The Foley Four

Yikes

2011-10-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

I know it's been two months since my last post, so I thought I would fill you in on what has ben going on in the Foley household!

Precious Pretty #1 is in Kindergarten and is loving it! She is coming home telling me everything that she is learning, reading, and her adventures on the playground. Apparently a couple of little boys in her class want her to be their girlfriend. I told her that she is a girl, and she is a friend, and that is that. I don't know how long that will last, but it's working right now. I mean really, who talks about having girlfriends and getting married in Kindergarten?

She is playing soccer with the same team she has been on for the last three seasons and she loves it. It's been such a joy to watch these group of girls grow up in front of my eyes. They are getting so much better with the ball, and it's fun to watch their competitive spirit come out on the field.

She is still doing gymnastics, and has developed some seriously muscles because of that. She is doing full-body pushups, walking on the HIGH balance beam all by herself, and will more than likely be doing a beautiful cartwheel by the spring. She is almost there now!

Precious Pretty #2 LOVES her new school, and never misses an opportunity to wave to her sister when she walks by the Kindergarten class room. We have had to work on her just quietly waving and not yelling to get her sister's attention. She doesn't want to be late to school because she doesn't want to miss prayer time or saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and gets on Big Sister's case when she isn't getting out the door fast enough.

She is doing gymnastics as well, and can't WAIT to start playing soccer. I am going to be one busy soccer mom next Fall! PP#2 has made some sweet friends in her class, and just brings joy to everyone she meets.

AS for me, my life changed a couple of days after the last post - hence the reason why I haven't posted much. I was doing that contract job, but the day that it ended, I got a call from the recruiter in Canada I had interviewed with in June. They offered me the job, I am now doing sales and recruiting for a biomedical staffing company. I LOVE it. I get to work from home, and I love the fact that I can work around my girls schedule. However, it has been a bit difficult to get it all in. I'm still trying to find the right balance on trying to keep the house in order, get the girls to where they need to be and when, get my work done while they are at school, prepare meals, exercise and blog. Obviously, the last two things have taken the backseat, but that is ok. It's how I roll.

Hoping to start adding blogging into my routine. Maybe on Sunday nights, because that is when when Big T and I usually watch TV together. I have been jogging a couple of times a week, and consistently run anywhere between 3-4 miles. I know if I want to start running longer distances that I will need to watch my food intake (because you can't outsmart bad nutrition), and either go to bed earlier to wake up and run, or run later at night (scary). I'll let ya know.

Have a great week!

xoxo,
Stephanie

3K bound

2011-08-28T05:23:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the girls took off with their daddy to Dub Falls for the rodeo (Ranch Roundup). We took them last year & they had a blast. They couldn't wait to go & watch the cowboys try to catch the cows. They were even more excited to watch the horses jump around & try to throw the cowboys on the dirt. They had a great time & were so proud of their new rodeo shirt daddy bought them.

Some of you may or may not know this, but I started working outside the home, but in my home about a month ago. Huh??? Yes, I took a 60 day contract job to work from home as a virtual recruiter. It's pretty nice, because my office attire is what I want it to be (pjs, workout wear, whatever), and it's really flexible which is what I wanted/needed. I didn't go to the rodeo because I needed to catch up on work because I was given a new territory to recruit for (I'm recruiting for sales reps in Delaware now). Plus, precious pretty #2 was starting 3K on Monday, & I needed to catch up on their room & organize their closets.

Pretty #2 was so excited to be going to the "big" school with sister. She could hardly stand still for her picture. She was ready to take off!!

Here she is her teacher, Mrs. Colvin. Mrs. Colvin has taught at SMS for 30 years, and I am so grateful that God guided us to her class this year!

Sweetest. Picture. Ever.

All in all, I think it's going to be a really good year for my pretties. Excited to share stories of what's become & what's to come. Have a great week!

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

K is for Kate the Kindergartener

2011-08-20T05:11:00.001-07:00

My Precious Pretty #1 started Kindergarten this past Monday. She has been anticipating this day all summer, and was really worked up about it on Monday. One thing I have noticed about PP #1 is that she has become very particular about certain things. It's like she is a selective perfectionist or some thing like that. We started & ended the week well, and I'm just going to chalk up what happened those days in between as the "adjustment". She likes her uniform. She read two of her BOB books to her teacher today. She survived & mshe realized kindergarten wasn't so bad.

Crayon wreath we made. Didn't quite hold up as well as I thought it shoulda-coulda-woulda.

Her new backpack & her special "K is for Kate the Kindergartener" goodie bag that I stuffed with pencils, pencil holders, a puppy folder & spiral, silly bands, chapstick, erasers, etc. I love shopping for school supplies, but the school that Kate goes to supplied everything she needed this year. You better believe I still had go buy some.

Waking her up for the first day. Of all the days she could have slept in throughout the summer, she chose not to rise early that day.

Ready as ever!

On our way!

On Wednesdays they go Mass, so we had to take the picture of the uniform.

Precious Pretty #2 will also be starting 3K at SMS. She will be starting a week late, because I had her registered and ready to go to another school. I don't know what happened, but something didn't feel right when I left the Meet the Teacher Nigh at the school where PP#2 was supposed to go. I didn't feel settled or have any warm and fuzzies, and I had a lot of unanswered questions. After a sleepless night, and lots of thoughts, prayers and reflection, I let Go and let God. He guided us to SMS and I am at peace.

I'm going to try really hard to keep up with this more often. Maybe it will be easier for me now since I have the blog app on my phone again. We'll see.

Happy school year!!

xoxo

sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Summer is.....

2011-07-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

slipping through our fingers! I feel as though I was at Precious Pretty #1's school for field day on the last day of school back in May and blinked and it was July. July 7th to be exact. Sheesh!

We have had a great month of summer so far, and it's hard to believe that PP#1 will be starting Kindergarten in 5 weeks. I KNOW. I may need to go see the dr again and ask him for some Xanax. I'm already having minor anxiety attacks just typing about it. For reals.

SO - We had soccer camp in WF the first week of June. The following week we had about 20 kids from St. Mary's school come over for a swim day. That was super fun and I hope we can do it again before school starts! The pretties then got to spend the weekend in WF again with their Grammy & Grampy while I went to Fredricksburg for the wedding of one of my best friends from college, Stacygirl. Here is the stunning bride and please note that although it is a beautiful picture of her, the picture in no way shape or form does this bride any justice. She was BREATHTAKINGLY STUNNING.

I was able to spend some much needed time with some of my mamas, too. It always amazes me that even though we see each other once a year, we always pick up where we left off. As if the 365 days in between our visits were shrunk down into one of those surprise tablets. You know what I am talking about - you put a tablet in water and out comes a surprise sponge in some sort of shape or color. I feel as though we just add a little water (or adult beverage) and our friendship just blossoms out to something bigger and better every time. The same warmth and love I felt with their friendship fifteen years ago is still evident today, and it's just as strong. I love my mamas!

*sigh* I miss them already.

Week #3: PP#1 went to VBS at Covenant Presbyterian while Precious Pretty #2 stayed home and sulked because she couldn't go. However, she didn't sulk for long because our sweet friends Sarah, Luke & Elizabeth came over from Dub Falls to visit for a few days with us. We also went to Ancient Ovens in Saint Jo, Texas, to celebrate my mother's 60th birthday. That week was crazy but we loved every minute of it!

Week #4: We had another soccer camp in the evenings before we headed out to San Antonio.
I am in no way getting paid for this advertisement here, but if you are looking for a great, quick little get away with the family, I highly recommend the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. It was FANTASTIC! We were there for five days, and I can honestly say that I needed a vacation from that vacation. We didn't even go to the Alamo, Sea World or anything like that because there were so many activities to do at the resort. I can count on three fingers how many times we left the property the five days we were there. The pretties have already asked when they get to go to San Antonio to stay in the hotel again. :)

PP#1 with her soccer coach Alvin. Alvin plays soccer for the Baylor Bears and hopes to get into law school next year. We loved Coach Alvin!!

With cousin HG at the resort in San Antonio.

We came home from SA, and literally rested for a day before we headed four hours west to Possum Kingdom Lake for the 4th of July. I honestly can't imagine spending the 4th anywhere else. I know we have a great lake literally at our back door (not our pool, but Lake Texoma), but there is just something about PK that just feels perfect for the 4th.

We are back now and have had a couple of rest days at home which have been NICE. We have VBS at FUMC next week, and then both of the pretties are going to a Music & Art camp the following week, and PP#2 is so excited that she is busting at the seams. She wants to go "camping" so bad! We have another week off, before it's time for a sports camp for both pretties. Then it's the last week of summer before my precious, precious pretty starts kindergarten. Cue Tears.

I also can't believe that we have been in Sherman for almost a year now. August 7th marks the one year anniversary, and I must say that we are doing so much better than we were 11 months ago. I'm not going to lie - it was a little rocky at first, but my pretties are now happy, and I am still getting acclimated to everything. I am starting to strongly like it though - not quite close to love yet only because of all of my beloved family & friends back home. All in due time, I know.

While I have been here for the last 11 months, I finally had the opportunity to stay home with my pretties and be available to them as their mother 100% of the time. I have longed to be that for them for so long. However, after much reflection and prayer, I realized that even though I am at home with them, I was still missing something. Something just wasn't right, and it was some time with some great girlfriends in April and June that made me realize that.

My initial intention was to work as a substitute teacher in the Fall, but then that would mean that my precious pretty #2 would have to stay in the after care program at her Montessori school she will be attending in the Fall, and that didn't sit with me well. When I got back from the amazing weekend in Fredricksburg, I started searching for virtual recruiting positions that would offer me a way to be available to my pretties 99% of the time, but still able to keep my mind active, and have something that I really enjoy doing. I feel very fortunate to be able to share that I actually have my first contract recruiting job that starts next week. I don't know how it is going to work with the girls being home, but I know I will be able to figure it out. The beauty of having a contract job is that once I get a couple of contracts under my belt, I will be able to pick and choose what contracts I want to do. It's a great part-time gig, and I couldn't be happier.

