Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

We had our Harvest Fest last night at church. It was a lot of fun! I decided to paint a couple of pumpkins for the registration table...

We went to my Nana's care home to trick-or-treat before the Harvest Fest. Macy's school had "book character" day at school on Friday...her class has been reading "Charlotte's Web" so she decided she wanted to be Charlotte for that and for Halloween as well. Here is my sweet Fern...

And of course, Wilbur...along with Charlotte on his ear =)

And my cute little owl again...
After our Harvest Fest (which I have NO pictures from), we went trick-or-treating at my parents' house and had supper. My Mom had made an owl pizza since Lucy was an owl this year...

Macy found a play wig at my Mom's and had a ball with it. Maybe next year she can be Cher. Ha! I was in charge of Children's Church this morning. I decided late last night that I would teach the kids "The Pumpkin Prayer" and carve a Christian Pumpkin for the kids. Being that I have never carved my own pumpkin and had no idea what I was getting into, I had some sweet friends help me out. It takes true friends to get covered in pumpkin guts for you =)

If you have never heard "The Pumpkin Prayer," here it is...

Dear God,

As I carve this pumpkin, help me say this prayer...

Open my mind so I can learn about you;

(cut off the top of the pumpkin)

Take away all my sin and forgive me for the wrong things I do.

(clean out the inside of the pumpkin)

Open my eyes so Your love I will see;

(cut the eyes out in heart shapes)

I'm so sorry for turning up my nose to all you've given me.

(cut a nose in the shape of a cross)

Open my ears so Your word I will hear.

(cut the ears shaped like the Bible)

Open my mouth so I can tell others You're near;

(cut the mouth in the shape of a fish)

Let your light shine in all I say and do. Amen!

(place a candle inside the pumpkin and light it)

Hope you all had a fun, safe, and a Happy Halloween!

Buffalo Park and Mother Goose

We have had a busy couple of days! Between baking and icing and baking and icing and icing some more, we spent Wednesday at Buffalo Park in Tupelo. Macy's class had a field trip. We had never been to Buffalo Park...it was so much fun! Because I was busy chasing Lucy around and enjoying getting to know some of the other Moms of kids in Macy's class, I barely took any pictures. I did get this one...

And this one...
And a really closeup of Joe the Camel. Other than those, I didn't get very many. I didn't want to cramp Macy's cool by having her constantly pose for pictures in front of all her friends.
A couple of times a year (like Valentine's and Halloween), I get to go to Mother Goose story hour with Lucy and my Dad. Usually the kids all come dressed up in their costumes and have a little parade around the library. Here is my little owl... Sweetest little hoot owl you ever did see =) Lucy and my Dad... As Macy says...fun times, fun times =)

She Is Really Trying Hard to be Good...

I so wanted to title this post "Getting My Ice On" after my "Getting My Bake On" post from yesterday. However, I refrained...you try to say "Getting My Ice On" out loud and see if it doesn't sound like something else. I think I have inhaled waaaaay to much flour in the last couple of days.

Lucy was so well behaved yesterday. She really is very good at entertaining herself. She camped out with me in the kitchen a lot of the day, which is just fine. And our house is not big...so wherever she is in the house, she is only a few steps away...and I can ALWAYS hear her. I guess the most alarming thing from yesterday was when she came into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, were we the first peoples to live in this house?" I said, "Yes, why?" To which she replied, "Mmmmmm...just wondering." I had this eery feeling that she was seeing and talking to people maybe we had never seen (Lucy has a way with this, it seems)...but I didn't let myself get too spooked by it.

Well, today, as icing day # 1 began, things got really quiet. And with Lucy, that is not a good thing. She is ALWAYS talking to herself. ALWAYS. When she is not talking to herself, something's up. I walked into the playroom, and this is what I saw...

