Awana

This fall Jenny started going to Awana on Wednesday nights. She loves it! I am so glad that she does because I think it is a great program to teach kids about Christ and the Bible.

For those of you who don't know what Awana is, here is a description from their website located here.

Awana helps churches and parents work together to develop spiritually strong children and youth who faithfully follow Jesus Christ. Our programs offer a proven approach for evangelizing and discipling kids in the church and community.

As a ministry leader for 60 years, Awana is making an impact. A recent national survey found Awana to be as important to our alumni's spiritual foundation as all other church activities combined. Among alumni who participated in our programs for at least six years, 92.7 percent still attend church at least weekly as adults!
Each week, more than one million kids ages 2 to 18 participate in Awana. Over 12,000 churches in the U.S. and more than 8,000 internationally run Awana programs that change young lives through biblical truth.

Jenny is most excited about the vest and handbook she has for Awana. Here she is in her vest....

The Bible verse Jenny memorized tonight:

"For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever shall believeth in Him should not perish,

but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

Date Night With Daddy

Because Jaime works so much, and since Jenny is only here every other week, he and Jenny don't get very much time together. Recently though, they have been getting more time together because Jaime has been off an extra two nights every week! Let me just say that him being home with us more has been such a blessing! I can already see a big difference in his relationship with both of the kids. It has worked out well too, because it gives me more of a break and more time to do things that I need to do for myself.

Tonight, to spend one on one time together, Jaime and Jenny went out on a special daddy/daughter date night. Last night after Jenny went to sleep, Jaime made her a little card/invitation inviting her out on a date with him. He gave it to her this afternoon when she got home from school. To say that she was excited would be a understatement! The girl was ecstatic! She probably asked me 20 times this afternoon if it was time for them to leave yet. Haha! In the card, Jaime asked her to dress nice since they were going out on a date. So while he got ready, I helped her to get ready too. She picked out her dress, and asked if I could put make-up on her since this was a special night. Of course I said yes!

Here they are before leaving for their date.

They went out to dinner at Poblanos and then afterwards they went shopping to let he pick out something for herself since she did so well on her report card. While they were gone Aiden and I went grocery shopping. Let's just say that our trip to the grocery store wasn't nearly as fun (and as stress free) as a date night! Haha!

When they came home, Jenny had a lot of stuff to tell me. She was so excited about their date, and she just kept going on and on and saying that it was the best night ever. I'm glad they had such a great time!

Wordless Wednesday

I can remember when my baby used to fit in this swing....

Now I think it's only a matter of time before he breaks it.

Mama's Monkey

Almost two years ago when Aiden was born, I gave him a nickname - Monkey. I called him that because he was born with a head full of hair, and even had hair on his back! I remember saying that day that he looked like a monkey, and from then on that became his nickname. Little did I know, that nickname would really fit his little personality later!

Just look at all that hair!

Even now, Aiden is a little monkey! I tell him that he's "mama's monkey", and he really loves when I say that. Sometimes I can ask him, "where's mama's monkey?" and he'll say, "ta-da!" or "right here!".

He's also very wild and sneaky like a monkey. Sometimes I don't know how I am able to keep up with him! He's always on the go, running and jumping around. He loves to climb on things and play outside. He really reminds me of a monkey by the way he climbs up and down the ladder on the bunk bed he shares with Jenny. He will climb all the way up (and doesn't need help), and then when he's finished he climbs back down (without help). Talk about giving me a heart attack! He scares me to death everytime he does it, but unless I keep their door locked all day to keep him out of there, I can't stop him. I've tried taking the ladder off the bed during the day, but then he just climbs up using the footboards of the beds! Even so, he'd just climb up there in the middle of the night when he should be sleeping. In fact, he climbs up there almost every night on the nights that Jenny is here. When I go into check on them before I go to bed, I usually find them both in the top bunk, sleeping. Ha! Obviously I can't take the ladder down at night. Like I said, he'd just find a way to climb up there anyway. But even if he wouldn't just find another way, Jenny needs the ladder to get up and down in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. So, I decided to make sure he knew how to go up and down the ladder (as safely as possible). Now, of course, he goes up and down the ladder several times a day. His newest thing, is going up on to the top bunk, and throwing down whatever stuffed animals, blankets, sheets, or pillows Jenny has up there. Just last week, Aiden and I were in his room playing when he started chunking stuffed frogs, bunnies, puppies, and cats down on top of my head!