To my mamas in H-Town, A-Town, NRH & Dub Falls - thank you for your love - your support - your encouragement - your appetite - your laughs - your smarts - your wittiness - your hugs - our late night talks that lasted until the wee hours of the morning - your lack of judgment of me & just loving me just the way I am. You ladies know me better than anyone, and I feel very fortunate to be able to call you my mamas, my friends - my sisters. It would be my biggest honor if I can continue to give you all you have given me. Our next visit couldn't come soon enough, but I know the days will go by super fast and before we know it we will be carrying on again. Until next time..........

xoxo,
sf

Lemonade, Soccer & Cobbler

2011-06-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Precious Pretty #1 kicked off her summer before she starts Kindergarten with her Grammy in WF. Kate attended the MSU Soccer Camp with her friends, and had THE BEST TIME! There were girls there at the camp that she hadn't seen in a long time and she was just thrilled to be there.

See! Told ya she was a happy pretty.

With the other pretties in her soccer camp.

With Coach Katy. Katy goes to our church back home, and it has been an absolute joy watching her grow up. She just graduated from high school and will be playing soccer for Midwestern State!

When I arrived at WF on Thursday, I was informed by Pretty #1that Grammy told her that she could have a Lemonade Stand after camp. She decided that it needed to be a Lemonade Sale since they were selling lemonade. One of her best friends joined her and they had the best time. What we thought would have been a 30 minute Lemonade "Sale" turned into a three hour successful afternoon!

After a whirlwind weekend in WF we headed to Southlake for our niece's birthday party and nephew's soccer game. I was able to hit up Central Market on the way home to get groceries and was in produce bliss! If I only would have remembered to purchase peaches for this lovely cobbler! I baked this Memorial Day weekend and it was just the perfect end to our cookout! I got the recipe from the Junior League of Nashville's cookbook, Notably Nashville.

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

4 cups of peeled & sliced peaches

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a 9x13-inch baking dish while the oven is heating.

Combine peaches and 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl and toss to mix well.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt & 1 cup sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the milk & mix until smooth. Pull baking dish out of the oven and spoon batter evenly into the baking dish, but do not stir. Spoon the peaches over the batter, but do not stir.

Bake at 350 until the topping is light brown: the peaches will sink to the bottom. (Mine was in the over for about 45-50 minutes)

Serve warm or room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream.

Viola!

Summertime is here?!?!?!

2011-05-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, since my last post, I have gone to California for an amazing girlfriends trip, celebrated Easter in Sherman and Wichita Falls, made two other trips to WF, painted the laundry room and the eating nook of my kitchen, kept my sanity while Tim was in Massachusetts for two weeks, and painted faces for two and half hours at Field Day on Kate's last day of school. It's been nutso. But it's been fun. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures up here more regularly now, but hell, I say that all the time and can only keep up sporadically. Wishful thinking.

The gray/blue wall with white trim is what I have painted one side of my kitchen. Now comes the exciting part of taking down all of the avocado colored cabinet doors, sanding them, painting them, putting on new fixtures and hanging back up in the correct spot. Don't expect to see the completed pictures for a while. It's not something I am ready to tackle right now!

Precious Pretty #2 picking out her 2nd tattoo of the mornings at the MOPS End of the Year Block Party. Yes - she's still obsessed with Toy Story.

PP #2 hugging her friends on the last day at School for Little People.

Hugging her teacher, Miss Kristen! PP#2 had an amazing year at SLP!

With two of her favorite friends this year!

PP#1 had some of her friends over to swim on the last day of school.

Auntie M, Uncle Nixon, and Dolly drove up from San Antonio to spend Memorial Day with us. PP#1 was a very happy girl with another dog in the house!

I also made a super yummy as it was super easy peach cobbler. I am too comfy (lazy) to get up off of the couch to get the recipe to share, so I'll save it for another post. I promise to share it before the 4th of July because it is a must have for our independence celebration!

Catchin' Up

2011-04-05T08:57:00.001-07:00

I've been slacking on the blog this past month because of everything we have had going on here in Sherman. I guess you could say that we are finally starting to get settled in. Which is a good thing.

Precious Pretty #2 has some wild hair I have to douse with detangler every morning. This is her hair on a good morning. It's usually matted to her head.

Just a swinging at the park. We love that there are three great parks by our house!

This pretty has no fear. I about lost my breath when I saw her climbing up this big rock!

Fun at the Gainesville Zoo with our sweet friends Luke & Elizabeth!

Having fun with an Austin College student & friends from SMS while the mommies get ready for a very successful Casino Night!!

Guess who turned 3?!?! That's right, precious pretty #2! She loved her new outfit from her special friends!

Getting ready to blow out the candle!

Thank you Caroline, Mary Elizabeth, Aunt Amanda & Uncle John!!

I can't believe that she's three. It brings tears to my eyes remembering that a little over three years ago while I was pregnant with her, that doctors were preparing me with bad news that she may not make it full term, or even make it at all. That she may have brain damage because of the fluid on her brain. Now I look at her, and I can't imagine our world with out her. She is the spunkiest, funniest, sweetest, & craziest about Toy Story three year old I have ever met. She brings us so much joy that I don't think I will ever be able thank God enough for her.

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's all good.

2011-03-01T04:55:00.001-08:00

Last week we had a fabulous time enjoying the beautiful weather. True, somedays were prettier than others, but we enjoyed being outside nonetheless.
Precious Pretty #1 had her first soccer practice, as well as her first game. She did incredibly well at her first game by scoring seven goals! BBUUTTTT, the opposing team had two little girls who bawled the entire game and refused to play because Pretty #1's team wouldn't share the ball.....Basically it was three on one soccer.

Little sister can't wait to play. Fortunately, she has two more years before I'm shuttling them both to different practices, games, etc..

Saturday PP#1 and I went to Grayson County college to watch the play, "The Jungle Book", with some friends from school.

Sunday was Tim's brother's birthday, so we drove to Keller to go to Mass & lunch with the family. We also were able to see my beautiful cousin & her precious family so we were surrounded by family & LOVED it.

After lunch, we went to Academy to get the girls some new shoes before my nephew's soccer game. All was great until we were leaving and realized pretty #2 wasn't with us. As she followed Tim back to the register so he could pay for some drinks, she kept on walking. I was in a panic mode, couldn't catch my breath, and then they announced a Code Adam. I
thought I was about lose my lunch. No one could find her and I couldn't see straight. Then, by the grace of God, my niece Hannah came walking up with her. She had gone to the men's section and found pretty #2 showing some guy how cute some shorts were. My family was back together, but I have never been so scared in my entire life.

After the soccer game, Tim
surprised us with a stop at the DFW Airport Observation area, and we got out to watch plane after plane after plane land or takeoff. Watching our pretties run around like
airplanes, play with the statues, and get excited when "a big one!" was landing was a lovely way to end our day & week.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. It's all good.

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Princess Pretties

2011-02-21T19:04:00.001-08:00

We went to Dub Falls this past weekend & all we did was spend time with our family & friends. We needed a great weekend & we got
a fabulous one. Just wish we could have seen everyone while we were there!

Saturday we went to see Cinderella at the Wichita Theatre, and we are very thankful to our sweet friends for bringing us princess dresses to wear!

These princess pretties are downright giddy!

Pretty #1 was so elated to see her Miss P! She misses her sweet friend! I miss her sweet friend & her mama, too!

The pretties & Miss P before we go in the show. We were missing PP#2's friend Lizzie who was in the concession line with her mama.

Until next time, WF. Until next time.

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Yummy art

2011-02-19T05:28:00.001-08:00

Last night I went to one my most favorite places ever - How Great Thou Art art studio! Plus, I got to see some of my dear friends that I haven't seen in a long time, which made this yummy painting night even sweeter!

The theme for the night was cupcakes, and it was a contemporary take on one of the most classic, but trendiest desserts right now. Rachel, the owner/instructor, is just darling, and I must admit I really miss hearing her voice. She's got the sweetest southern twang I've ever heard, and I can listen to her talk all day. Those southern belles in Savannah, Georgia, have got nothing on her!

Here is the example she gave us. I wish I could have taken it at a better angle, but it will just give you the idea of what we were going for.

Lauren's:

Kendra's:

Mine:

I wished I would have taken more pictures of other works of art, because there yummy cupcakes everywhere that looked good enough to eat!

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Love is in the air....

2011-02-13T20:51:00.000-08:00

The girls and I were busy in this Valentine's Eve. I went to Mass this morning, and headed out to Wally World to get a couple of things to before the mass chaos erupted. I have no idea how I left there spending less than $30 bucks, but I did. This "thing" called a budget I've been working on is obviously kicking in.

I came home and the girls and I had a blast in the kitchen today!

We made chocolate dipped strawberries for Precious Pretty #1's Valentine's day party at school tomorrow.

Made white chocolate covered Oreos for Precious Pretty #2's party tomorrow. She wanted them to be fancy so we just HAD to add pink and red sprinkles.

We were don't with the making of the chocolate covered strawberries. We "dipped" over six pounds of strawberries!

These cookies, or cakies are fantastic. I posted the recipe before, but here is the link for them again. Stephanie at Plain Chicken has easy, brilliant ideas for recipes that are not so good for the waist line but are no doubt finger lickin' good.

PP#1 wanted to sit in fancy chairs for V-Day tomorrow, so she grabbed some scotch tape and away to work she went!

Sister got one, too.

Pretty #2 took a hiatus from the V-Day Sweets operation going on in the kitchen this afternoon and was ready to get back to work after her two hour power nap. They pretties were reunited and it felt so good.

Also, my darling friend Kathleen in WF is selling her beautiful home on Weeks Park Lane. Check it out, and if you know someone who is looking in Wichita Falls then send them this link. It's priced to sell!

One final note: As you celebrate Valentine's Day tomorrow, don't forget to let our Heavenly Father know how much you love him too.

Luke 10: 27

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all you soul, and all your strength, and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself."

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mission accomplished....sort of

2011-02-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

So this morning I read my blog to see what I completed from my Big Ideas yesterday.

I did clean the house from top to bottom with the exception of my dining room which is my Casino Night HQ. I didn't fold all the laundry, only 25% of it actually.

We didn't get to have the picnic. Pretty #1 wanted to go to the office with Tim, and Pretty #2 took a four hour nap yesterday afternoon. Homegirl was tired, and mama got to clean the house. Even the playroom!

I didn't get to go workout, because by the time T got home I didn't want to get out. So I worked out double hard today. One hour spin class for the tri-training, and a 20 minute jog as well. Tomorrow will be a jog/swim day.

