Things I Don't Want To Forget

We are at that time in our lives right now where Family Time is just good. The kids are at an age where we can mess around, we can watch shows together, we can talk about more serious topics and life is just good. I don't want to forget these things. I already look at my children and feel like the time has moved so quickly, and I have forgotten so much. I don't want to forget... I don't want to forget... I don't want to forget the...
1. The sound of Sawyer's feet coming down the wooden steps in the morning, coming to my side and quietly whispering in my ear, " Mommy, can I get in bed with you... I'm scared".
2. Ava sitting at the kitchen table, reading to me and in her teacher voice, telling me all the things she knows about Texas..." Mom, did you know?..."
3. Ava singing at the top of her lungs through the house and always giving me a giggle with a new Ant Farm or Shake It Up move.
4. Josh yelling for the kids shouting, " It's Tickle Time"
5. The 4 of us laying on the couch, watching the Sing Off, pretending that we are the judges. Then Sawyer breaking out in a little Beat Box and some freestyle dance moves.
6. Ava and Sawyer racing eachother to see who can fill up the chore chart the fastest.
7. Watching the two of them pick out pumpkins and actually able to carry them to the car now. What????

Time is going to fast, I want to press hold, and take in every moment. They are just going by too fast. Our parents are right, life flies by and they grow up in the blink of an eye.

World Series Time

It's that time of year and I am so excited for tonight's first game. I grew up in St. Louis watching the Cardinals. I can remember 3rd grade, Sister Mary not even teaching that day because she was too busy listening to the Cards and the Royals on the radio. It will be a fun night watching the game with my family. I wanted to share a really cute recipe I found online that is perfect for the kids. They are B for Baseball Cucakes. ( click on the link for the recipe).

The Highs and the Lows of Marriage

Many of you know that one of the biggest passions of my life is marriage. I believe that God started that fire in me at a very early age. I was a child of divorce and it was very hard. Being the oldest, I felt a huge responsibility and a major sense of loss when our family became broken. Over the years, I have had to work through a lot of pain associated with that time of my life. I have learned many things along the way. I have learned to not be judgemental over anyone's circumstances, I have learned to have empathy for everyone involved, but unfortunetly most of all, I have learned the habit of fear in my own marriage. For many years, I allowed my fear over what happened with my own parents to affect my own marriage. I thought that as long as I had control over my husband, he wouldn't leave. It was a very suffocating way to live I promise. I have talked in some detail about the hard times of my own marriage. There was a time in my life where I didn't think we would make it but I learned a huge lesson through that time. I had to stop making my husband a god in my life. In other words, I had to stop putting such high expectations on my husband that he would never be able to meet. I started letting God be God and my husband be my husband. I had my priorities out of alignment and had to realign them. God became the most important thing and Josh and I allowed God to be at the very center of our marriage. After I got to that place, the rebuilding happened, and today I can tell you, we are in the best spot we have ever been in. We have a mutual respect for one another, we honor each other, and we are best friends. I say this is in the most humblest of ways. We were on our way to being a statisitic but because of God's grace and mercy, we are a living testament today that anything is possible. I found a book today that I will start reading soon. It is called "What Women Fear" by Angie Smith. There are many fears discussed in this book: Marriage, Children, Dying...etc.. I will start posting about this book, but if any of you would like to join me in reading this, let me know and maybe we can start a little coffee house book club of some sort. I also found a wonderful website on marriage that I wanted to share with you. Please read these if you are interested:

This is a website to go to that is awesome for marriage

http://refineus.org/

These are also great tools:



8 Things that Destroyed Our Marriage

8 Things that Restored Our Marriage

Meal Plan Monday for October 10-14

I know this is early to be planning meals for next Monday but I have to get to the grocery store today and need a list. Josh and I are still on the Daniel Fast ( Day 10 and going strong) so all of our meals need to align with what we can have through the fast. We are including meat in the fast due to our running schedules.
Monday- Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy
Tuesday- Grilled Fish and Peppers
Wednesday-Chili and Baked Potatoes
Thursday- Slow Cooker Jamalaya
Friday- eat out with the kids

If you need any of the above recipes, email me and I will send them to you.

Halloween Oreo Truffles

I told you all that I loved fall... this last weekend, I did the best I could to get my house ready for Halloween. Josh and I aren't the knick knack shoppers. I don't have a bunch of holiday decorations. But because the kids were asking, I got out everything I could find and decorated the house for Halloween. I found this recipe today for Halloween Oreo Truffles. They look amazing. Josh and I aren't going to be able to eat these, seeing that they aren't quite on the Daniel Fast but I really hope the kids enjoy them. If you would the recipe, you can find it hereHalloween Orea Truffles

A Fall Bucket List

I found this awesome fall family bucket list and can't wait to put it up in my house to start checking off all the fall to do's with the family.

Last night, we sat outside with the kids, made a fire and roasted marshmallow's for smores. It was a perfect evening. Fall is by far my favorite time of the year. Football season, cooler temperatures, great patio talks, soup, hot cocoa, playing in the leaves, pumpkin patches, apple pie. 

If you would like to print a fall bucket list for your family, you can find it hereFall Bucket List.
Leave a comment and let me know what you love to do in fall? Also, let me know of any fun places that your family goes.

Running for a Cause

Some of you may or may not know that about 2 years ago I ran with some friends in the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but very spiritual for me. The first long run of my training was 4 miles, and I will tell you that I barely made it. My mind kept spitting out at me, " how do you think that you are going to 13 if you can barely do 4?". It a scary thing to know how long 13.1 miles is. But I will tell you, over those 3 months of training, I worked up my stamina to do it. The day of the race I was so excited and very nervous. I remember at mile 11, an older gentlemen who I didn't know and will never see again said to me, ( this was at a point where I just wanted to stop) " you are almost done, I am so proud of you." With tears in my eyes, I finished that race, never walking. I knew that finishing that race meant two things... I really can do anything through Christ who gives me strength, and that humanity really is a beautiful thing. A voice from a man who didn't know me from Adam, said the words that I needed to hear to finish. God is Good and he is Big Enough. This brings me to the point of this email... I am running the White Rock 1/2 again, but this time it is for a cause greater than myself. I am a HOPE runner for the Miles for Hope Team. This team is led by the pastor of our church, David Alexander. We are running for Zoe Ministries, an empowerment program that is bringing hope to orphans in Africa. Thousands of children have lost both of their parents due to AIDS, disease, and war and left to take care of themselves and their siblings without the resources to do it. This leaves them hopeless and abandoned. Zoe Ministries gives them the hope, the resources, the education they need to break the cycle of poverty and to have a better life.

Our Miles for Hope Team goal is 25,000 and my personal goal is 1,000. My goal is to raise this money by December 4th, race day! Our church's goal is 250,000 ( amazing)!!!

If you would like to help me offer hope, you can do so by clicking here Hope Runner.
If you would like to learn more about Zoe Ministries, click here http://www.zoeministry.org/

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I would appreciate your prayers leading up to race day, December 4th. Thank you for being a part of my journey.

By the way, trying to talk the sweet hubby into joining on the run, I'll let you know if I am successful:)

~Andrea