Aiden thinks he is hilarious for throwing such things at me. He laughs even harder when I throw the stuffed animals back to him so that he can throw them again. Sometimes I'll get him laughing so hard that he can't even throw the stuffed animals back to me. Haha!

Silly Monkey!



Paintin' Pumpkins

Remember I told you that we let the kids each pick out a pumpkin to take home to paint? Well, we painted them this past Thursday. It worked out well, because we were able to do it during the time that dinner was cooking in the oven.

Instead of going out and buying special paint or paint brushes, I just let them use the fingerpaint that we already had. They've used the fingerpaint a few times before, but only on paper. I thought the mess was bad before, but this time it was a lot worse!

The finished product... Aiden's is on the left, and Jenny's is on the right.

*Please pay no attention to the quality of these pictures. My camera battery was dead, so I had to use my BlackBerry.

The Library

As many of you can probably already tell (from my book club posts), I love reading! There is nothing like curling up in bed with a good book just before going to sleep. When I was younger, before Aiden, I used to read a lot. Since having Aiden however, I have less and less time to read. I was thinking that the older he got, the more time I'd have to read - but I was WRONG! It seems like the older he gets the more and more he demands my attention, and the more and more I am having to go behind him either removing him from a situation he shouldn't be in or cleaning up after him. Recently though, I decided that I was going to have to find a way to make time for reading. So, I decided to cut back on the amount of time I spend on the computer and in front of the TV, and start reading instead. I joined a book club, and more recently Jaime and I got new library cards.

I couldn't be more excited about the new possibilities having a library card opens up for us. I don't have to worry now about how much I'm spending on books or how many books I've already bought this month. Now I can go to the library, get what I want, and return it when finished....and I don't have to pay a dime so long as the books are turned in on time. So far the only downside to the library is that some of the books I want are all already checked out and then I have to request they hold it for me when it becomes available. Not a problem, except that sometimes it can be months before they become available. So, with those titles, I usually just end up buying them. Either way, I'm still saving money.

My most favorite thing about the library however, is that I can not only get books for myself, but I can also get them for Jenny and Aiden. They have lots of books here at home, but we've read all of them at least 10 times. So now I can go and get them new books to read every week! I've already gone twice to get them books, and here are the ones we got....

Elmo One, Two, Zoo - This book was fun and really cute! Aiden liked it a lot, and even Jenny enjoyed looking at the colorful pictures. Those little flaps on the right with the different animals on them make it very easy for little ones, like Aiden, to turn the pages. This is a board book, which is also a necessity when choosing books for Aiden. Paper pages are bound to get torn with him. So these cardboard pages are the way to go!

The Kissing Hand - This was another cute story. This one was about a little raccoon who was about to start school, and he was a little nervous. His mother taught him a great way to keep from being scared and to know that she was always with him, even at school. This was a great book for Jenny, because she recently started kindergarten.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - This was always one of my favorites in school. It is written by Eric Carle, and it is a classic. It tells the story of a very hungry caterpillar that starts out as an egg, and then eventually turns into a beautiful butterfly, but now without getting a stomach ache first!

Chicka Chicka ABC - This is another one that I got for Aiden, again with cardboard pages. Reading this story is a fun way to teach your kids the alphabet. Aiden and Jenny both love this one!

The Sneetches....And Other Stories - Another classic story! Written by none other than Dr. Seuss. His books are so fun to read, and Jenny really loves the rhyming words. A great thing about this book is that it has a total of 4 stories in it, so it can be read multiple nights.