I DID get to start the new blog! I appreciate all of my friends and family who sent me texts & emails stating that I wasn't fat and inundated me with nice compliments. Ya made me blush! ;)
Fact of the matter is, the BMI calculator is telling me something different, and so did my doctor. I'm overwhelmed that you all love me just the way I am, but for my own personal reasons I need to get this off. So, since Fat Mama Slim was already taken, I am now Fat Mama Slim Again. There's not a lot on it, and I really don't know what direction I want to go on with this, but it's there. Let the accountability begin!

www.fatmamaslimagain.blogspot.com

Because many moons ago, I was a slim chick. And I will be again.

Big Idea

2011-02-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

I was awakened at 5:30 this morning by the automated phone system at Kate's school stating that school was cancelled today. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Honestly! We have been going and going and going from having two special friends in our house all last week, to going to visit Uncle Michael & Aunt Cyndi for the Super Bowl, to spending at lot of time up at Kate's school the last two days consumed with Casino Night stuff, that I needed this day at home. The girls are happy little clams when they are at home, so it's good all away around. It's 9:30 in the morning, and I am still in pajamas paired with my favorite shoes, my Uggs. I'm sipping my fourth cup of coffee, I've studied some scripture, and I am listening to my girls giggle while chasing each other around the house. I'm definitely blessed.

Something that Mary Clare says when she wants to do something is, "Hey, Mom! I've got a big idea!" I love it. It makes me smile every time she says it. So here are my "big ideas."

Big Idea #1: I'll clean the house top to bottom, fold the four loads of laundry waiting for me, and get dinner started in the crockpot. (I'll post the recipe at the bottom.)

Big Idea #2: The girls and I have discussed having a picnic in the living room, so I'll need to get ready for that. And I am going to ask Tim to bring home some M&Ms and a box of yellow cake mix so I can bake some cakies that Stephanie at Plain Chicken posted. (Another favorite blog, and I'll post that recipe at the bottom as well.)

Big Idea #3: Tim told me that he would also come home early today so I can head off to the gym to do some marathon/triathalon training. This year is going to be a big year for me. I can feel it in my bones. I am training for a marathon to help raise money for Alzheimer's in honor of my Grandmother Bindel. I was also invited by some fellow mommies at St. Mary's to join their Iron Girl group and train for a triathalon. My thoughts were, "Why not?". My resolution for this year is, "Just DO It", so let's do it.

Really Big Idea #4: I am thinking about starting a blog called Fat Mama Slim. I wanted to use Fat Girl Slim, but that is a brand of cellulite creams offered by one of my favorite spas, Bliss Spa. Fat Lady Slim or Fat Gal Slim didn't really have a ring to it, but Fat Mama Slim does. I have noticed that when I document each thing that I put in my mouth, the weight melts off. When I fall off the wagon, which I have a tendency to do ALOT, (as in almost everyday), the adipose comes back with a vengeance. It's a vicious cycle that I unintentionally continue to sabotage myself with, and I have become very aware of this pattern within the last year. I thought if I blogged about my triumphs, my lows, and my in betweens, then my fit for life journey may be a little bit more successful. Then maybe, just maybe, other women out there who have been on the same crazy weight loss train as I have, will read the blog and we can support each other in our efforts.

I hope you have some Big Ideas! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful snow! It's God's blessing of giving us an opportunity to sssslllooowwww dddooowwwnnnn......

Crockpot Enchiladas
1-1/2 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 corn tortillas

2 C. fresh or frozen corn (or 15-oz can)
1 19-oz can enchilada sauce
2 C. (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 2-1/2 oz. can sliced ripe olives, drained
sour cream for garnish
Brown ground beef and drain. Add onion and garlic; cook over medium heat until tender and transparent. Add salt and pepper. Place 2 tortillas in bottom of crockpot. Place a third of the following in layers over the tortillas: meat, corn, sauce, cheese and olives. Repeat tortillas and other layers two times. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with sour cream.

M&M Cakies (found at www.plainchicken.blogspot.com)
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups M&M or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. Stir in M&Ms or chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. (I used a medium Pampered Chef cookie scoop)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Voila!
xoxo,
sf

Stressed spelled backwards spells Desserts......

2011-02-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

......and since I am trying to stay on the eat-healthy-so-exercise-is-effective-weight-loss-train for the 489th time, I can't have desserts. Well, ones that I would actually want to eat. The rich, indulgent, calorie laden desserts. So, in an effort to relieve some stress I went to the gym this afternoon. Today while I walking into my spin class, the instructor told me to drop my shoulders before I stepped foot on the bike. As I slowly dropped my shoulders, I realized that they had been up in that position all day. It's likely that I have been wearing my shoulders as earrings for quite some time - maybe couple of weeks or more. It felt good to let them down. Kind of awkward, because they had been up there for so long, but good. What felt even better was to take off those HUGE earrings while burning 735 calories in the one hour spin/weight training class. I love my heart rate monitor.

I should be doing a number of other things tonight since the girls are in bed after a go-to-bed battle that lasted one hour and twenty minutes. Laundry, Casino Night stuff, mopping kitchen floor, or catching up on sleep to name a few. However I needed some mindless entertainment, and unfortunately since I only caught the last seven minutes of The Bachelor, I needed something else to do.

I started catching up on my friends blogs, and after reading one, I was inspired to google my name. I was surprised to see what came up!

Meet Stephanie Foley the Bodybuilder!!

She is a WNBF Professional Body Builder, whatever that means. She is also a software developer and has a 13 year old and 10 year old. Who ever said that software developers were nerds were way off the mark with this chick.

There is a photographer Stephanie Foley that takes pictures of food. Just what I need. Check out her website.

www.stephaniefoleyphoto.com

This is my kind of girl. Stephanie Foley the Soprano. Not in any relation to Tony Soprano, but opera Soprano.

She's a young lass. I wish her the best of luck with her operatic career. Here is an excerpt of her singing Pie Jesu.
http://www.stephaniefoley.ie/usercontent/pie-jesu-short.mp3

There is also Stephanie Foley the Model in California, Stephanie Foley the Insurance Agent, Stephanie Foley the part-time Counselor at a college, and Stephanie Foley that is a Staffing Consultant at MyStaf (or at least used to be - I need to update my Linked In page).

I also searched to see how many Stephanie Foley's were on Facebook. I stopped counting at 60.

I honestly don't know if this helped relieve my stress any. Makes me wonder if I am doing everything I need to be doing to protect my identity. My family. My safety. I am making a mental note to keep my shoulders down right now. On another note, there are a lot of Stephanie Foley's in this world. Not as many as there are John Black's, Sarah Smith's, or Amy Jones', but there is a lot. However, there is only one me. Only one. So even though my mindless search might have stressed me out a little bit, it did reinforce the fact that there I need to embrace THIS Stephanie Foley's life even more than I already do. I need to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for THIS Stephanie Foley's life that He blesses me with daily. THIS Stephanie Foley's life was meant to shine. And so is yours. Every moment is a chance to let your light shine. So just do it.

xoxo,
sf

Big Time in the Big Easy

2011-02-06T05:19:00.001-08:00

Things have been moving so fast around here that I haven't had a chance to post some of our pictures from New Orleans. Tim's sister Colleen got married there on January 22, and needless to say a fun time was had by all. Even though I suffered through one of the most devastating sinus infections I have ever had, Precious Pretty #2 came home with a cold and horrible ear infection, and Tim came home with pneumonia, we still managed to have a really good time. I think it's near impossible to have a bad time in NOLA!

We are preparing to fly to the Big Easy! Notice the red, swollen nose? Little did I know what was about to hit me!

Lunch at Gallatoire's. Really nice place, and from what I could taste of it, really, REALLY good food. The rest of the party seemed to love it!

The precious pretties on their way to Bourbon Street! Just kidding! We were about to head out the door to The Rib Room for the Rehearsal Dinner. I really lucked out finding these cute dresses on clearance at Hanna Andersson. They were perfect NOLA attire!

A dear family friend saw this quartet singing on the streets in the French Quarter, and he paid them to come surprise the bride & groom at the rehearsal dinner. They were so good! I couldn't stop dancing in my seat!

After a 15 hour stint in bed to sleep off what I could of the sinus infection, I quickly rebounded Friday night so that I could have some fun with my two fabulous friends Sarah & Beth! I refused to let it bring me down! Rudolph nose & all!

Beautiful mother of the bride. I'm extremely blessed to have this lovely lady as my mother in law. She's got a heart as big as Tony Bindel's. And that's pretty big.

Precious Pretty #1 watching the band. This girl is obsessed with weddings now.

Precious Pretty #2 ate a couple of bites of food at the reception and was ready to crash. Her favorite Uncle Jim made her a little pallet of coats underneath the table and she passed out in about .2 seconds. Funny thing is, PP#1 and my nephew didn't think it was a bad idea, and they both crawled underneath the table to sleep through the last half of the reception.

So the Foley family is complete.....well, except for the extra grandchildren that will eventually come along.........(hint, hint nudge, nudge)

Welcome to the family Trevor! You are the man that we have all been praying for God to bless Colleen with, and we are so grateful that our prayers were answered. You have married one of the most kind, thoughtful, loving and classy ladies I know, and I love her so much! I am so glad that you are a part of our family now! I am even more glad that my pretties have such a beautiful, smart, and sweet young lady to look up to with Libby as their cousin.

So long, NOLA! See you next time!

xoxo,
sbf

Operation Cabin Fever Relief: Mission Complete

2011-02-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

We did it. We made it out of the house. We looked like little pigs wrestling under a blanket on Christmas Eve trying to get out of the house, but we did it. My ultimate goal today was to completely wear the kids out, but I think it pretty much backfired on me. I am toast. Not because of alcohol consumption because unfortunately there hasn't been any, but because I am beyond tired.

Speaking of tired, I knew that G was getting tired of being the "Ladies Man", so I asked a friend and her two year old son to meet us at Chick-Fil-A. As we drove to Chick-Fil-A I noticed the lights on at Chuck E Cheese. I called and they were open! We quickly - well, as quickly as you can on six inches of ice - scurried like mice into the Rat Palace and there was literally one other family there. NO joke! I lost all concept of time after the first 24 hours in the house and I was amazed when I realized that we were there for four hours!!!! An hour and a half birthday party at Chuck E Cheese is long enough, but the four hours today flew by. My sweet friend came with her son and niece and joined our party so that probably had a lot to do with the time passing quickly. Little Red was with boys all day, and he was as happy as a red headed lark.

