Ladies Retreat

This past weekend, I went on a retreat with the ladies from church to Trinity Pines in Trinity, TX. It was such a wonderful time of fellowship and strengthening of  our faith.

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

I'm limited on time so instead of going into a ton of details, I am going to share some pictures from our wonderful retreat...

My cheeks and abs are still sore from all of the laughing!  It was a FANTASTIC retreat!  I'm already looking forward to next year.

It RAINED!

Texas has been in the news about the terrible wild fires. We desperately needed rain!!!

It rained last week!!!

Edy's First Haircut

You may be thinking, What?  Edy got a haircut?  She doesn't have any hair!

True, she is lacking in the hair dept.  However, she is getting a long, scraggly mullet in the back.  Graham has lovingly called her "Gollum" and "Smeagol"  for the past few weeks due to her sparce, stringy locks.

I suspect that Edy is going to have straight hair like me.  Eventually, I would like for it to be shaped into a cute bob.  But for now, we just had it evened out a bit.

BEFORE

DURING

 AFTER

AFTER

I know it was just a little trim, but it made all of the difference.  It is SO cute!

Go Lil Kickers!

Yesterday, AG had her first soccer game.  WHOOHOOO!  Go LIL KICKERS! (If only she shared in my enthusiasm!)

pre-game pic

My motto:  She may not be any good, but she is going to look great!

She looks like a little pro!

Btw, I found the cutest soccer ribbon for her hair. *it's the little things*

Edy's all ready for "A-Gace's" game.

one proud daddy

pre-game warm-up

During the game...

Notice AG's attentiveness [ahem] or lack there of?  Yeah, that's pretty much what she did throughout the game.

Half-time

The Lil' Kickers won! 
(thanks to two, aggressive, little boys)

Final score: 8 to 4

By the way, we scored two points for the opposing team by kicking the ball into their goal. :)

Good game.

AG was pretty much a space cadet on the field.  She did run around with the team, but never kicked the ball.

It was a ton of fun to watch and I'm looking forward to next week's game.

Back in the Swing of Things

Around here, we are getting back in the swing of things...

• We have MOPS every other Wednesday.
• AG has started Pre-K (with me as her teacher).  By the way, I need some suggestions on a good Pre-K curriculum?  I have been looking around, but wanted to get some input before I purchased anything.  
• Play-dates are on the calendar.
• We've had lots of outdoor play time.
• I'm giving free wagon rides. (My shoulder is killing me!)
• Trips to the library are a must.
• Our field trip to the zoo is coming up.
• The park is calling our name.
• Craft time is AG's favorite time of the day.

We love the cooler temps!

Don't forget: I need Pre-K curriculum suggestions.  PLEASE!

Also, what are some fun things to do with the kiddos this Fall?

Daily Bible Study

I'm linking up with Kelly today!  I know, I'm shocked too--maybe I'll start playing the blog game more.

Right now, I am reading through the Bible and using my ESV Study Bible commentary along with my reading.  I recently finished I Samuel and Luke, along with reading some from Psalms and Proverbs each day.

I like to read a book along with my Bible study.  Here are some of my favorite authors:
A.W. Tozer, John Piper, Francis Chan, Warren Weirsby, Timothy Keller, and David Platt (just to name a few).

Like I said in an earlier post, I am currently reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan.

One of the major topics he addresses is Exegesis vs. Eisegesis.

Exegesis:  an attempt to discover the meaning of the text objectively, starting with the text and moving out from there.

Eisegesis:  to import a subjective, preconceived meaning into the text.

Check out this quote:

The bottom line is that we can easily pursue just about any lifestyle we desire, then find Scriptures to show everyone it's all right to live that way.  But what would it look like to live exegetically?  If we were to start with Scripture and allow it to dictate our actions, how would we live?

This is my prayer...that I (we) would study the scriptures and allow God's words to mold me (us).

Apricot Chicken

I'm certainly not a gourmet chef, but I have found some new and EASY recipes that are worth sharing.

I came across a new chicken recipe that is tha bomb dot com!

Unfortunately, I can't remember where I found the recipe, but I wanted to share it because it's very good and extremely easy.

