The Newest Member of the Family...After several years, we are once a family with a dog. Meet Scrappy Elliott! We think he is a Jack Rat Terrier. He only weighs a little over 11 lbs. He is very sweet, cuddly, and smart. So far (we've had him 3 days), he has been a great fit to our family and very low maintenance. He already sleeps through the night with no noise or bathroom breaks...wow! My kind of dog. If you sit down, he is always ready to cuddle in your lap. Since I have never had a small dog before, it is quite a different experience. What a sweetie!

Birthday Party #3...On Sunday, we went to Halle's 5th birthday party. She had a Luau theme and Pam had the house decorated really cute. The kids made hawaiian flowers out of tissue paper and homemade sandal picture frames. They had a variety of game and races to play. This party was a lot of fun but we sure were pooped from all our "partying" by this point in the weekend. Good times!

Girl's Night Out...In between multiple birthday parties this weekend, I was able to go out to dinner for girl's night with my neighbor/friend, Pam, and 2 of her friends, Shannon and Christy. We had a really good time eating mexican food, giggling, and just enjoying some down time. Here is a picture of Pam and I before we went out.

Birthday Party #2...Saturday afternoon, we went to Rachel's 8th birthday party. She is a girl in Jacob's class at school. Her parent's were so creative. They had a Science Lab theme. The invitation even came home in a plastic test tube. All the kids were plastic lab coats and did science experiments with Rachel's old brother, sister, and dad. All the food had science names and they even had an erupting geyser in the backyard. This was probably one of the coolest parties I had ever seen. Both kids had a fantastic time.

Birthday Party #1...We've had a birthday party extravaganza this weekend. Literally 3 parties! The first birthday party was for Caleb, a little boy in Julia's class at school. It was at a place called Paradise Ponds in Grapevine. I thought this was such a clever place because it was at the First Baptist Church. The church had built a new sanctuary and had turned the old santuary into an indoor playground that can be used for birthday parties or open playtime 2 days a week. They had areas used for dress up, an imagination grocery store, a merry go round, a bounce house, a 4 story interactive maze like what they have at Chuck E. Cheese, a lego land station, and lots more. The kids had a ball!

Julia's New Dress...Julia got a new dress from Gramma and wanted to show it off.

More WOF pics...

I had such a good time with my mom, grandma, and sisters.

Women of Faith...My mom and I went to Oklahoma City this weekend and met up with my grandmother, 2 sisters, and a great aunt/family to go to the Women of Faith Conference. John took care of the kids so I could get away to do this and did such an outstanding job. It is amazing that I was even missed. We had such a good time hanging out together, catching up and getting spiritually recharged. The conference theme was Infinite Grace and had such great speakers as Luci Swindoll, Marilyn Meberg, Sheila Walsh, and Patsy Clairmont. The singers were Nicole C. Mullin, Sandi Patty and Mandisa (who was a contestant on American Idol). I had never heard of Mandisa but you talk about fabulous! That girl has some pipes on her! I just couldn't believe how beautiful her voice was. And Sandi Patty did a duet with her husband that was out of the world and just sent chills up and down my spine. What amazing gifts all these people have and that they are using them to glorify God is so great! We finished up the weekend by going to my sister, Rebecca's, house in Edmond. She and her family just moved their this summer from Tennessee so it was fun to see her house and the kids. It is nice to have little getaways like this and it makes you appreciate your life so much when you get back.

Here are a couple of pictures I took at my sister's house. I'll post the pictures everyone else took when I get them...

The pictures are of my sisters, Rebecca and Monica, with my mom and of Rebecca's three boys, Christopher, Matthew and Charlie.

Camp Reads-A-Lot...I took the kids to Camp Reads-A-Lot at Jacob's school last night. Part of the school was set up like camping grounds. Julia loved playing in all the tents (which were actually designed to read books in...ha!). They had a scavenger hunt for words, another booth where you see how many words you can come up with from a baggy full of letters, a booth were you make you own trail mix, a word scramble booth, etc. And the main event was a special guest reader, Kristine Kahanek, who is a local tv meteorologist. She has written a children's book with weather terminology. Plus, there were all kinds of door prizes, giveaways, etc. It was a really cool event to get kids excited about reading and thinking about words in different ways!

Side note...We had an impromptu pizza night with our neighbor's down the block, Pam and Travis, and their girls, Sidney and Halle, on Sunday night. The kids played and the adults got some fun socializing. Pam and Travis are fun and it is nice because their girls are Julia's age and 1st grade so they are all kind of interested in the same things as our kids.

Side note, Part II...I had my first day of substitute teaching yesterday. It went really well but boy was I pooped! I will be doing it again today. Keep your fingers crossed for me...ha!

Tourin' Texas...Our church had an annual event last Friday night called Tourin' Texas. Each room was set up like something or some activity in TX such as: San Antonio, NASA, Rodeo, NASCAR, Ft. Hood, the Alamo, etc...you get the picture. The kids got to climb the rock walls, mine for gold, get their faces painted with camo paint, race remote control cars, go to the petting zoo, etc. They really had a great time! The event was created as a fundraiser for the local Community Storehouse. What a great idea!

*i'll add the pics later...

Sorry the pics aren't too clear...too much movement.

A Few More Lake Mineral Wells Pics...

Weinie Roasts and Smores...On Thursday, John and I took the kids out to Lake Mineral Wells for a day of hiking, biking, and a cookout. We all had a great time and can't wait to go back again when we will actually spend the night. The kids loved adventuring to investigate everything. However, Julia is still discovering her "quiet" hang out in the woods voice...ha! She just loved climbing rocks, kicking dirt, and throwing leaves up into the air. We finished up the day with a weinie roast and smores...yum! It really is amazing how far away the rest of the world seems when you are out in the woods. It was a really beautiful day.

Happy Halloween...We had a busy day on Halloween with Jacob's Pumpkin Parade at school and then trick or treating at night. We managed a little pizza in the middle and then our good friends, Amy and Lance, brought their kids over for the trick or treating. John and Lance manned the front door to hand out treats while enjoying a little pizza and beer...ha! Amy and I did the walk about with our kids and another neighbor down the block. By far the most enjoyable Halloween ever. We are truly blessed to have become such good friends with our real estate agent and his wife. Oh! And the kids were so cute as Darth Vader and Tinkerbell...

Pumpkin Parade...Friday was the Pumpkin Parade at Jacob's school. Jacob ran/walked 21 laps...yea! He did a great job! Thanks to all who pledged money for his school. The kids all had a ball. The woman with Jacob (in the pink visor) is Jacob's teacher. He is really enjoying school this year.