After we wore out our stay at Chuckie's, we decided that we wanted to get a cookie at the Great American Cookie Place. We left to head over to the mall, if you want to even call it that. I'm not kidding when I say this, but the Midway Mall in Sherman makes Sikes Senter Mall in WF look like Stonebriar Mall in Frisco. No joke. The mall here is, well, a joke. So we left and headed back to CHICK-FIL-A!

We arrived at Chick-Fil-A at 4 pm, and the informed us they were closing at 5 pm. So after a round of juice and ice cream cones for the kiddos, and 45 minutes on the playscape then we were DONE-ZO. Surprisingly, Tim made it home early so we were able to meet him for dinner before we headed home.

So, OPERATION CABIN FEVER RELIEF is MISSION COMPLETE! We are planning to CFA tomorrow to meet some friends for lunch but that will be about it. My ambitious I-will-not-be-confined-cup is dry. I will say the crisp, cool air, interaction with other friends and just being out of the house was good for our souls! Thank you Jesus for getting us to and from safely!

xoxo,
sbf

I WILL Leave the house tomorrow

2011-02-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hello, February! Quite a mood swing Mother Nature decided to throw yesterday, huh? I wonder if it's her time of the month........

Things are hoppin' at the Foley house. Things are always hoppin' over here, but I have an extra five year old girl & a two year old boy in my house this week, as I am watching them for some friends of ours in Fort Worth. The precious pretties were anxiously awaiting their arrival on Sunday, and were elated when E & G finally walked through our front door Sunday evening. After a nice visit with their dad, Tim and I lassoed the kiddos into bed once Big C left to go back to Cowtown.

Monday was a great day! I took Pretty #1 to school so she could participate in Catholic Schools Week activities, and dropped Pretty #2 off at her school so she could have some much needed time with her friends! E, G, & I made a trip to the gym, post office and grocery store and went to pick up the pretties so that we could be home by nap time. By 1 pm on Monday, we were all snug as a bug in our house, and I was ready for whatever weather we were to receive. Or at least I thought I was.

I didn't have lazy day fever Tuesday. I had, Let's-See-How-Much-I-Can-Cram-In-A-Day Fever. I cooked all three of our meals for the day (that's right - all 3), got myself, the three pretties & little red dressed, cleaned the house top to bottom, washed & put away 9 (count 'em - n-i-n-e) loads of laundry, made chicken salad sandwiches for an event at school that was eventually cancelled, paid bills & balanced the checkbook, shopped online, and embarked on Pretty #2's long over due potty training journey. All while the children played together! Not a quarrel or a toy-tug-of-war to break up at all!
In fact, Tuesday went so well that I felt like I needed to pray to God to bless me with twins to fill my house once E & G left. Then I came down off of my cloud and decided that I would just settle for a blue ribbon. Or a cookie since I didn't have any blue ribbon in my craft drawer. I was such in a zone on Tuesday that I didn't even notice this going on in front of my house.

A friend in Sherman sent me a text stating that our house was on the Herald Democrat's (local newspaper) website. Apparently, I missed all of the excitement. Poor postman. Glad to know that wasn't my cousin Jacob.

Today was a totally different story. Today kicked my you-know-what. Thank goodness for The Little Mermaid & Toy Story 3 to bring some peace to this casa because this house was hell on wheels today. Little red and the three pretties were OVERLY sensitive children today. An over abundance of estrogen. So much of it that Little Red jumped on the estrogen train by default. If the pretties weren't crying over who got to use the broom to help me sweep, then they were crying because the crayon broke, or the socks made their feet feel funny, or they couldn't look outside at the snow because the window made their hands cold when they touched it.... & Little Red cried through all of it because the pretties were crying. It's all about perspective though. By the end of this decade, PP#1 will be crying over boys rather than spilled milk. Time is going by so fast, and I am trying with every ounce of patience that I have to embrace every cry, whine, scream, and sniffle because these days will be gone oh-so-fast.

Thursday we will absolutely, positively, most definitely venture out of the house. The pretties and Little Red need it. I need it. I don't care if we go do donuts in the school parking lot, or go sit in a stall at Sonic. We will get out of the house...if we know what's good for us!

xoxo,
sbf

She had a good day

2011-01-28T11:39:00.001-08:00

Precious Pretty #2 told me she had a good day at "school" today, but I didn't know it was THAT good of a day! We weren't even home seven minutes & I couldn't hear her. I went to look for her & she passed out while climbing her way into bed.

Like the darling gray & yellow ensemble I found a Target? It's not very often that we find City Concrete colored clothing!

I hope you have just as good of a day that PP#2 did!

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dinner is done!

2011-01-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

I think the Crockpot has to be one of the greatest inventions ever. For reals. I want to find that blogger that cooked with a crockpot every day for a year because I am seriously considering it. I LOVE putting together dinner in the Crockpot at breakfast because I know in about 8-9 hours dinner will ready, and I won't have to do anything but have the pretties set the table for dinner. And maybe open up a salad in a bag for extra veggies. Dinner is done & mamasita can take it easy.

A sweet friend of mine has been cooking with a lot of Weight Watcher friendly recipes, and this one caught my eye. I love easy chicken recipes. I LOVE easy chicken recipes that have the word Crockpot in them even more. So, thanks Kathleen!

The first time I made this my pretties thought it was too spicy. They ate it, but they sure let me know how spicy it was between bites. Bottom line is they ate it! :)

So this time around I cut down on the cayenne pepper and cumin, and added a little extra garlic. You can never have too much garlic, right?

Ruba dub-dub, Enjoy the grub!!

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Servings: 8 servings • Size: 1 cup • Prep Time: 5 minutes • Points: 3 ww points

Calories: 171.9 • Fat: 1.6g • Fiber: 3.8g

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast

14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies

15 oz can black beans

8 oz frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth

3 scallions, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

salt to taste

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice (extra pts).

Time, Love & Gratefulness

2011-01-14T15:24:00.001-08:00

As I was running errands all morning, I realized that I kind of know my way around Sherman now. We've been here almost 6 months, and the time has just flown by. Partially because we have gone out of town every weekend since the beginning of November. Mainly though, we were so busy with school, dance, gymnastics, soccer, and let's not forget A&M football, that it hasn't felt that long of a time period. We are really starting to like it here.

One thing I REALLY love about Sherman is the wonderful community of parents, teachers, and staff at St. Mary's Catholic School. They missed putting Kate's name on the marquee in front of the school for her birthday, which was understandable because there was a lot going on at the school with Thanksgiving break, Supper with Santa, Christmas program, etc. When we returned back to school, this was up in front of the school. Kate was elated, and looked for it every morning this week. It's still up!

Another thing I'm grateful for is the wonderful team of parents that make up the Casino Night Committee. Casino Night is the school's biggest fundraiser, and the principal asked me to chair it. I was a little nervous at first, and honestly I still am (a little bit). I am really excited about the direction CN is going, and I owe it all to this supportive committee! All of you ROCK!

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Three's Company

2011-01-13T04:16:00.001-08:00

I had the pleasure to watch a handsome, little, red-headed two year old for five days, and boy was he cute! He was quite the "Ladies Man" already at the ripe ol' age of two, as the pretties vied for his attention. This toddler-I mean, little man-knew he had it in the bag with my two girls within hours of staying with us!

Boys are way different than girls. I thought my pretties were fast, but he made their speed look like turtle pace. He told me he was hungry, so I asked him to go to the kitchen with me. I blinked & he was gone. I walked into the kitchen & blinked again, and he was already picking out his snack.

He doesn't play around! He was all boy & I loved every minute of it.

Everyone asked me if having three kids in the house changed my mind about wanting to have another baby. Absolutely
not! I feel as though our family will be complete once another bambino arrives. When--I don't know. But praying that is part of God's plan for us.

Have a terrific Thursday!

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2011-01-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to snow! It was so pretty! Nothing like we experienced last Christmas in Wichita Falls, but that didn't matter. We were just elated to have snow again! The meteorologist estimated that Sherman got between 4-5 inches of snow today. Perfect Chili Dinner weather!

BTW, I am actually watching George this weekend while his family is vacationing in Mexico. They may be enjoying the sand and water, but we are enjoying the snow! At least for a little bit.

Precious Pretty #2 has to taste everything.

Pretty precious pretty.

She refused to keep gloves on.

Precious pretty #1!

She couldn't wait to make snow angels!

I know, but it's the only extra hat I had.

There's my happy girl!

He was ssssoooo over the snow. Or maybe it's the hat.

We had to lasso her in this morning. She was so excited!

Hope there is some snow left for more play time tomorrow! Stay warm, everyone!

xoxo,

New things for the New year

2011-01-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

I started off the new year with some new things to decorate my kitchen. My sweet mother-in-law bought me a Mackenzie-Childs Courtly Check Tea Kettle for Christmas. I love it! It somehow brings a slight breeze of nostalgia to my kitchen, even though I haven't had it for very long. Maybe it's just the classic black and white design. Or maybe the fact that I got it from her, and it reminds me of her, my SILS & my friends in Wichita Falls who have M-C throughout their house.

I really can't pinpoint what happened next, but I just remembering pondering over the fact that you just can't have one Mackenzie-Childs piece. It's kind of like Pringles - you just can't stop at one. The next thing I know I have bought the Courtly Check Clock.

And Butter Dish.

And then I decided to branch out and mix it with a piece of the Mackenzie Childs Flower Market Blue Cookie Jar.

And then I came to my senses, and had buyer's remorse. Not really because I used a gift card, but I could have used that gift card towards other things that we need in our house. Not things that I want.

None the less they are in my kitchen now, and I have never been more inspired to redecorate/remodel my kitchen so that it compliments my new pieces. Or maybe I should rephrase that and say I want to remodel my kitchen so that my new pieces compliment my kitchen...... And I am sporadically searching for the pieces that will eventually be a part of my kitchen collection. Please notice the key word that is italicized & in bold font.

I made a list on NYE, on things I wanted to do to our new (to us) house this year. Since I stay home now I'll be adding another job description to my resume which will be the All-Around-Do-It-Yourself-Scraper/Sander/Painter. Because I'll be doing D. all of the above.

