! -Amber

A Shy Extrovert

I am a shy extrovert. This "condition" sounds like an anomaly to me, but, it's probably more common than I realize. All through high school, I could never understand why I needed to be around people so much when I could barely bring myself to speak to them before they started talking to me. During my last years of college I definitely started growing out of my shyness, but it was a challenge to say the least.

I remember when I first got my driver's license. --I was so excited to be able to take myself to the places I wanted go. But, I soon realized that going places in the car byself was...lonely-- not really fun.

After Dave and I got married, I realized that I still felt kinda lonely a lot of the time. I was used to living in a house with my parents and syblings. There was usually someone around to watch t.v. with or to give a hard time. I thought that after Dave and I were married, that we would get up together, make dinner together, shop together, drive everywhere together, and clean together. But, Dave is very independant, and wasn't in the habit of doing everything with another person - at least not the same person. He even had a hard time adjusting to sharing a room with me.

Now that I'm a mom, I'm never alone! (That's one of the things I love about being a mom.) It wasn't until after Julia was born that I started feeling like I really, really needed some alone time. Dave was shocked the first time I asked him to go somewhere else so that I could just unwind quietly, by myself. I guess down time is something everyone needs...even shy extroverts.

Another thing I love about being a mom is analyzing my kids behaviors and thinking about what sort of personalities they are devoloping. Dave and Julia are also extroverts like me, but neither one of them is shy. Especially not Julia. Lydia isn't shy either, but Dave thinks she is an introvert. Out of all of us, she is definitely the one who can spend time playing by herself the longest.  Who knows, Dave may be right. --(I'm excited to see what our next little one will be like, and how dependant he or she will be on other people.)

So, what are you? Are any of you out-going introverts? Do you really just crave alone time, or do you think it is more fun to be with others? God made us all so differently! I'd love to hear a little about you. -Amber

Chocolate Pie

This last weekend, Dave's dad had the opportunity to visit us. We were so happy to have him! While he was here, he requested that I make him a cherry pie or a chocolate pie for his birthday that had come the week before. I have never made either one before, but decided to give both of them a try. Saturday night I made a cherry pie, and Sunday I made a chocolate pie from this blog.

The Pie was so stinkin' delicious, that I had to let you all in on this delicious and easy recipe. I hope you love it as much as my guests and I did! -Amber

First Dentist Appointment

Lydia had her first dentist appointment this week. She cried during the x-rays, but was happy when she got to have chocolate toothpaste.

Here she is, holding her Kai lan doll for dear life. She wasn't very happy.

The conversation about chocolate toothpaste is making her happier.

Cars movie over head.

Big girl Julia is old hat now.

Proud of my growing girls! -Amber

A Pregnancy Promulgation

(To those of you who have had kids, or would like to know what it's like to be pregnant, this blog may be slightly interesting. To the rest of you; sorry.)

Why is it when you're pregnant that you are continuously starving? And, although you are hungry NOTHING sounds good!? Tonight, I decided that the only thing that sounded good to me was chili. Luckily I had some ground turkey, canned tomatoes and kidney beans, among the other required chili ingredients. I quickly chopped the onions and garlic and got them cooking. But once the turkey was in the the pan with the aromatics, the idea of eating chili sounded dis-gust-ing. I ate a few bites of it with the fam, but then I had to take two tums and lay down.

There is such urgency with pregnancy! Like: "I need a chicken sandwich, NOW!" and then two seconds later, "The smell of a chicken sandwich is going to make me ralph!" Last night, after church, I couldn't wait until the kids were fully calmed down before I headed down the stairs to my own bed. I felt like if I didn't go to sleep with in a matter of minutes, that I was going to be sick. And then this morning, I went to brush my teeth. After my morning quiet time, brushing my teeth was all of the sudden "an immediate need". As I gagged and choked while brushing, my stomach started growling ravenously. (As if the simple act of cleaning my teeth was a full-body workout.) But, since food sounded gross, I waited a little while to toast my english muffin for breakfast. That was not a good idea....

Since this is my third pregnancy, my clothes are already fitting tightly on my abdomen. I'm not to the point yet where I can wear clothes that tent open at the middle, but I know I'm gonna need to do something soon. I sure do wish that they made pregnancy clothes for your first, second and third trimester. --Instead of just clothes for the "about to pop" pregnant belly.

Also, if you didn' t already know this, pregnancy can turn anyone into the biggest airhead known to man (or woman)! Thankfully, I have a very understanding boss! Being pregnant causes the worst case of foggy headed adhd imaginable (minus the hyper activity, of course). I walk around work feeling groggy, with the overall goal of obtaining a little bit of focus. Some moments are better than others. (Usually in the good moments, I am focused on running to the restroom.) And then to top it all off, I can't have hardly any caffiene! That's a real kick in the pants! I mean what's a girl to do? I guess, I'll just take it one foggy day at a time....

Anyway, all in all, pregancy is great. It's just so wierd to me that it's sorta fun to talk about. --It's a miraculous phenomenon. If any of you have any crazy pregnancy stories, I'm momentarily in the mood to hear them! So, bring it on!

Lovingly, Amber

Stewart Update

Please watch these videos for our newest news!

