Anna the Ballerina

Well....I absolutely LOVE Harvest Day at school every year! It makes my day standing out in front of the doors greeting all the kiddos in their costumes! I had encouraged the teachers to dress up or be "festive" so when I got home the Wednesday before our Harvest Party Day I had the crazy idea to paint pumpkins all over a pair of my jean capris. I was up until nearly midnight but I believe they turned out cute if I do say so myself! My sweet little Anna-banana was dressed up in her Ballerina outfit so I just HAD to capture the moment!

Fun Times in Ft. Worth

Well, it was time for my Fall Trip to Ft. Worth to spend time with my Wells family.....I've canceled this trip twice so it was TIME! Selfishly, I needed time away and nobody better to spend it with then Kent, Brooke and the girls. I ate lunch with Abby-girl at school and met her friends. After we picked Abby up from school we headed to the pumpkin patch. Friday night was girls night and Aunt Nannon came over while Joshy and Kent went to the Football game. We painted our pumpkins and had a great time catching up. NOT to mention that I got to hug the "new mommy's" neck.....YES! Rhiannon is PREGNANT! I'm SOOOO thrilled and excited for her and Josh. They are going to be such AMAZING parents! On Saturday we enjoyed the morning at Abby's Soccer game. I thank God EVERY DAY for my friendship of over 15 years with Brooke....it's amazing that throughout the years God came full circle from Highschool days to now! My heart always leaves so refreshed, renewed, and rested after my getaways in Ft. Worth. Until next time.....

"Aunt Ha-Ha"

Because of this boy I'm privileged to be called "Aunt Holly." Well, actually it's "Ha-Ha." Garrison Clark Day was born 12 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday! Angie and I were on our way home from Missouri with her being 9 months pregnant with G-man and it wasn't long after our trip home in the car he blessed us with his presence. I kissed mom's tummy before he came out and began a tradition of being the FIRST to "kiss" my Day-babies.

Any "DAY" now I'm going to be blessed all over again with kissing Angie's tummy again before the 7th Day-baby enters our world. I CANNOT WAIT!

When Garrison began to talk he coined the name "Ha-ha" which is what I continue to be lovingly called by my Day-babies. I LOVE IT and I LOVE THEM!

Time with Bubba and Sister!

I absolutely ADORE these kids! Peyton and Beth had a wedding in California to attend so it was my time with the kids while they were away.....5 days worth! The Smith home is MY "home away from home" and I LOVE it when I'm there. Lincoln, Scarlett, and I have SOOOO much fun when we are together. We talk about anything, play Wii together, watch movies together, spend LOTS of time shopping at the Domain and drive Lincoln around WHEREVER his next stop is~ ha! It has been a pleasure AND a blessing to watch these two kids grow up. They are simply amazing and I CANNOT wait to watch God's plan fold for each of their lives.

Veggie Tale Live!!

Okay, so I'm definitely catching up! SOOOO.....6 weeks ago Veggie Tales Live came to Austin and of course we could NOT pass up the chance to take Barrett and Brock! These boys know EVERY Veggie Tales song from the first word to the last; especially Brock! It was SOOOOO much fun watching them. And the Veggie Show wasn't too bad itself!

An AMAZING Book!

Well, once again it's been awhile.....ahhh, life! It's SO busy....too busy! I have several other posts to play catch up on but I'll do that later (and before next month-ha!). Anyway, I wanted to share with you a book that I came across a few weeks ago and it's a MUST read! If you have never heard of Francis Chan, he has not only an awesome testimony of Christ in his own life but he is a deeply committed follower of Christ that is in "Crazy Love" with Him. Being "overwhelmed by a relentless God" only sums up a portion of this book. It's a short read and what I absolutely LOVE about it is on his website there are video openers that lead into each chapter. He leaves you thinking, meditating, and prayerful about your personal relationship with our Ultimate Father! One of the very first videos that introduces the book talks about writing "GOD" in sand. Francis challenges you to think about that and then ask yourself if that is just another word to you? Where is our sense of awe and how does that word effect your EVERY day view of God? The opening video talks about our Galaxy. Even if you don't want to read the book check out his website and watch this short video.....THE AWE FACTOR OF GOD. www.crazylovebook.com 

WHEW! What a day, what a day!