It's Vacation Time - This is one that Jenny picked out. I'm not sure why she chose this one, because when we got home she asked me what it was called and what it was about. We read this one a few nights ago, and she liked it. It's about some friends who are getting ready to go on vacation, but they can't get everything to fit in their suitcase. The illustrations in this one are really bright and colorful, so Aiden likes it as well.

Henny Penny - This one I can remember reading as a child, and I'm sure a lot of you have read it too. It's about a chicken, Henny Penny, who thinks that the sky is falling so she must tell the king. On her way to tell the king, she runs into several of her friends who decide to go with her to tell the king. Eventually they run into Foxy Loxy, a fox, who tries to trick them....but does her trick work? I can't tell you that, it would ruin the ending! =)


So, those are the books we've been enjoying for the last couple of weeks. Soon I'll do a post on the books that I have been reading lately, and hopefully y'all can suggest some new ones for me. I hope you're all having a great week....TGIF!

Brain Dump on a Thursday

I feel like we haven't had a whole lot going on lately, but at the same time I feel like we've been super busy. Weird. I have a lot of thoughts on my mind though, so I'm just gonna dump it all out here.


Teen Mom is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. I just started watching this season, but I'm thinking I need to go back and watch the previous seasons. Honestly, sometimes the moms on there make me really mad, but then there are times when I am so heartbroken for them. I will say though that Amber drives me crazy and needs to grow up and learn to be a mother to her child!

Have you tried Coffee-Mate's Peppermint Mocha coffee cream? It's ah-mazing! If you haven't tried it, you definitely need to. I have heard great things about it, and just recently tried it. It will definitely be a staple for my coffee from now on! You better believe it's on tomorrow's grocery list.

Speaking of grocery lists, I really need to go grocery shopping. I have been putting it off and putting it off, but it can't be put off any longer. I made a quick trip to the store the other night to grab a few things for Jenny's snack and school and a few other things that we use on a regular basis. I'm thinking of trying meal planning again. I did it for a few weeks before, but I always end up spending more money when I meal plan than I do if I just "wing it".

Did I tell you how well Jenny is doing in school?? This kid is SO smart! Sometimes I can't believe how smart she is! She is only 5 years old and is already having weekly spelling tests....and she does really well on them! In fact, she recently had her 9-week review over her spelling words she's had for the past 9 weeks. Out of 43 words, she got 41 correct!! I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned this before, and I've probably mentioned it more than once, but I just can't get over how smart she is!

Can I tell you how much I love MOPS? For those of you who don't know, MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. It is a group for mothers with children from pregnancy/birth to kindergarten. We are a group of mothers who come together to love, support, and encourage each other as we follow our call of motherhood. I have MOPS on the first and third Thursdays of the month. Those Thursdays are quickly becoming some of my favorite days. Aiden really loves being in the MOPPETS program too. When I ask him if he wants to go to MOPS, he says, "Yes! I love it MOPS!" Ha!

Today the kids and I are going to be painting pumpkins! The other day at the pumpkin patch we let them each pick out a small pumpkin to take home and decorate. So, later this afternoon we are going to paint them. Jenny is really excited about it. Aiden doesn't know yet that we're going to be decorating them, but I know he'll love it too - once he gets over how messy his hands will probably get. Ha!

Another thing Jenny and I are looking forward to is making pumpkin cookies! We might even make pumpkin muffins this weekend for breakfast too! Lately we have really been trying to enjoy this Fall season, and I hope we will continue to find more and more ways to do that! I love doing anything fun with the kids and then turning it into a tradition with them.

I am really looking forward to the Alabama game this weekend. Last weekend's game was a total disappointment, but I'm not gonna give up on them! =) This weekend they are playing Ole Miss, and I can't wait to watch them win....I hope!

Well, I guess that's all I have in my thoughts right now. Plus, it's time to wake up Jenny to get her ready for school and on the bus. I hope you're all having a good week!