Thanks for watching. Love, Amber

Fall Decor

Two weeks or so ago, Dave pulled my box of fall decorations out for me. I don't have that many decorations, but, I love what I have all the same.

Wanna see a few pictures?

Huge Fall Plate

 I have a huge turkey platter that is probably meant to be used for none other than good ole' Thanksgiving turkey meat. (I'm sure I purchased this at Hobby Lobby after the holiday some year.) Anyway, I love this plate, and would love to display it, but it would take a pretty hefty duty plate holder to do the job and a nice tall space to place it. I don't know if it would fit above my counter tops, but it would above my fridge. I'm worried though that it would fall over when we actually opened or closed the fridge doors....so that won't work either. The last few years this turkey has been sitting on my countertops, looking huge and in the way. Any suggestions?

Melted Candle

 This is my melted candle that I am thinking of putting on my back porch. The "fall" sun is still so intense here, that the candle may just re-melt and go back to a semi-normal state. It's already caddy-wompus-- what could that little expirement hurt?

Sad fall wreath

 When I made this wreath, I didn't have my girlies around yet. I remember making it though, thinking about how interesting the little heads of wheat were. I actually remember picturing myself with some future kiddos of mine while schooling them on grain and wheat. I'm still gonna do this someday....right after I fix this sad little wreath. It was pretty at one time...

2010 Fall Project

This is the last bit of fall decor I will present to you today. These are pumpkins that the girls crafted last year. Lydia's says: Thank you God for God.
Julia's says: Thank you God for elephants because I only like Christmas.
It still cracks me up.

Well, these little fall items are not all the decorations I have, but I thought they were the best ones to show you. :) I also have some pretty little ceramic pumpkins, some hand-painted pilgrims, and a fun cornucopia centerpiece that are actually very pretty. Those just didn't seem as interesting, though. Hopefully I'll make time to pull out a hurricane vase and make it up really pretty with some unmelted candles and some candy corn...but you just never know.

Happy Fall, Ya'll! -Amber

Simplicity.

So, I know it's technically a new weekend, but I've been meaning to get on here and reflect on last weekend for 5 days now. So, here goes:
Last Saturday, our little family packed up and headed to Port O'Connor. I posted about visiting this small, Texas town last year. (You can read about it here.) This time in Port O'Connor, though, there wasn't a family reunion complete with sea fishing. But, there was a new thing that Dave has always wanted to do. Dave spoke at his Uncle's church. --Dave played preacher, and he loved it. It was such a humbling experience for me, though. I've gotta tell ya, I sorta felt like a preacher's wife. I sat in the small church, called The Fisherman's chapel, feeling under the weather, I fiercely blew my nose, while waiting for Dave to cue me to switch power point slides, all the while listening and wondering how the message (that God gave Dave) would be recieved. I felt meek, but content.
Although we were only in the small fishing town of Port O'Connor for 2 half days, it felt like a lot longer. Why? In order for anyone else to understand what I mean, I'll have to explain the landscape. Dave's uncle lives in a large parsonage that is located one small yard away from the church that Dave's uncle, Erny, pastors. The house has an upstairs that Erny and his wife, Joanie live in, and two downstairs apartments for relatives and guests to stay/live in. The church and parsonage are only 2 blocks from a quiet beach and peir. In fact, all restaurants and convenience stores are about a 2 minute drive away. --This to me equaled sweet serenity.
On Sunday morning, the girls, Dave and I woke up leisurely, got cleaned up, dressed, had breakfast as a family, and we still got to church early. There's just something so fulfilling about going to church nix traffic, long driving times, breakfast in the car, and the hustle and bustle of getting out of our house by 8:25 a.m. on a Sunday. But, don't get me wrong, Dave and I LOVE our church, and, feel very called to continue doing what we're doing, because I know that the long drive times, hurried early morning traffic and morning chaos isn't due to where our church is located; it's because we live in a Houston Suburb. It's how life is here. I guess I'm still not used to it. But, I know God called us here, to Missouri City, to this house, to this church, to our jobs for a specific purpose. And I am thankful for all them. I'm just not so thankful for the craziness (or the heat).
In Richard J. Foster's book, "Celebration of Discipline", Foster speaks about the value of simplicity by saying,
"The Spiritual Discipline of simplicity sets us free to receive the provision of God as a gift that is not ours to keep and can be freely shared with others. Once we recognize that the Bible denounces the materialist and the ascetic with equal vigor, we are prepared to turn our attention to the framing of a Christian understanding of simplicity."These days, I long for simplicity. Not a lack of hard work and diligence, but just an ease to our chaotic existence. But how do I do that? God called us to this here and now. I guess I'll just have to keep my attitude positive and take the long drives, and crazy hectic daily activities with as much simplicity as possible. If you keep reading Foster's book, he also says "Simplicity itself becomes idolatry when it takes precedence over seeking the kingdom." So, I'll do my best to shy away from idolizing the lifestyle of people who walk to church. But, maybe someday, when Dave and I have retired, we'll be living in something other than the fast lane, enjoying nature, good books, and the blogs of our kids and grand kids. We'll probably also reflect on the "good ole days" of whizzing from place to place, never having time to complete the laundry, dishes or  a sentence. We might even miss it. But, hopefully we'll choose to be content, as I am striving to be even now.