Speaking of ghosts...who remembers the little boy behind the curtain in "3 Men and a Baby?" Creepy. I have got to quit talking about this nonsense, or I am fixing to get the willies. I have already woken Jason up once tonight because I seriously thought there was a scorpion in my kitchen. A scorpion in my kitchen...really??!! He won't be happy if I wake him up again because I am afraid of the booger man.
Of course, I grabbed my camera..THEN I told her that her Daddy was going to be really, really angry if she tore the curtains off the wall. So that ended that (I mean, how scary...a mad Jason...whoooo...ha!...if you know Jason at all, you know he doesn't get mad much at all).
Now one thing about Lucy...as long as she can change her clothes about every 5 minutes, she is a happy girl. So on a day like today, I have no problem letting her dress and redress and reredress, etc. I can do laundry later =)

Outfit # 14. Tinkerbell. Complete with polka dot boots, a red purse (smocked by my Mamaw years and years ago) to hold the pixie dust (which she sadly learned doesn't work really well), pigtails, and the cutest little wedgie you ever did see underneath that tutu (although I did not snap a picture of that).

Outfit # 49...a pink pajama top (no pants of course) and Daddy's hunter's orange cap. It was in this outfit that she decided to play supergirl and jump from rubbermaid tub to rubbermaid tub to bed in our bedroom. Note to self...the rubbermaid tubs REALLY need to be put up.

And outfit # 82...pajamas for bedtime...and of course we cannot forget the orange glasses with no lenses.

She is such a trooper. She told me she loved her Mommy being the Cookie Mama. I got a billion hugs and kisses today. Sweet girl. Sweet, sweet, clothes-changing-eighty-two-times-a-day-but-loves-her-Mama girl.

I got all weepy today thinking about next year when she is in Kindergarten. I made her promise me that she would let me homeschool her. Already worrying about something a year away.

I have REALLY inhaled too much flour.

Getting My Bake On

Today, I got my bake on. Like really on.

I generally don't talk much about my life as the Cookie Mama on this blog, but today was a day of baking, baking, and more baking. Generally, I like to do my baking and cookie decorating at night or before before the girls wake up, but during a week like this (a week like Halloween week!), I have to throw in some daytime hours as well. After 8 pounds of sugar, 1 and a half pounds of butter, 10 pounds of flour, and more than a dozen eggs, I had a nice pile of dough...
And after hours and hours of baking, I had around 400 baked cookies.

I am not doing as many cookies as I did last Halloween. I did more last year than I am doing this year. But I have learned a lot in the last nearly 2 years of being stay-at-home Mama slash / Cookie Mama. The most important thing is these two little girls...

I have a busy Mommy week this week (more on that later), so I just had to finally stop taking orders...which I do not like to do...but I have the sweetest, most understanding customers ever!

Lucy and I had a little "meeting" about all of this...she has promised to be a good little girl for these few days where I am consumed with cookies. She even prayed that she would be good and wouldn't get sick...bless her soul, last year she was so sick the week of Halloween...which of course made the week way more stressful. I decided I did not want to be in over my head for Halloween week this year and just enjoy it.

And I think Macy is glad to be at school and away from the cookie craziness this week!!

Macy Lives Her Dream...

Macy is very passionate about horses. I am not sure what has sparked this interest, but she loves them so much. She was super excited (like counting-down-the-days excited) about a birthday party we were going to this evening. It was for a friend of hers' at church...and he has horses!

She was ALL about some horses...there were all kinds of things going on at the party, but when she wasn't actually on a horse, she was standing at the fence watching them. I love this picture...looks like the horse is smiling =)

This was one happy little girl...
Little sister girl...not to be left out of the action...rode a little pony to her heart's content as well. She loved it too. Now they are BOTH asking for a horse for Christmas!

All night tonight before going to bed, Macy has said over and over and over, "I lived my dream today."

Sweet girl =)

A Bee-You-Tee-Full Friday

Friday was an absolutely beautiful day. We played outside from the time we picked Macy up from school until dark. It was so nice! Lucy is picking apart something or other...making a mess...

And just for kicks...here is a picture of my nearly worn-out running shoes. I don't think I have ever worn out a pair of running shoes. I think I need a new pair (but I'd really like some Toms).

Lucy showing me her dirty little hands (although you can't tell they are dirty from this picture)... I love this ribbon that is on her outfit...this is my prayer for her every morning...because we all know around here "if Lucy ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" =)

Macy looks like a giant in this picture because I am sitting down...but here is my sweet girl...who seems to have taken a liking to tennis these days.

Here's to the start of a great weekend!