Another thing new I want for 2011, and no doubt the most important - is a new me. Rather than letting my past struggles influence my decisions and remind me of where I once was, (as I often would allow them to) I want to finally realize who I am now. Who I am NOW in Christ as Child of God. Who I am now as a wife and mother. As a daughter & sister. As a friend and volunteer. I am very blessed with the life I have, and I don't ever want to take it for granted. No one should.

xoxo,

December

2011-01-02T05:15:00.001-08:00

Ok. Is it really 1/2/11? I mean really. We moved to Sherman the first weekend in August. Five months ago. Five months that feels like five weeks. So with that being said, I resolve this year to slow down, and savor every flavor of life that God blesses me with. The sweet, delectable tastes, and also the sour and bitter ones for they all are giving me the spiritual nutrition I need to be stronger in my walk with Him. I resolve to live my life like the Nike slogan and "Just Do It." Just be more patient with my precious pretties & my husband. Just stay in touch with my family & friends more. Just spread love more. Just be more mindful. Just pray more. Just lose more weight. Just train for a marathon (more info on that last subject coming in a different post.). Just Do It. Plain & simple. What do you resolve to do?

Here are some pictures of our crazy month of December!

We had Supper with Santa at St. Mary's.

Decorated cookies with friends at Supper with Santa.

Got to watch the Rider Raiders play football in December.

Saw the most gorgeous Christmas tree at the Crescent Hotel during my
Annual Christmas Shopping Extravaganza with Sarah.

Got to watch my precious nieces decorate my Christmas tree with my precious pretties.

Kate & Amelia at their
Christmas dance recital.

Made a lot of cake balls.

Kate got her first American Girl doll.

Kate & her class dressed up like angels for the Christmas program.

Had a Bindel Christmas & the pretties had lots of fun with their cousins.

Mary Clare got lots of story time with Aunt Patsy from El Paso. (my mom's big sister)

& Mary Clare got her first haircut on Christmas Eve.

I hope your Advent and Christmas was as blessed as ours. Wishing you a new year filled with love, patience, health & peace. And don't forget to Just Do It.

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

"The Simple Christmas Story"
Merissa Lee Kelley (2005)

A simple cradle…made from wood is where it all began
A Savior sent from Heaven's realm to redeem the soul of man
Grace and mercy intertwined in the form of love so sweet
For no one but the Son of God could make the joy complete

Peace had come to all mankind…a treasure from above
Only the Son could be the vessel to express the Father's love
Although his birth was long ago…the message is the same
Salvation's plan designed by God…is the reason why he came

Emmanuel means "God with us" what a wonderful, precious treasure
The gift of Christ goes far beyond what we could ever measure
The joy he brought that Christmas night is just as real today
And the simple truth behind the season…will never go away

So we rejoice and celebrate as Christmas time draws near
And memories made become so rich with every passing year
You can’t replace those cherished times…so treasure them with care
Cause memories are a precious gift you can carry everywhere

Even when you're miles from home…and you have to be apart
Loved ones won’t feel far away…with Christmas in your heart
And maybe those who dwell in Heaven have hung some shining lights
That from our view, look like the stars that glow so pure and bright

May the perfect peace of Christ our Lord surround your home this year
May the reason why God sent His son…become more real and clear
May the joy of Jesus give you hope…as you give him praise and glory
And may you always feel the endless love…
from the simple Christmas story

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us." Matthew 1:23

DIvine cookies

2010-12-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

If you don't follow the cooking blog, Plain Chicken, then you should. Stephanie (not me unfortunately) has some good stuff on there. With the exception of the Meow Monday (where she posts pics of her cats), she posts some great recipes that she has concocted herself or a family recipe that she has tweeked to make it more of "hers." She didn't fail to deliver on these cookies either. The only thing she forgot to mention is that this recipe makes a LOT - even after I ate myself silly with the cookie dough. They are quick, cheap, and very tasty!

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Printable Recipe)

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 cup crushed candy canes (1 6oz box)

In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and candy canes.

Drop dough in 2-tablespoon (1/8-cup) portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

Bake in a 400° oven until cookies are lightly browned and no longer wet in the center (break one open to check), 6 to 8 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Tasty Treats

2010-12-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I was trying to squeeze in time at work to click on the "add to cart" button on Amazon.com for my Christmas shopping. Instead of baking/making Christmas gifts, I was just buying everything. Yes, it was expensive to do all of my Christmas gift shopping that way, however I wanted as much time with my precious pretties & heavenly husband at night. Dragging them around from store to store just wasn't my idea of a great way to spend the evening.

However, this year is much different. We have less money now since I am not working, however I have more time which is priceless. Less money doesn't mean less thoughtful gifts though. A lot of people are getting baked goods that I actually MADE this year. WHAT?!? Yes. Stephanie has been slaving away in the kitchen. So, instead of going to a store and buying a cute dish towel or candle for teacher & neighbor gifts, they are getting some chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate cake balls, ooey-gooey pretzel sticks, peanut butter cup cookies, and cracker toffee. They taste good, and you can make a lot with not a lot of money. Here are just two recipes that are quick & easy:

Ooey Gooey Pretzel Sticks (A Shout out to Julie Gunn Strihan for the recipe!!)

Get the big pretzel sticks - I think they are the brand Hanover. Just don't get the little butter twig looking pretzels.
1 Bag of caramels
1 package of chocolate almond bark
1 Bag of crushed Heath Toffee Bits
Wax or parchment paper

Melt caramel in one pan (I added two tablespoons of water and 3 TBS of butter for a thinner consistency
Melt almond bark in another pan
Pour bag of toffee bits on a plate.

Dip half of pretzel stick in caramel, and tap it to get the excess off.
Dip same half of pretzel stick in chocolate, and tap to get excess off.
I let them cool for a minute or two on the parchment paper (while I was busy dipping other pretzels)
Once they cooled off a bit I then rolled them in heath bits and put them back on the wax paper to dry.
They are the bomb.com!
Now Julie drizzled chocolate over the sticks once they were dry, but since I am not a big chocolate fan I didn't.

The recipe I am making tonight is the Saltine Cracker Toffee. I have heard you can also make this with graham crackers. (Shout out to Carlye Bindel for the heads up on this tasty treat!)

Ingredients

4 ounces saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely.
Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Christmas Time is Here..

2010-12-06T05:09:00.001-08:00

...Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year.

I love this song. Actually, I love 98% of all Christmas music. But there is something about the Vince Guaraldi (sp??) Trio & this song that makes me feel like I was doused with a big bucket of happiness everytime I listen to it.

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of Christmas albums out there that tickle my fancy. Mariah Carey (but of course), Celine Dion's & Mannheim Steamroller can have me dancing like Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Belair every time I listen to them because they bring me so much joy. But not a lot of songs can make me just stop, smile & give me a full heart as fast as this one can.

Anywho--the Foley precious pretties have been busy celebrating the season! We made Christmas cookies Thursday night after dinner in our reindeer aprons (bought these from Diane Sargent--so cute!) while sporting our own antlers!
The antlers actually light up! I'll have to remember to keep these out for baseball season!

Merry Christmas!!

Blessings,
SF

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Five Fingers

2010-11-22T03:23:00.001-08:00

I don't know about you, but I think turning five is a big deal. Not just for the child, but for the parents as well. Don't get me wrong, every year that our precious pretties are with us needs to be celebrated, but birthday #5 is like a right of passage of some sort. When a child turns five, they are finally able to proudly hold up all the fingers on one hand to display their age. That's a big deal for them! Five is typically when children start learning how to spell, read, do basic math, learn how to ride a bike without training wheels, & master the art of tying their shoes. Not only does each finger on that high five represent every year that precious & pretty year that the child has unknowingly blessed us with, but they also represent some of the big milestones that child will accomplish this upcoming year. The five fingers are also a big deal for the parents, especially if the child that is turning five is your first-born. Each finger represents the yearly anniversary of being a parent. I look at those fingers on Kate's hands and wonder if I have been the best mom to her. If I have taught her enough about our Christian faith, love, kindness, generosity, and forgiveness.....

Those five fingers also represent everything our children have taught us. Since becoming a mom, I have learned to be more selfless & less selfish. Patience was not a virtue I was blessed with in my younger years, but I possess it now. I have learned to forgive & forget. Have you ever noticed how quickly a child does that? I have learned to embrace the little things & I honestly try not to take anything for granted. LOVE. My heart swells with so much love for my two precious pretties that sometimes I think it is going to burst. Yet I am humbly reminded that all the love I have for my husband, my children, my family & friends is nothing in comparison to the love that God & His only Son has for all of us.
Kate was excited, yet nervous, about turning five yesterday. I had to go to a fundraiser at her school Saturday night, and before I left she asked me if she was going to feel anything when she turned five. I guess my Precious Pretty #1 thought she was going to feel something like a pinch or a tickle when the clock struck midnight on November 21st. She, of course, was sound asleep and didn't feel anything at that hour. I felt a lot though, of course, & was overcome with emotion all weekend. I found myself sneaking off from the girls & shedding a few tears (of joy) when they were busy playing and I didn't want them to think mommy was sad. My phone was "blowing up" from my precious family & friends calling & texting Kate to wish her Happy Birthday. It got to the point that when the phone would ring Kate would smile & ask if it was for her again. ;)
We went shopping yesterday morning & then spent the afternoon getting ready for her art party. A fun time was had by all!!

Kate & friends getting ready to paint!

Some of her friends from St. Mary's.

Bailey admiring the art gallery we made on the sidewalk to allow the paintings to dry. I made a personalized sketch book (made out of a composition notebook, a couple of post cards & a gluestick) and coupled it with watercolors & crayons. I put the gift bags above the paintings on the sidewalk so we would know who the artist was for each painting.

having fun afterwards at dinner with the Boatners!

I hope Kate felt all of the love, kindness, & generosity that was running ranpid around us yesterday. I sure did. Thank you, Ann Katherine (& Mary Clare), for being my precious pretties. You two are a constant reminder of how precious & how pretty life is. Mommy loves you to outerspace & back.

blessings,
sf

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Greatness

2010-11-17T20:37:00.001-08:00

This past weekend in WF was just pure greatness. Kate was able to see one of her BFF's Presley, and I had a long overdue visit with her mom, whom I adore! Friday night I was able to get away for a night out with some of my BFFs thanks to my amazing MIL who watched the girls for me. Lauren & I hit up How Great Thou Art & painted. Of course the night wouldn't have been complete without dinner at Pasqual with Lauren & Sarah.

