Starting Tomorrow

Okay folks, we have some exciting stuff going on here and it's all starting tomorrow! First of all, Derek has the day off. Woo hoo! Secondly, Julie is flying in to visit for a week and we are SUPER excited to see her! But that's probably more exciting for us than it is for you. Last, but certainly not least, tomorrow is the start of a super fabulous giveaway event... right here! The best part is that it will last until November with giveaways each week! 

Jackson's birthday is this month- I can't believe he is turning three! We wanted to do a party, but I feel weird about having our friends feel obligated to purchase a gift and we certainly do not need any toys. {Don't worry, we're doing family gifts, so he isn't completely missing out on the joy of a birthday!} So instead of gifts for Jackson, we've asked guests bring items to include in a care package to send to deployed soldiers. These items have been specifically been requested by the soldiers, so it is all sure to get good use. Here is the back of the invitation we sent out:

{ You'll get to see the front of the invitation tomorrow... it's part of the first giveaway!  }

The awesome part about it all is that these giveaways is that beyond offering a giveaway here to you guys, they have also contributed items to our care package and/or made a monetary donation to Kids Link. Some of the people I've been working with chose just to donate extra to the care package rather than bring attention to themselves for a giveaway. So get excited friends! And keep these shops in mind when it comes time to think Christmas gifts!

If you or someone you know would be interested in contributing to the care package and being a part of this giveaway event-- please contact me. I'd love to fit as much in as possible!

Pray and Play

The kids and I spent our time a friends house for part of this morning to be a part of the Pray and Play group. Our MOPS group started meeting again last month and I'm excited to be able to join in the pray and play time this year!

It is precisely what it sounds like. The kiddos play and the mommies pray. We pray over the prayer requests submitted at the MOPS meeting the week prior and for our kiddos and husbands.

This was by far the most chaotic praying experience ever. There was an abundance of banging going on in the basement, a loud fussy baby {mine} along with fairy princesses joining us! 

I have got to figure out the book the Katherine brought today-- it's about how and what to pray for our children. I always try to pray for them, but I don't always know what to pray for exactly. Anyway, this book was a prayer guide about characteristics backed by scripture to pray for your kids. I can just remember two off the top of my head-- kindness and obedience-- but there were many, many more.

One of the mentor moms also had such a great tip that I thought I'd pass along. Being always on the go {and the times when I do get the chance to sit and relax, I generally just fall asleep}, finding a big chunk of time to pray is tough. But Debbie mentioned that she would pray for her children as she was picking up the house. Like, if I'm putting away Belle's laundry, I'd take that time to pray for her and if I'm picking up Jackson's toys that would be the time to pray specifically for him. What a neat way to be diligent about praying for our children! {And as one mom pointed out, this would be a guaranteed way to pray without ceasing!}

I didn't want to keep this tip all to myself, so I just had to share! Do you have a special way or handy tip that you use to pray for your children? Your spouse?

Pumpkin Patching

Derek had the day off yesterday so we ventured out in the perfect weather to visit the pumpkin patch! It was super fun! 

We enjoyed...

Feeding Goats

Riding "tractors"

Swinging on tire horses

Lasso-ing

{oops, he lassoed himself!}

Maze Navigating

 {looks like Jackson won this race!}

pumpkin photo-shooting

Hay Riding

Pumpkin Exploring

{this one is too little}

{this one is too big}

 {but this one is JUST RIGHT!}

We had so much fun! We bought the just-right pumpkin to carve and we got a smaller pumpkin to cook with. Let's just hope that's not a complete disaster. The best part is that we have a season pass {thanks Groupon!} and so we're sure to go back again!

One Year

It was one year ago. After two and a half months of anxiously awaiting, communicating only by snail mail, and making the decisions about what to pack and what to wear when I first got to see Derek... it all led up to this moment:

Amazing.

Here's a recap of our visit at Fort Benning:

We visited the post for Family Day activities in the morning.

 A make-shift birthday party for Jackson in the hotel lobby

We found out we were going to have a precious baby GIRL!!

We watched Derek's graduation ceremony, which was really, very cool. If you didn't read it last year, you should definitely click here to check it out!

Family Time after the graduation!

Next, we traveled to Fort Gordon, got Derek checked in to his AIT location.

This is where we were supposed to say good-bye-- after a short two and a half day visit. But I was ELATED {understatement} when he ended up having two extra days to spend to us. THANK YOU COLUMBUS DAY!

We visited the National Infantry Museum {which was really cool, read about it here}

Visited the Atlanta Zoo

and Chuck-E-Cheese

and the highly recommended Varsity burger joint.

It was such a great weekend. And Derek managed to get Monday off work {Columbus Day again!} and so we're excited for a three day weekend this year!

Today's soundtrack

This, my friends, is the soundtrack from our car ride earlier today.

{yes I was driving. BUT I had set up the video function before I took off and all I did was hit record and hold the phone, which is why you only get to view the dashboard and not the kids themselves, even though I would love to have it on tape for blackmail use someday}.

Oh yes, be very jealous.

We were on our way home from a friends house. Now, maybe you think that Jackson is upset because he had to leave his friend. However, we actually left because Jackson started his crying, screaming fit while we were there and so we had no choice but to evacuate leave and come home.

And because he was crying/screaming in the car, it upset Belle who joined in on the fun. Both kids are now in bed, asleep. In fact, today is the very first time that Jackson got sent to nap without any lunch. I feel mean and awful. I talked to him kindly saying that I can't wait to play with him when he takes a nap and wakes up happy. {He will wake up happy, won't he!?}

I seriously have no idea where this fit came from and I am definitely hoping it never happens again. It's so unlike him! At least we weren't in the grocery store. Speaking of which, I needed to stop on the way home but decided it wouldn't really be a great idea. But now I don't have hamburger buns for dinner. Anyone want to pick some up for me??

I'm off to enjoy the quiet. And maybe catch up on this week's episode of Glee.

Edit: Jackson woke up in a great mood. A completely different kid. We're gonna have a good afternoon.