Okay, enough already. Here are some pics from our weekend:

God Bless! -Amber



Toot-er-ing

Our Newest Music Video:

Updates:

Dave started tutoring on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays a few weeks ago. When I told the girls where Daddy was, Julia laughed and said "He's toot-er-ing?" She followed up the question with a lot of unnecessary bathroom noises.

Lydia continues to be our little collector. Everywhere she goes, she carries some little princess or doll along. It's really cute (except for the times when she has to leave her toys at home or in the car. Those times are less cute.)

Julia still misses her teacher and playmates from last year. She likes her new teachers, but she says she's bored at school. I truly hope that she turns a corner and doesn't whine the whole year!

Lydia likes school when Julia does.

Our girls continue to amaze us! -Amber

Birthday Dave

Dave turns 32 tomorrow. It is so weird. I distinctly remember when my mom turned 32. For some reason, I learned that Michael Jackson and Madonna are the same age my mom is. I have no idea why that stuck with me. It's just one of those things, I guess...But, this blog isn't about my mom turning 32; this is about my husband. Woah! That's different.

For Dave's birthday, the girls and I plan to celebrate him as much as possible and love on him through out the day, and I am excited to do so. I am excited because Dave is a great man! I don't talk about him a ton on my blog, but that's not because he isn't important, it's probably because he is graciously taking care of something mundane and not "blog worthy". In the last few years, Dave and I have learned so much about each other, and I think we are continuing to grow in such neat ways. In every milestone, I have watched Dave change into the man he is today. And, I am proud of him. When Dave and I were very new parents, Dave was so supportive of me, and desired to be such a good dad.

Example:
Dave: "Amber, we have to start getting Julia to sleep through the night. I want to make sure she gets enough sleep."
Me: "Dave, She's only 4 days old."
Dave: "Right. Ok."

Dave loves our girls so much. It is a joy to watch. When Julia was only 2 months old, he asked me when we were going to start trying for more kids. I laughed when I thought he was joking and was appalled when I realized he wasn't. But the fact was, Dave loved Julia, and wanted to continue to spread the love.

After Lydia was born, things got pretty hectic, and Dave's urgency for more kids subsided, but someday, we plan to have more. (Dave certainly loves Lydia just as much as Julia.) I know that when we do, Dave will continue be beside me to discipline and love on our future kids as much or more as he has been there for me with  Julia and Lydia.

After moving to Houston, Dave and I grew even closer. I was totally depressed (and Dave was scared) but he was there for me to comfort me with his kindness and leadership. It was such a blessing. I will be forever grateful.

Just in the last year, since I started working part-time, Dave has really started helping with dishes, laundry, vaccumming and even some cooking. He decided that our bread machine was sitting dormant for way to long, so he pulled it out, and started baking. We haven't bought bread in weeks. Amazing, right? --He also decided to try his hand at making hummus, and it's really delicious. Yeah for that!

So, this blog is a tribute to Dave for his birthday. I know it's super sappy, but sometimes you just have to go there, you know? And, I wanted to sit and think about how my husband has changed in the last decade. There's been so much improvement that I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring!! Woohoo! So, without further ado, Happy Birthday Dave!!! Love, Amber

The Texas Times

What's going on in the suburbs of Houston, Texas in early September? Heat. It has cooled off to the lower 90's this week. And, I'm not gonna lie, I think it feels great! (I guess I'm adapting to this crazy weather afterall. The girl in me who was once sweltering in Anchorage, Alaska because it barely reached the high 70's is evaporating.) Ten degrees really does make a huge difference. (I'm trying to ignore the fact that the rest of the nation is much cooler.)
But, honestly, the temperature of the outdoors is not my main concern. The heat that is most discouraging to me is the heat that is coming from the fires that have destroyed over 1400 homes in South Texas. How devastating would it be to get a knock on your door telling you that you need to evacuate your home because fire is on the way? Lord, please send rain!
As the girls and I drove from our neighborhood into Sugar Land on Thursday, I saw and smelled the smoke. It dawned on me a few seconds afterwards where the smoke was coming from--the wildfires. Yikes!
I'll say it again, please Lord, send rain!
Blessings and love to you all! -Amber

First of Day of School and My Birthday Week

The day before my birthday, my girls had their first day of preschool/mother's day out. They love their school and so do Dave and I.

4 year-old Julia

3 year-old Lydia

Cousin Time

Birthday Dinner complete with candles and a fudgy chocolate cake

Hugs for Aubrey and Josiah at the airport. We all mis you!

My sweet hubby helped our girlies hug their cousin.

Me and my sis.

In the picture above, I look as tired as I am...we had a fun and exhausting birthday week. (I didn't know my sister was that much taller than me. Hmmm...)

Well, I thought I had a lot more pictures from the week. I guess I didn't get any picures of my parents or my brother! Oops! Sorry!

Thanks Dad, Mom, Aubrey, Alex and Josiah for visiting me on my birthday.  I love you all! -Amber