Fall Swag Swap

One of the first bloggers I really connected with was Erin at Homemade Happenings.  We were paired up for another similar get to know your blog partner and make them a care package swap.  That was last fall.  Well, Erin and some of her blog friends decided to host their own this fall, so I decided to join in.

I was paired with Stephanie at The Red Head Diaries.  We emailed back and forth a few times, and then I sent her a package of fall fun goodies.  Then, she sent me a package as well.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of the package I sent her, but I did take pics of what Steph sent me.

Here's what I got--

Steph did such a great job picking fun fall things for my box.  I already have the "Welcome" sign hanging on our front porch.  I have burned over half of the candle already.  I have plans to make mac 'n cheese with the pasta this week.  And J and I will be making some cupcakes in the next couple of weeks, so we can use those liners and sprinkles.  I also thought it was so thoughtful for her to put in some Play-Doh for J.

All in all a great Fall Box!!!  I hope Steph liked her goodies half as much as I have liked mine.

 Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

A Weekend for Walking and other things

Back in May, Aaron and I walked in an event called Walk4Water hosted by a church in our area.  We were encouraged by a member at our church to join him on the walk to raise money for water. At the time, I didn't really get the big deal because it was an event at another local congregation, and we hadn't been educated on what the walk was really for.  I just remember thinking 4 miles didn't seem that long.  Let me tell you- 4 miles is a LONG walk!!!

Well, this past weekend our church hosted this same walk.  Only now I have been educated.  It wasn't just a walk anymore.  Several weeks ago we had a man from the organization, Healing Hands, come and speak to us about Walk4Water and the impact this water has not only physically but also spiritually.  Wow!!!  What a story!!!

Walk 4 Water helps people in countries like Africa get fresh water wells, so they can have access to clean water.  Typically, people in Africa walk at least 4 miles to get water, and most of the time it's dirty and contaminated.  People are dying from drinking this water, but because it's all they have, they drink it anyway. With clean water wells, these people can walk for their water and know they are getting clean water.  But the greater thing is this.  Where there is water there is life.  This water becomes a place for people of the community to congregate and learn about God's word, too.  So now this life giving water is more than just a physical thirst quencher but a life saving one, too.  How amazing is that!!!  The ability to reach people's needs both physically and spiritually in teaching them the Good News about Jesus Christ!!!

This weekend our church raised money for water wells.  As a church, we far exceeded our goals and raised over $30,000 which is equivalent to 6 1/2 water wells.   Pretty cool!!!

If you have an interest in donating to this amazing charity.  Check out Woodland West's Walk4Water page.

Here are some pics I took from the walk--

 

J was feeling much better, but you can still see that he was not his usual peppy self.

 

With sis-in-law, Holly

 Just under 200 members from our church attended to support the walk

After 3 days cooped up in the house with the stomach bug, my parents offered to watch J so we could go to dinner on Saturday night.  It was nice to be out of the house and looking at food other than white rice or toast.  We went all out and had chips, salsa, and fajitas!!!

Today was our church's 55th Anniversary.  Unfortunately, I took no pictures.  It was a packed house with tons of previous members back visiting.  Aaron has been going to WWCC since birth, and I have now been a member for 10 years.  Crazy!!!  Instead of going to the church wide barbeque after services, we opted for a safer choice for J's tummy.  I am one of those crazy mamas that thinks giving your kid fried foods and barbeque is probably not the best idea just 48 hours after a bug.  We decided to go get fried rice at one of our favorites, Lotus Cafe.  They seriously have the best fried rice around!!!  J has been eating a lot of rice since Friday, so when we ordered he kept saying, "Rice time!"

 Isn't he the cutest???

 A selfie always gets him to smile!!! 

I told you I wasn't the greatest at taking bump pictures.  Since it has been 5 weeks, I thought another one was long over due.  I am 21 weeks today.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Friday Favorites

It's Friday and I am linking up with one of my favorite bloggers and her friends.  Andrea has a blog called Momfessionals and it's one of my daily reads.

We are currently on Day 3 of the stomach bug at our house.  Poor J woke on Wednesday in throw up and hasn't been himself ever since.  Fingers crossed!!! He has eaten a piece of toast and 2 small bowls of white rice, and they have stayed down. 

Here's to hoping we are almost over this bug, so we can enjoy our weekend!!!

Now onto my FAVORITES for the week or month!!!


My favorites this week involve one thing- PUMPKINS!!!

I LOVE them!!!

Here are some of my favorite pumpkin things right now.

I decorated our house for fall the second week of September, but have yet to put pics up.  I love our decor this year!!!  J really loves all the glowing pumpkins.