Saturday I was able to see my "third daughter" Kateri & the girls were ecstatic to see her. We played all morning, and after lunch I took the girls to Holiday Hangar where Kateri's mom was helping in a booth. The girls LOVED shopping & looking at all of the jets & planes! MC was having so much fun she passed out!

We booked it back home Saturday evening, so Tim & I could go to OKC Sunday. Tim got four AWESOME tickets (think 5th row courtside) from a guy he trades with, and we were able to watch Greatness. By Greatness I mean Tim Duncan & the San Antonio Spurs. Of course, when I refer to the Spurs & greatness, I am also referring to my awesome BIL Nixon who works for the Spurs & who we never get to see because he is busy working....for the Spurs.

This coming weekend Kate turns 5. That's huge. I hope I handle it ok. I cried like a baby when I ordered her birthday invites. Self-control, Stephanie. Self-control.

Xoxo
sf
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Kind of busy

2010-11-14T19:42:00.001-08:00

I know I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. I've been busy. I know I was busy before but this is a different kind of busy. A kind of busy to where sometimes I wish I had my old life back. My tightly over scheduled life. But I'll take this kind of busy life anyday. It suits me better.

My mind is racing trying to remember everything we have done these past few weeks.

The precious pretties both recieved their first blue ribbons ever at gymnastics a few weeks ago for successfully completing the first round of core exercises. It wasn't an official first place blue ribbon, but it was first place to them!!

One of our favorite things to do is go to the animal shelter and loving on the dogs up for adoption. It makes me really sad knowing that these animals are euthanized if they haven't been adopted in seven days.......

We celebrated Halloween...

And we celebrated All Saints Day at Kate's school. She was St. Anne, the Virgin Mary's mother (or Jesus' Grammy if you ask Kate)

Hard to believe precious pretty #1 will be five in one week. Or that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. Let's just go ahead and mention Christmas is 41 days away. So no matter what kind of busy you are, as the splendor of the season is approaching, let us remember Him who is worthy of all our praise.

Xoxo
SF

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Memory Makin' Mondays

2010-10-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ooey Gooey Fun

Precious Pretty #2 is not thrilled with PP #1 right now

Showing little sister how it's done

Getting her own ooey gooey prize....

and not really impressed with it.

But she is still a happy-cheetos-face girl!

I really look forward to Mondays. Not as much as I look forward to Sundays, but Mondays are now one of my favorite days. I couldn't have said that when I was working, but now that I am "retired", Mondays are pretty great. It usually starts up with me rounding up the girls and heading out to their preschools. After the double dropoff, I grab a coffee and either balance our bank account, or have some bible/Jesus time. Then it's off to the gym to meet up with some new gym buddies and go to some classes. I have enough time to squeeze in a quick shower or and couple of errands before it's time to pick up Precious Pretty #2.

During her nap, I usually eat lunch, fold laundry (story of my life!), make an after school snack for Precious Pretty #1, before it is time to go get her. We come home & eat snacks, and then we pick something to do together. Two weeks ago, we went to the pumpkin patch and carved a pumpkin when we returned home as documented in the pictures above. Last Monday, we baked and decorated Halloween cupcakes which are still sitting in our kitchen. I refuse to eat them because I am trying to keep my Eye on the Prize (which I wrote about in my last post), and Kate refuses to eat them because they have orange icing. Why is orange icing so bad? Because it is the color of the Texas Longhorns, and Kate is an Aggie. I am not kidding. Kate wore her orange Halloween shirt once for me this month and is adamant that she will not wear it again. Since Mary Clare prefers to eat nothing but apples, the cupcakes are going to waste. It was fun nonetheless.

This week our Memory Makin' Monday will consist of gathering leaves from our backyard and using them to make a family tree. I have brown construction paper to make the trunk of the tree, and I plan on going to Hobby Lobby tomorrow to get some large sheets of scrapbook pages to use for the background and to mat the leaves on. Should be fun. I hope to post pictures of our tree this week.

I will leave you with a quote I heard on my favorite show. It's not verbatim, but it's close enough.
"Being a great parent is the best gift you could ever give." - Nora Walker
With God's guidance, it is what I strive to be every day.

blessings,
sf

Eye on the prize

2010-10-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have a huge problem with staying focused, especially focused on one specific goal. I let too many things get in my way. Call it ADD - call it life - call it what you would like. But the bottom line is at least I am admitting that I have a "problem".

Since moving to a new town a couple of months ago where I really don't know anyone, I have made an effort to go to the gym more. I've met some other mommies to meet up with there at the different classes, and you can ssssllloooowwwllllyyyy but surely see the poundage coming off. That's great, right?!?!?!

My problem is, despite the lack of focus, is that I can't seem to have any self control when it comes to the consumption of food part. Since moving here I have lost 7 pounds, which needs to be celebrated, I know. However, I can't help to think how much more I coulda/shoulda/woulda lost if I had been more diligent with my workouts, eating habits, and especially keeping track of everything that goes into my mouth. I'm bored with the things that I cook ALL. THE. TIME. I took up watching the Food Network to help revive my cooking creativity but that doesn't help either, because I get online and print off the sugary, buttery, and salty recipes. I guess I need to watch Rachael Ray and cook her healthy stuff. She does have healthy food, right?

It's time for me to do this.....Again! As of today, I am grabbing on to the reins of the food log again. And I'm keeping my eye on the prize which is that I hope to lose another 15 pounds before my sister in law's wedding in January. Did I mention the wedding in is the Big E-to-the-Z? I need to lose this weight because I will more than likely gain half of it back during my trip there! I know I can do it! I'll keep ya posted.

blessings,

Entertaining ourselves

2010-10-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Those of you reading this more than likely know that I went to Boston, Massachusetts, last Thursday for my cousin Laurie's wedding. She actually lives in Leicester, Mass., and we stayed in Auburn, Mass. We were all over that state!!! The gorgeous brunette who joined me on this trip was my cousin Carolyn, and we were so excited about this trip that we maybe got three hours of sleep the night before. You would have thought that we would have slept on our flight that departed at 6:35 am, but we didn't because we were too FIRED UP. Plain and simple. I attempted to do a couple of pages of my bible study that I wrote about on my previous blog, and Carolyn didn't have anything to read/do so I gave her my MacBook to entertain herself. She discovered some bells and whistles on bad boy Mac that I had no idea he had! She took a picture of us to document our trip, and then that is when the giggling began.....

She would take a picture of herself and try to stifle her giggle.

This picture brought her to tears she was laughing so hard. I finally had to join in on the fun!

Camel!!!!!!

Our seats were in the very back of the plane (2nd to last row to be exact). Every time some one would go to the restroom or an attendant would walk back there, they would stop to look and see what we were doing and laugh with us.

Once we made it to BAH-ston, we showed our family all of the fun we had on the plane. (we took over 100 pics!)

They wanted a piece of the fun too!

This picture is kind of scary, but it makes me laugh. I LOVE mi familia!

90 (89) days

2010-09-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

I. Am. Truly. Blessed. Really!

Woke up this morning to two, healthy, sweet, beautiful precious pretties. Got Kate off to school and Mary Clare and I headed to Target to purchase some airplane friendly toiletries for my trip Thursday (I'm going to Boston, baby!!). We then headed to LifeWay Christian Book Store because I wanted to get the new Mary Beth Chapman book, Choosing to See, and my beloved Target didn't have it. Mary Beth is married to the world-renowned Christian music artist Stephen Curtis Chapman, and her book is about her struggle through the loss of her daughter, and how hope is carrying her through it. (Their daughter was playing on the driveway and their son didn't see her and backed over her with his car.) I snagged the picture of the book from Amazon.com, and I should have bought the book from Amazon as well, but my impatience cost me six extra bucks. Oh well, at least I'll have something to read on the plane. I'll give my opinion of the book when I finish reading it and let me know if you would like to read it when I am done. I'll be more than happy to mail it to you!

When I moved to Sherman, I looked for a women's/moms group at a church to join but to no avail. I want to join a bible study group, but can't seem to find a meeting time that works with my schedule. So, I called my sister in law Carlye, and asked her about a particular bible study she just finished. She asked me what I was doing, and once I told her, she recommended the Beth Moore 90 Day Bible Study with Jesus the One and Only. I actually had the Beth Moore's 90 Days with Paul study in my hand, but I thought I would go with her recommendation first. (again I snagged the picture from Amazon) I realized once I got in my car that it is 89 days until Christmas, so if I doubled up on days 1&2 of the study, then I would finish the bible study on Christmas Day! 90 Days (well 89) to becoming closer to the One and Only, and the last day of the study is on the day we celebrate His birth.

After our shopping excursions Mary Clare and I went over to the AWESOME park down the street from our house and walked 3 1/2 miles on the walking trail. Ended our morning of fun at Chick-Fil-A. Today was just wwwwooonnnnnnddddeerrrfffuuullllllllllllll.

The only way the morning could have been any better is if Tim and Kate could have been with us. Tim, of course, is worked hard to provide for the pretties and I. My precious pretty #1, on the other hand, has been having some trouble adjusting to our new life in Sherman. She had a set schedule for four and a half years, and out of no where, mommy & daddy up and move her to a new town, house, school, etc. I knew it would be an adjustment, a difficult one at that, but I didn't think it would take this long for her to get the hang of things. Kids are resilient right? She definitely is, however, it has been rather hard for her, and she has some anxiety issues. After a long, heart felt discussion with her pediatrician, we decided to see if how she would respond if we put her back on a similar schedule that she had in WF (school everyday from 8-3), to see if her behavior at home and school starts to improve. Once we have things under control with her then I will slowly start to decrease her time at school.

Life is good. G-Double-Oh-D. Good. And that's all I have to say about that.

Whirlwind of a Weekend

2010-09-19T08:12:00.001-07:00

Whew--this weekend flew by super fast! I know it's still Sunday morning, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to Friday & Saturday.

One of my best friends Sarah brought her kiddos Luke & Elizabeth to Sherman for a weekend visit. Friday night we enjoyed pizza & the kids got some much needed playtime.

Saturday we went to breakfast, playtime at the park, and then headed over to Fairview Park to
cheer for Kate in her first soccer game.

She's #6 & a head taller than some of her teammates.

Getting ready to start the second half!

Luke & Mary Clare watching from the sidelines.

Later on a babysitter came to be with the kiddos while Sarah & drove to Dallas to watch Coco try on wedding dresses. We ended the night with an amazing meal at Roys Hawaiian Cuisine.