Okay, well...we definitely had a FULL day today but we had SO much fun! Alf and Mara are out of town for 5 days so the boys are getting good quality time with "Aunt Holly" while they are gone. Today is the only day that we literally had ALL day long to things together because tomorrow we'll be at church most of the day and with school back in session,  Alf and Mara will be back before we know it! So....off to planning we go! The boys woke up, ate breakfast, and chilled on the couch watching Saturday a.m. tube for a little bit. When we were getting ready, Barrett kept telling me that he couldn't dress himself and that he needed help....well, you ain't pulling that on this lady! I started playing a game of counting with him to see just how long it would take him to put his 3 pieces of clothing and shoes on. Before HE knew it he was dressed and ready to go with a big smile on his face for his accomplishment! When I was counting with Barrett, Brock was excited cheering him on that despite how many times I told him to quit jumping on the couch, SMACK....there went the head straight down into the coffee table. Major catastrophe averted, however, I continued to pray throughout the day that black eyes didn't show up and that the weird looks from people would go away. He was so brave and kept his ice pack on his nose. Of course, I gave in and let him have his pacifier to help comfort and calm him. We have to make excuses SOME times! We decided we wanted to go to Build A Bear and then eat at Chick Fil-A in the Food Court. They boys had so much fun stuffing, bathing, and dressing their bears! Not to mention I'm convinced that Chick Fil-A sent the cow to the Food Court today JUST because they knew we would be there! The boys were thrilled! After lunch we got special cupcakes for snack later from this GREAT place in the mall and then off to Target we went! We decided we wanted to make homemade pizzas for dinner and while we were there we found a $5 blow up pool that provided a few hours of entertainment in my backyard! They were tuckered out by the end of the night and both were cuddled and asleep in NO time with their new friends from today! Below are the pix that cap Day One with Mom and Dad gone....NOW, some of you may be thinking after a long day like this why I'm not in bed. Normally, I would be thinking the same thing myself, however, I bleed Orange and would never miss a Longhorn Football game! Who's crazy idea was it to not start this game until 9:30 at night! UGH! 

The School Bell has RUNG!

Well, yes, it's that time again. Today was our first day of school. I haven't gone to bed before 1-2 a.m. in the past week. God has shown Himself SO REAL to me in the past few weeks with His PERFECT plan. I'm anxious to watch God as He uses our teachers to show HIS love and uses our program to partner with these families in raising their children to love Him with all their hearts! WOW....it was definitely a busy day! Busy and tired are such relative terms in everyone's life these days. BUT.....my sweet Jesus truly showed Himself REAL to me today. I love it when His provision shows up even in the craziest of ways. Such ways that you ONLY know it comes straight from His hand. I was running late this a.m. so I did not have time to stop at my usual morning stop of getting my Sweet Tea from Chick-Fil-A. Yes, I'm addicted. I get my large sweet tea nearly every morning and it stays on my desk all day. When I was at school helping parents finish their incomplete paperwork, my sweet friend Lara Ruthven, whose little girl, Gracie is starting at OLC this year, walked in and over to the busy table full of parents and slipped across a large sweet tea to me! GOD so KNEW! I just looked at her and smiled. Who even knows how she knew that was "my thing" but God did. I didn't even sit behind my desk until nearly noon when at that time I realized it was lunch time (probably the reason my stomach was growling). My cell phone rang and it was my precious friend, Michelle, calling to ask me what I wanted for lunch b/c she wanted to bring something to me! WOW! Another, "how did she know" BUT God did! I just sat in my office in awe of the little things we sometimes miss but yet I praise Him that he's faithful to our needs. It just brought a smile to my face. Watch for our sweet Jesus in the little things....He'll BLOW YOU AWAY! 

The New DO....

WHACKED!

Well, given by the title there are two meaning.....first, mentally because WHO IN THE WORLD would choose to WHACK 12 1/2 inches off their hair.....ME! No, it was not a whim. I've actually been thinking about it for several months but probably haven't had the gumption. Even tonight when Sheena cut away at my pony tail I sat in the chair covering my eyes in agony! 

I just kept reminding myself to "breathe in, breathe out." It was harder then what I thought it was going to be. As soon as Sheena cut it she said "it's a done deal now....i can't put it back!" My precious hairdresser is amazing! She is one of my greatest friends little sister and has cut my hair now going on 6 years! I love my cut....she did a great job....now let's just see if I can fix it as perfect as she does! Maybe I need to budget in having her come by my house each morning and fixing it for me! I will be sending in my 12 1/2 inch ponytail to Locks of Love. How cool is it to know that they can use my hair towards a wig for precious children suffering with cancer. AMAZING!