Quotables

Some cute quotes from Asher to start a week off right...

Asher: "Hey Mom. Did you know that dogs bark when tomatoes are coming? It's true."
Me: "Um, are you sure you don't mean tornadoes?"


Asher: "Why when people lose their jobs do they catch on fire?"
Mommy: "What? Why would they catch on fire?"
Asher: "Daddy says that when someone doesn't have a job they are fired. I hope they put their shoes on."


Don't you just love what they say when they are little?

It's arrived!

Fall has arrived in full force. I LOVE the season of fall. It is my absolute favorite. The beautiful colors, the cooler air, football season, pumpkins, and the clothes are just a few of my favorite things during fall...did I mention that I LOVE fall clothes?

Due to this love, Mike and I were on the hunt in the pouring rain last night to find the perfect fall coat for Ash and Ave. They both have grown so much since last spring that their coats were up to their forearms. We were wet and cold, but it was very much needed for two freezing toddlers.

I am so excited with our cute finds. I got Ave's coat and hat at Target again this year (love that store!). They make the cutest little girl fall coats. I also found an adorable hat/mitten set to go with it and her winter coat. I can't believe that she is two and still wears 18 months though. Craziness. She is so easy to dress because she looks so darn stinkin' cute in everything! Shopping with her was a whole other story. I need advice from all you moms when it comes to shopping for toddlers (especially girls...). I had to bribe Avery with new pacies just to get her to try on the coats. If she liked them, so would walk around and tell me "Oh, mommy, Abey cute." However, if she didn't approve she would make her little pouty face and say "No, not cute for Abey." It's already starting.

Mike doubted my abilities to find a suitable coat for Ash, so he joined me at Old Navy to find this adorable coat. Mike hated it on the rack and said it looked too much like mine, but Asher looked so cute in it, he couldn't refuse. I can't believe my little boy is already wearing a 5T! He's so big!
I am certain that when he showed up for picture day at preschool today he was the cutest kid there! Mission accomplished. :)

Asher's Coat...so cute, right?

I Have a Very Happy Little Girl!

Ya'll (yes I said ya'll...digging into my southern roots) would be very depressed for my children if you saw their toy stash. I "limit" the amount of toys they are aloud to have to a bookshelf in the loft. I can't stand having a bunch of toys lying around being useless. Mike will often hide them to see if Ash or Ave ask for them, and if not, they go to Goodwill. I know, I'm a mean parent.

With this rule, poor Ave has not gotten much in the "girly" toy department. She is happy to play with her brother's trains and cars...even if he is not so thrilled. Lately, she has been getting extremely girly and loving her play stroller and babies. I felt bad that she had nothing girly, but I wasn't about to go out a spend a bunch of money on toys for no reason. So when I received an email this week from a wonderful mother at my school for girls toys, I jumped on it...not even knowing what they were. I was thinking a few dolls, maybe another little stroller or baby clothes would be more than fabulous. When she said she had a kitchen, baby station, and vacuum I was through the roof! Avery would LOOOVVEEE it!

I went over and picked it all up yesterday and brought it home before I picked the kids up at the sitter's house. I wanted to have it all set up for when Ave got home. I wish I would have had my camera for when Avery saw everything! It was like Christmas morning. Come to think of it, I should have saved it...oh well, it was worth the hours spent playing with it.

What a blessing to receive all of this! Thank you!

New Study

School has started, which means two things: I'm busy and exhausted. So I am needing a kick in the seat of my pants lately to really dig into God's Word and put it into practice. Getting back into the school year routine is always exciting, but the excitement wore off quickly this year. I think it is because I wasn't really able to be home with my kids this summer, so the few weeks I had went by VERY quickly. I am so thankful for the sitter that God has provided for us and Asher's preschool though, which made the transition easier. However, time is precious and oh so limited. I will be the first to admit that when I am tired, my priorities are not always right. Needless to say, I have been slacking in the Bible studying depart for a few weeks. So when I found out there is a Bible study meeting at church on the night that Ash has Awana, I jumped at the opportunity to not only study but also meet women in my church.

This semester we are doing the study Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed: A Study of David by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. I have always found David so interesting, and I'm looking forward to digging deeper into and learning about his life. Plus, nothing beats a study by these three women! I am also hoping that having accountability will get me going. So, if you see me, ask me about it...or come and join if you're free on Monday nights!

Preschool and Homework

Ash started preschool on Monday and absolutely loves it. He is going to a Christian preschool right by my in-laws house two afternoons a week. I am extremely excited because there are only 5 children in the class, so he'll have lots of teacher time. Pictures to come later, I promise!

This particular preschool has these adorable bags that have the school's name embroidered on them. Asher brought his home on Monday super excited and filled to the max. He had made a picture out of paint and stamps, had LOTS of calendars for snacks, curriculum, etc, and had homework. Homework! Each child was to fill out a little book about themselves such as: I am 3, My favorite food is..., my favorite color is blue. Some of his answers surprised me to say the least. Who knew his favorite food is watermelon (I think is was because we had just had it for dinner)? I carefully with my best teacher handwriting filled in each of the blanks for him (and of course I didn't change anything). He then set out to color each little page and picture...all three of them. He kept reminding me that he was staying in the lines. I kept reminding in that flowers are not brown. Maybe we should choose a "happy" color. Of course, at no time, did I "assist" him by drawing a watermelon or coloring a crayon blue. Okay, at least I went out of the lines a few times to make it look like a preschooler had done it. Give me some credit.

However, the big project was the little man we, I mean he, had to decorate. You would be so proud of our, I mean his, work. You see, the school sent home a little man that we were supposed to decorate to look like Asher. Let's be realistic people, if Ash had done it on his own, it would have resembled an alien, so I gladly took it upon myself to help him in this task. I cut out little construction paper clothes (don't worry, he picked the colors!) and made a little construction paper Cubs hat complete with the C. Asher picked out a little Lightning McQueen sticker for the shirt, and we placed googly eyes on him. We topped the face off with an adorable little glitter mouth. Let me tell you that I...I mean Ash...did a wonderful job on his little man. It only took an hour and a half!

If only Ash agreed. When I showed him, he made a funny, unimpressed face and said, "Yeah, sure." when asked if he like it.

Bring it on preschool...I'm ready for any homework you may have for us! (Meaning Asher of course...)

Happy Anniversary!

Five years ago today I married an amazing guy! Happy Anniversary Mike!

We love you!

You are a wonderful husband and an amazing father. I love the passion that you have for serving the Lord and how excited you get when you get to do it! I would never have imagined we would be where we are today with two children and a fun-filled life, but I would never change any of it. Here's to many more years together!


I walked downstairs this morning to see a bouquet of my favorite flowers and a card with the sweetest things in side. He is always so very thoughtful.

Tonight we went to one of my favorite restaurants The Cheesecake Factory. We ordered amazing meals and very good cheesecake to celebrate!

I'm extremely excited for tomorrow. My sweet husband has reservations at a steakhouse he has wanted to try called Texas de Brazil followed by a night at the Avenue Hotel in Chicago. Super excited for a night on the town!

A few oldies

My friend Rowie has become the kids personal photographer. If she's there, she has her camera which is good because I probably don't. Last week she gave us a bunch of pictures that date back since we first knew her (July 06). I thought I would post a few of them in the next couple of posts. Enjoy!

Baby Avery August 2007

Fall 2008

Happy baby Avery, April 2008

Asher June 2006
He has curly hair that we have to now keep tame. :)



Asher making his "racing face."