All in all it's been a whirlwind weekend, but we loved every second of it!

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Answered prayers

2010-09-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

So, as you know, I have had a bit of a time adjusting to this new life in Sherman, Texas. Not just living here and hardly knowing anyone, but living here and being a full-time stay at home mama. It took me about month to get everything out of the boxes and in their place, and I have spent my extra time this week putting the final touches in different rooms. I have also been making lists of things I want to do/add/change to each room so that should keep me busy too once I can save up some money to do it!

I have also been praying....ALOT. I pray for guidance, patience, forgiveness, etc., but also for God to guide me to do something that would allow my light to shine. For Him to open a door to allow me to be more involved, and meet new people. Last week, I went to each lunch with Kate at school and as I was leaving I told the secretary that I would like to help out at the school whether it was being a cafeteria monitor, reading to the preK and kindergarten classes, etc. I was a little surprised when she called me a few hours later asking me if I could come in a meet with the principal. My first thought was, "Oh no - They aren't going to let Kate come back to school until she stops sucking her thumb." I am going to get off subject here and rant for a second on the fact that Kate is the only child in the 3K, 4K, & kindergarten class that still sucks her thumb (that I have noticed). I have tried about three-to-four different ways to help her stop, but to no avail. Her teacher has talked to her about not doing it, but that isn't working. Her teacher changed her color green (which is good behavior) to yellow (not so good) and it still doesn't work. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Now back to the subject at hand. When I calmly asked Mrs. Martin what the meeting was regarding, she stated that Mr. Scheibmier wanted to visit about getting more involved at St. Mary's. "YES!" I tried to do the best I could to stifle my excitement. Maybe I can be the room mother and have fun planning all the classroom parties! OR...maybe I can help out the lunch lady and pass out mashed potatoes! Or what about making copies for the teachers? I was all about it. Little did I know what was in store for me.

I met with Mr. Scheibmier this morning after Mass, and we really hit it off! We visited about a number of things and then he slowly approached the reason why he asked me to come in today? I was already nodding my head in excitement thinking I was going to be the room mother for 4K. But then he started talking about Casino Night and how it is the biggest fundraiser for the school because it helps pay the salaries, benefits, insurance and he thought with me being "new blood" at the school that I can bring in ideas that will make the Casino Night even better. I went from, "Let me think about it" to him shaking my hand at the end of our meeting and telling me how excited he is that I am going to chair this event. WHAT???

I got in the car and the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley was playing in my mind. But then I remembered the lyrics to an amazing song that my precious friend Jaclyn told me about yesterday and I realized that this was how God was answering my prayer. It's not what I was looking for, or expecting, but this is my life God has blessed me with and I am going to let HIM make the most of me! Because EVERY moment is a chance to let your light break through. Can I get an AMEN?

I highly encourage you to listen to the song on itunes or you tube. LOVE IT. I told Jaclyn that we need to write Mercy Me a thank you note because they wrote it just for us!

This Life

by Mercy Me

this is not my home

(this is not my space)

this is not my style

(this is not my place)

Can't get comfortable

(cant get settled in)

I simply dont belong

(cant get used to this)

But I'm here right now

(I can hear You say)

make the most of Me

(this wont go to waste)

If Im out of my mind

(yeah its all for Christ)

if Im making sense

(then get in line)

every moment is a chance to

let Your light break through

this life (oh oh oh )

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh )

this life was meant to shine

I dont have to stall

(I dont have to wait)

dont have to bide my time

(till I make my escape)

cuz heavens in my heart

(I won't settle for less)

I will lift Your name

(by the life I live)

every moment is a chance to

let Your light break through

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

not just survive

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

not just survive

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

oh oh oh

we were meant to shine yeah!

Best buddies

2010-09-14T16:38:00.001-07:00

We went on a very-long-overdue roadtrip to see Boatners this past weekend and the girls picked up right where they left off. You never would have known that they hadn't seen each other since the beginning of the year! Mary Clare has been asking of Lilly's whereabouts since we left their house. I hope Liz and I can keep our word and visit each monthly since we live closer to each other!

Here MC is pulling a Britney by driving while holding her baby as Lilly calls her mom.

Monday was a pretty slow day. Today we tried out a gymnastics class. I don't know if we'll sign up or not seeing how I noticed their teachers got a little frustrated. Everytime the girls did something they were yelling from across the gym to give me a thumbs up. Or to say, "Hi Mom!" and wave. Or how the best buddies yelled words of encouragement to each other (they are in separate classes). It did make me beam to see how excited they were & melted my heart that they wanted to share their excitement & their triumphs with me!

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Thursday

2010-09-09T20:33:00.001-07:00

Kate was so super duper excited about soccer tonight. She picked out her all pink outfit & hardly ate a bite at dinner because she was ready for her coach to teach her new skills. Unfortunately the coach was sick so all we did is meet him & the other girls on the team, confirm our practice time, and decide the team name. Future soccer sensation with the Sherman Butterflies!

There is a quaint little park by our house that Tim & I took the girls to since practice was cut short.

I asked Mary Clare if she was having fun. Her reply was, "Yes because I love it this much!"

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Location:W Washington St,Sherman,United States

what a month....or two

2010-09-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

So Sherman is ok. Not so bad. I would like to say that it is growing on me, however I have only been here for a month so I don't want to jump the gun. It's just ssssooooo different. When we found out we were "officially" moving at the end of June, I don't really think it sunk in. I was still working, and Tim was busy working 12-15 hour days traveling back and forth from Sherman to WF. I "retired" from MyStaf after almost 10 years of job pimping on July 30th, and I will admit that things have been a blur since then. I had some super sweet friends at work give me a royal send off fit for a queen on my last day of work which made it very bittersweet to leave. I don't think I got to enjoy my first day of not having to go to work because I started packing up my house so we could move that following weekend. The night before the moving truck came my dear sweet friends & sister in law Colleen hosted a surprise dinner party for me at Pasqual, and then about 15 of us then went off to How Great Thou Art for some butterfly painting fun. It has been a blur since that night, and not just because of the La Crema Chardonnay we indulged ourselves with.

I was so happy with my life in WF. Truly happy. Some people consider it the armpit of Texas, but at least it is my armpit. (who knew you could have 3??) I was content. I loved my parish and my church family. I loved my neighborhood. I loved the fact that I was becoming great friends with the mommas of Kate & Mary Clare's friends. I loved that my mother in law lived a block away and my mom was a mile away. I loved going into Market Street and being recognized by the cashiers because of my frequent trips there. I loved that I had a handful of babysitters to call for the girls because they wanted to spend time with my precious pretties. Life was good. While working at MyStaf for the first six years I had a schedule that I would abide by no matter what I did (or didn't do) the night before. Then I had my first precious pretty, and I adjusted to my new schedule. My dad passed away unexpectedly, but I adjusted. I didn't think I had enough to do, so I started volunteering at church, the JLWF, and other organizations more. Then I had my second precious pretty, and even though it was a little bit of a juggling act & I kept looking for the circus tent above my house, I was able to get it under control. I was going ninety to nothing and I am 100% confident that the reason why I was able to get it all done every day is because I had faith that no matter what happened that God was going to see me through my day. If HE brings you to it then HE will bring you through it.

Sherman is different. So much different than what I was expecting. Not that it has been bad, it has been challenging. It has been sad & lonely. Aggravating. Tiring. I've only cried a couple of times out of frustration. I didn't just go from 187 mph to 100 mph. I went from 187 mph to a screeching halt. And I went from knowing 600 people in WF to 6 here. As of right now, I don't have to work. I am so grateful that I don't have to, and I know how fortunate I am to not be able to do so. I don't have the JLWF to keep me on my toes unfortunately, and we haven't joined a church yet. However, I know that this was all part of God's plan for our family. I don't know why, but it is. And because of that, and how much He loves us, then I am 110% ok with that. This move has enabled me to spend more time with my precious pretties. It will allow me to be able to spend more time volunteering at their school. I have been struggling with my weight for the past couple of years, and now I have more time to actually focus on losing weight. It has allowed me to lean on my dear, sweet husband more. Despite the fact that he is STILL working crazy busy hours, he calls me randomly through out the day just to check in on me. Just to let me know he is thinking of me. But most importantly, it has enabled me to grow closer to Jesus Christ, and spend more time focusing on God's word. So, after a couple of deep breaths, I'm buckled in and ready for this crazy ride that God is sending us on. And I am ready to get my groove back. Because after all, if HE brings you to it then HE will bring you through it.

Pick a culla

2010-08-15T11:25:00.001-07:00

Mary clare didn't think I did a good enough job on her manicure/pedicure last night at the Ooh La La Beauty Spa. So she took it upon herself to fix it to her level of satisfaction.

"I make it better mama".

Mama's in t-r-o-u-b-l-e..........

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Oh so close........

2010-08-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

We are oh so close of moving into this house.

and we are oh so close of swimming in this beautiful salt water pool.....

But because of this house and pool I am oh so close of a freak out melt down. For reals. I have been packing all day and it is 86 degrees in my house. The AC guys didn't mention to tell me that they were going to have to shut off my main AC today while they installed a small AC in the playroom for our renters.....that are moving in next week!

My cup is runneth over from all of the continuous blessings we are receiving, but I am having a hard time grasping the fact that I need to enjoy them because I am completely overwhelmed. I know that just offering it up, and letting go and letting Him then everything will be ok. So I think I'll take a break and go do that, and enjoy some cheesecake at a taste testing tonight.

Friends Night Out

2010-07-29T04:20:00.001-07:00

Sarah & I both had hubbys that were out of town yesterday evening, so we took Luke & his pretties out on the town. We started the night at their fave restaurant Chili's, and our waiter was surprisingly patient & fantastic with us! We then headed over to another fave spot Yogurt Journey and the kids had a ball! I think the sweetest part of the night was watching BetBet grab Mary Clare's hand and hold it as they walked up to and through out YoJo--until it was time to get the toppings..... Thanks for a fun friends night out! The Pitts family is going to be dearly missed when we move!!

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Thanks for your list Craig!

2010-07-22T22:01:00.001-07:00

I don't check Craig's list often. Hardly ever is more like it. I have been wanting some wing back chairs for a long time so I randomly got on facebook Tuesday & low & behold?!?!? You guessed it-there they were. I would have been happy with one, but there were two!

And I got both of them for $75. 37.50 each isn't bad--in my opinion at least. The expensive part is going to be finding the right fabric to have them recovered in, but I think it will be worth it.