These Oreos are the best EVER!!!  We are already on our second bag.  Oh my!!! If you haven't tried them, you must!!!

 I splurged a few weeks ago and bought a Bath and Body Works candle.  I love their candles!!!  My favorite are their fall scents, and this one is so yummy!!!  I loved it so much I went back and bought it in the mason jar size for my aunt and cousin at our birthday get together.

 

At the same time I discovered this other amazing scent- Pumpkin Latte and Marshmallow- my mom was waiting in the car with J when I ran into get the candle.  I came back out and had put some of the above cream on my arms.  She immediately asked me what the scent was.  Luckily, she went back later and bought the shower gel and body cream and bought some for me, too.  It's so yummy!!!  We both have talked about how nice it is to have a light scent on after you shower.

Those are my favorites for this Friday.  

Have a great weekend!!!

Playing Catch Up

Here's what's being going on around our house lately.

 J is loving school!!!  He talks about his teacher, Mrs. Rickel, all the time as well as mentions several names of kids in his class.  He is also really getting into letters and numbers.  He notices them everywhere.  His favorite letter is M.  He LOVES it!!!  He picks it out of signs when we are driving around.  He just for whatever reason loves the letter.  Along with letters, he is also very aware of numbers, too.  He loves 1, 2, and 9!!!  Anytime we pass a digital clock with a 9 on it, he names it.

I love how much he loves learning. :)

A couple of weeks ago in the middle of the big interview/presentation that Aaron was prepping for J and I went to the park one evening to get out of Daddy's hair.  I was trying to do anything that week to help Aaron out, so he could work.  He would come home every night and eat dinner with us and then go off to work by himself the rest of the evening.  J was so cute.  He started saying, "Daddy yone" i.e. "Daddy alone".  That was a very LONG week for us!!!  My parents were out of town that week, so it was just J and I 24/7 unless he was in school.  I can honestly say I don't know how people live away from their family.  I got a taste of that for a week, and I was never so glad for my parents to come home.  My parents are seriously the best!!!  I have no doubt if they had been in town we would have been over at their house some in the evenings to break up the days a bit.

 During that long week, J and I went to the zoo one day.  My mom usually goes with us, but we decided to go without her this time.  We had the best time!!!  J walked around the zoo A LOT!!!  He is getting so BIG!!!  ( Sidenote: If you are needing suggestions to give people for Christmas/Birthday gifts, ask for zoo passes.  My sis-in-law, Holly, told me years ago that her parents would get them family passes to the zoo at Christmas.  Let me tell you.  BEST GIFT EVER!!! My parents got passes for us at J's Birthday, and it truly is the gift that keeps on giving.  I LOVE that we can go to the zoo for an hour here and there on a random morning and not feel guilty because we didn't stay long enough to get our moneys worth.)

Again, this same LONG week, my mom offered for us to go to her house and play to break up our day.  On Saturday, J and I played at RaRa's house with RaRa's toys, so Daddy could have the afternoon to work.  We, of course, had to send RaRa a pic of us at her house playing.

Dinner at El Fenix with my boys!!! Love them!

I finally made it to the new Sprouts by our house.  I loved it!!!  I haven't been back, but I did love it.  I am just not good at going multiple places to grocery shop.  I am really watching our grocery bills and try to only go once a week and get it all for the week.  I have found I save money that way.  Plus, I love meal planning.  It also saves us money.  Anyway, I really like Sprouts I'm just not sure how often I will make an extra trip to get my veggies and fruits there.

Johnny Appleseed Day-  I didn't know such a day existed, but it does at J's school.  So on this particular day, the kids dressed in jeans and white tees and sampled apples and made hats.

We don't get with my dad's side of the family that often, not even for Christmas anymore.  A couple of years ago, my aunt decided we should meet in the spring and fall on a Saturday to celebrate birthdays.  The last Saturday in September we met at my parents' house for lunch to celebrate all the fall birthdays.  It was fun getting to catch up and see everyone!!!

Last Friday, we had a garage sale at my mom's house.  We are trying to purge and reorganize our house to make room for Baby Boy #2.  The sale was a success!!!  We made a good amount of money to help us buy a few new things for the newest member of the family.

While Aaron and my dad went to Austin for the Baylor/UT game, my mom, J, and I headed to Houston for a wedding.  While we were there, we got to spend some time with my cousin, Jeremy.  He went with us to the wedding, and then we had breakfast with him on Sunday morning before heading home.  It was a quick but fun trip.

We've had a pretty busy couple of weeks, and I don't think we will be slowing down anytime soon.  It's just that time of year where there is something going on every weekend.