Sunday and Science

First of all, let me say a big THANK YOU for all of your sweet and encouraging comments on my last post! I have the sweetest of friends! I appreciate every one of ya'll so much. I have taken a little break from running this week...I am not going to let too much dust gather on my running shoes, though...I have come too far to give it up!

Let me tell you about this little horn...this little horn that cost a whole one dollar at Caledonia Day. Oh the horrors. This horn (actually we bought 2...yes...I think we are crazy!) has brought more joy to these two girls. Jason and I may go insane, but they love it.

I was missing my Sunday pictures. Although this isn't the best of pictures, it will do =)
Lucy was totally worn out by Sunday night. So worn out that she settled for sleeping on the rubbermaid tubs that have taken residency in my bedroom.

Yesterday, Lucy and I tagged along with Macy's class to a science experiment exhibit at our local MSMS (Mississippi School of Math and Science). The experiments were beyond amazing...I was so entertained I only got a couple of pictures...

Hope ya'll are having a great week!! Here comes the weekend...yay!!

My First 5K

So I have run my first 5K. I started the "Couch to 5K" training program in June. I have mentioned on here that I don't love to exercise. But I was bound and determined. I set my mind on it, and I did it. And I am so glad! And check out this t-shirt...I mean, heck...it was worth it just to get the shirt...how cool is this??!!

This all started when my sweet friend, Melanie and I had a conversation with a couple of avid runner friends of ours at church. Mark is so avid that he is doing a half marathon called the "Frostbite" in January...I told him he was crazy =) Amy W. has been running for several years now and has done some half marathons herself. Both Mark and Amy are true testimonies of how God wants us to treat our bodies...by being healthy. Melanie and I chatted about it and decided that we would do the 5K at Caledonia Day. So we started training.

This is Melanie and me before the race. Now let me tell you...I by no means was in this race to win it. In fact, I went into it fully prepared to be the last runner across the finish line...hence why I got up, showered, and put makeup on...I mean, if I am going to lose, I might as well look good doing it =)
I was a nervous wreck. So many of our church members were involved in the race, so they all made me feel more at ease. My heart jumped out of my chest when they yelled "GO!" And then I asked myself WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING HERE?? 14 seconds into the race (literally) I was ready to quit. Seriously. I had purposed to run the course this past Thursday for one last run before the big race. Thursday was a HORRIBLE day to run. It was so windy...my body hurt from head to toe. Thursday turned into a very emotional day for me. I sobbed and sobbed for hours and gave up. I texted Mark and Melanie and said I was through...couldn't do it...I was backing out. Well, that wasn't part of the plan...I got the sweetest text messages from both of them...and seems like they networked with some others in our church, because pretty soon I had about 15 texts and phone calls telling me that I could do this. I mean, how incredibly sweet is that? When I tell you I have the most wonderful church family, I do mean that from the bottom of my heart.
So here I am...about to cross the finish line...

And yes, that is the clean-up van behind me..I finished dead last...but I finished. And that was all I was hoping for. The driver of that van is a good church friend of ours, Charlie...bless his soul, it took some patience and skill to drive that big van as slow as he had to drive it to keep from running over me. And that van is filled with some of the most precious youth you have ever come across. Our church youth group members were at various points throughout the course cheering us on. And everyone of those kids were cheering me as I fell behind the other runners. Here are me and Melanie after...

And me and my friend, Angie...who doesn't run, but met me towards the end of the race to run with me to the finish...all out of the sweet goodness of her heart. Melanie also came back to finish with me, as well as one of our sweet youth members, Sarah Beth =)

Now, I am going to tell you...there were some serious runners out there. Like serious enough that a few of them finished in under 20 minutes. Crazy. But I tell you even the fastest of those runners were the most encouraging. It was obvious I don't do this every Saturday...ha!...but those longtime runners offered such positive words of encouragement...it was awesome!

And me and Jason had a deal...if I finished, he had to do a cartwheel for me...and a cartwheel he did...in front of EVERBODY!

My time? 38 minutes and 56 seconds. I thought I would never make it. But I did, and I am so glad!!

I may have come in last place, but not only did I finish something I started (and something that is totally NOT my thing!), but I saw more displays of the love of Jesus Christ in my sweet and precious church family...so many encouragers and cheerleaders...I love each and every one of them so very much. I may have lost the race...but know I am loved =)