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients:

1.5 cups apricot preserves

1 cup Russian dressing (I had to search, but found it on the dressing aisle in a very small bottle)

1 envelope dry onion soup

6 chicken breasts (I used four large breasts)

1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1.  mix preserves, dressing, and soup mix

2.  place chicken at the bottom of Crock-Pot

3.  pour mixture over chicken

4.  cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour

5.  reduce to LOW and cook for 3-4 hours

[Unanswered] Prayers

If you are singing a tune by Garth Brooks right now, it's okay....I always think of that song when I hear the words unanswered prayers--even though the message isn't exactly spot on. :)

Recently, I have been praying and questioning God about many circumstances in my life. For instance (and I'm about to get pretty real here), why is my house still on the market after 16 months, why did we lose a precious baby in April, will we be blessed with a third child, should I go back to work, should I home-school AG, if not--where should she go to school, etc.

I rest in the FACT that God is in control.  NOT ME!  HE has a plan that HE is putting into place in HIS timing.  I pray that I will have a clean heart and pure motives as I continue to give these circumstances to God.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10  ESV

{crock-pot}Meals & {life}Planner

First of all, if you aren't on Pinterest, you need to sign-up now....Go!  Hurry!

A few weeks ago, I pinned some crockpot meals.

I had to try a couple of those recipes and I planned my grocery list accordingly.

The other night, I compiled the ingredients for Chicken Curry and Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken.  

It took about 30 minutes to chop, mix, and store the ingredients.

I loaded the ingredients into freezer bags and put them away for later.  

Yesterday, I pulled the Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken out of the freezer and put it in the Crock-Pot (cooked on low for 8 hours).  I'm going to show you the finished product in a bit, but before I do, I had to take a minute to show you this...

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I got a new{life}planner.  I've been reading some recent blog posts on planners (everybody has the same idea these days).  I would have loved one like this or this, but mine works great too.  Next year, I may need to jump on the Erin Condren bandwagon and get a coupon for one of her awesome {life}planners because they are just too cute plus very useful!  I can't even begin to explain how much I love pens, paper, markers, paperclips, O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N, etc.  SO, my new planner has fulfilled my obsession.........for now anyway.

Now that that's out of the way........

Here's last night's dinner:

Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken

This meal was a hit. 

It's official...

I'm a soccer mom!

AG has had two soccer practices and she loves it!  Can you imagine trying to coach a bunch of four year olds?  Hats off to her coach.

AG showing Ro the practice field.

my little soccer player

in the huddle

On your mark, get set, (AG isn't paying a lick of attention)

GO!!!

Here is a video of the team in the huddle:
You can hear AG count, "one, two, three..."

Go! Little Kickers!!!!

life-n-pics

I uploaded my phone pics to my computer.  Here's what we have been up to the last few days.

Yesterday, I painted the kitchen.  I haven't started decorating it yet because I'm still gathering my thoughts slowly but surely.

BYE BYE BRASS!

I painted all of the old brass hardware.

I made a chocolate pie for a church potluck.

By the way, how cute is that profile?

I also made a pecan pie for the church potluck.

Ava Grace loves to color (just like me).  She is getting SO good.  Na and Pops came to visit and they brought her a new box of crayons and some new coloring books.  I was a little jealous seeing AG's new crayons and coloring books.  So....

They bought me some too.  

Just look at those beautiful, sharp pieces of colorful wax!

There's only one problem.  I don't share with others.  These are MY nice, new, SHARP crayons.  And that, my friends, is how I feel about it.

Na and Pops brought Edy a Barney stuffed animal.  She's in love.

I made a Fall yarn wreath for my front door.  Felt flowers would have been my first choice, but I had these old flowers on hand so I made it work.

That's about all I got.......my brain is zapped so I'll just end it here.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!

Now before you go all crazy on me, let me explain...

My mother-in-law has a great collection of Christmas dishes and she gave me some for my family to enjoy.  I love to entertain (especially around the holidays) and I am going to have SO much fun with all of this stuff! 

Do you notice the iHome in the background?  Can you guess what we were listening to while unpacking all of this china?  ChRiStMas MuSic and I loved every second of it!