She had another piece there and I loved it as soon as I
Saw it because I think with the right fabric it would look really cute in our new house. I love the sway back.

Now I am only pondering getting that piece. The lady I bought the chairs from is actually holding an estate sale for some elderly family members at 4305 Pasadena this coming Saturday. They've got TONS of stuff so go check it out if you can. From Kell: Head south on Fairway & make a right on Pasadena. It will be the first brick on your left.

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Jummy Joy

2010-07-21T04:37:00.001-07:00

Mary Clare & Kate were invited to a double birthday party this past weekend at Jump 4 Joy......or as pretty #2 calls it--Jummy Joy! I have been there a number of times with my pretties and they have a blast everytime. Stockton & Dawson's mom had a genius idea of having the party in the morning right before lunch to get the kids good 'n worn out right before nap time. It worked!! Both of my pretties took llllooooonnnnnggggg naps Saturday afternoon. Here are some friends of Mary Clare that I think she is really going to miss once we move here in a few weeks. These girls have been together since they were infants at SLP & I am going to miss their mamas as well!

Mary Clare & Amy

Mary Clare & Reece (or Reecey as MC affectionately calls her)

Yeah for green cupcakes & Jummy Joy!!

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Nutella Gooey Goodness

2010-07-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

I LOVE NUTELLA! I do I do I do. So do my precious pretties. Pretty #1 asks for her chocolate peanut butter on wheat toast. Since Pretty #2 wants what ever Pretty #1 is having then she has it the same way. We love Nutella so much though that I had to quit buying it. I found myself going for the cupboard to raid the Nutella jar every time I had a spoon or any other kind of utensil in my hand. Let's not forget to mention that I found Pretty #2 on the floor eating it by the fistful. It was at that point that I realized we were addicted to it almost as much as precious husband is addicted to A&M football. I wasn't going to buy anymore until now...... I was scrolling through some blogs, and I somehow came across a blog called Plain Chicken .I thought it was nothing but chicken recipes, and I am always looking for a new ways to cook/create some winner winner chicken dinners. Needless to say I was suprised that Stephanie (the girl with the awesome name who created Plain Chicken ) shares some other tasty recipes on here as well. Let's just say mama is going to buy some Nutella this weekend just for these cookies.

Nutella Gooey Butter Cookies

1 box chocolate cake mix

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup Nutella (add more if you like)

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the egg. Then beat in the Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls (I used a medium cookie scoop) and then roll them in powdered sugar. Place on an cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake 12-14 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and gooey.

Cake Boss

2010-07-12T18:56:00.001-07:00

If the tv is on in our house in the evening, you can bet it's on We, the History channel (Tim), Bravo (obviously me), Animal Planet, or TLC. We love TLC-well at least Kate & I love one show on there. Cake Boss. There is just something about Buddy & his crew at Carlo's Bake Shop. We love all baking shows actually. There are two more that are coming on TLC that I can't wait to watch. Anyways, I record the shows and preview them to make sure Buddy doesn't freak out an have a profanity fueled meltdown and then Kate & I watch it. She loves to get her "cake tools" and bake a cake with Buddy. Kate loves Buddy, but I love watching her imagination soar.

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It's Official.

2010-07-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

We are moving. To Sherman, Texas. Soon. As in we put in a offer on a house last night and if all goes well then we would be moving August 16th soon...... And I am standing here at my house wondering where to begin. Tim says for me to wait until I'm not working any more (T-minus 19 days but who's counting) but I really don't want to wait until August 1st to start. It makes it hard though because we are planning on moving back to the Dub Falls in 2-3 years, so I don't want to get rid of everything. I am definitely not taking it all either. After getting home at 11:30 last night from Sherman I really have no "oomph" in me to even want to start. But I know I need to. So I think what I'll do is take the girls to see Toy Story 3 since I was away from them all day yesterday looking at houses and maybe end the day at Yogurt Journey. That will make me happy....and make my precious pretties happy too.

F is for........

2010-07-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Interesting art class last night because a lot of the usual suspects were not in attendance. Nevertheless it was packed, and Rachel at How Great Thou Art delivered again! Lauren and I were joined by Missy & Claire Huff, as well as Miss Char Donnay. The directions we were given were to use our initial (first or last name), paint it on our canvas, and the colors on our pallet were black, brown, red, yellow, blue & white. We were then supposed to cut out a word using a paper bag that defined us and then use modge podge to glue our word to our painting, paint the letters & then glaze it.

Yeah right. As you see, only one of us got close to following the directions. I'm tempted to sign up for next Friday's class so I can attempt this project again.

Lauren would have gotten first place for following directions, however she painted over her word and added gold polka dots. So cute!

The only initials Missy had were her initials she put on her painting when she was done. Her heart does define her though.

Claire is a Boomer Sooner Pi Phi so she painted her sorority letters to hang in her room at school.

........f is for Friday Night Fun with fabulous friends!

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True Freedom

2010-07-06T02:46:00.001-07:00

I LOVE July 4th!!! Do I love it because of all of the countless American flags that are proudly posted outside of our homes and business, fireworks, cookouts, apple pie, and fellowship it brings? Absolutely. I also love it because of the freedom every single one of have by living in the greatest nation on this Earth. In the United States of America, we can voice our opinions freely, we can vote, and we can own a business. There are numerous things we can do with our Freedom, but there is real freedom that is more important than any other.

We don't need to display "Old Glory" to show our pride for this particular freedom. We can display it every day of the year, and that is our freedom In Christ - to live a life to glorify Him, so that His banner of love, truth, and peace can be seen by all. We can be free in our spirit to serve the Creator of the whole universe and that my friends, is True Freedom.

Romans 8:2 says,
"because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Just like the flag that represents freedom, Jesus is a banner over us, protecting and shielding us.

Galatians 5:13
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."

I pray that you and your family had a safe and blessed July 4th weekend. As we share the freedom that is from Christ, I encourage you to reflect on this true freedom and show love to others by sharing your faith.

Now-some pics of the girls at their festivities Friday before we went to the lake to celebrate the red, white & blue.

Mary Clare and her friends Amy, Reece, Christian, & Duke along with their teacher Mrs. Krystal marching in the SLP Patriotic parade.

Silly precious pretty!

Having a picnic with one of her BFFs Amy & Christian.

Kate and her new friends at Notre Dame singing at the closing program for VBS at Our Lady Queen of Peace.

Showing me the items she purchased at the rummage sale benefitting the monastery.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
While God is marching on!

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Patriotic Painting

2010-07-02T03:06:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe art class was last Friday. A great group of girlfriends met up for margaritas before we went this time & I'm pretty sure they are all hooked--on painting! Not margaritas! This month's theme was a contemporary American flag. I think I would have liked mine if I would have made bigger stripes to have less of them. I think I overworked the painting by adding too much color. Thoughts on mine?

Lauren dud a great job! She was relunctant to go to her first class a few months ago. Now we are scheduled for our art classes for the rest of the year!!!

I don't know who painted this one. Either Beth or Debbie. Anyone?

Next class is next Friday! We are doing some kind of mixed media piece. Can't wait! Call Rachel @ How Great Thou Art studio to sign up!

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Story Time with Granda

2010-06-24T04:47:00.001-07:00

Story time with Granda is always a hit. We went over to my mom's house for a Memorial Day cookout, and after dinner the girls were begging for Granda to read them a book. She has a tendency to get a little animated, so although the Kate, Georgia, and MC were sitting pretty and quiet at the beginning of the story, by the end there were squeals of delight abound.

Newlyweds Tex and Dorothy sat in on story time as well, and they thought either the story or Granda was pretty funny. I'm going with Granda. And YES, I said Newlyweds. They have been married for a couple of months and both of them are over 80. You are never too young for love!

See! Told ya. Squeals of delight.

Up next - pics of the girls from the Meng boys' going away party. Stadium nachos, snocones, snowballs and cupcakes are the makings of a great party for both the young and old - No matter who is at the party!

The life of the retired....

2010-06-17T04:57:00.001-07:00

Ok WF folks. Keep your eyes peeled for this guy. I had to drive behind him at 5 mph while he erractically zoomed about in a parking lot. He then rolled the stop sign and took off going the wrong way on Midwestern Parkway. All the while he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a cold beverage in a paper bag in his hand. I can't imagine how fun it would be to drive around town in a motorized scooter but I've been told that beer & cigarettes can turn anything into a party....... & those of you who know me well knows that Bindel loves a good party. At least I did at one point in my life.

YeeHaw!

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Summer time and the livin's easy.....so I wish!

2010-06-14T19:39:00.001-07:00

After many failed attempts, I have finally come to the realization that either blogger or my laptop isn't going to allow me to upload pictures.

We spent kicked off Memorial Day weekend with a trip to Farmers Market Saturday morning, and spent the rest of the weekend at the lake with Ann and Paul. Mary and Nixon drove up from San Antonio. We haven't seen Uncle Nixon since last September, so it was great being able to catch up with them.

The first weekend in June we went to this great place in Saint Jo, Texas with our friends down the street. My friend Lauren joined us as well, and it was a great time. I highly encourage you to make the trip if you haven't been. It is worth it! www.ancientovens.com
Kate had two birthday parties that morning, we enjoyed the rest of our weekend hanging out at home!

This past weekend was FANTASTIC! Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary, along with my mom's birthday. We had a cookout and my uncles David, Michael & Jim, came along with their wives, my cousins, and of course Marc & Carlye and the girls. It was such a great time, and it was great visiting with everyone. Life moves so fast, and there is nothing that warms my heart more than spending time with family. Saturday morning I was blessed to meet my friend Julie's two precious newborn twin boys, and boy did they give me baby fever! :) We went to Lainey's 2nd birthday bash, which was so fun! Our day wasn't over yet as Kate and I went to pick up her friends Kateri and Presley so we could go downtown to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the Wichita Theater. Sunday evening Tim and I went to dinner at Paul & Ann's to celebrate Paul's 60th!

As you can see, our weekends are hectic, but they are nothing compared to the weeks I have been having at the office. Turnover, new folks starting at the office, customers needing new employees out the wazoo - it's been very chaotic. I'm too tired to even go workout in the morning, so that has taken a toll on my attitude as well. I am very grateful for my job, and that I am able to help financially support my family, however it has had me on overload. I LOVE my weekends!

hopefully I'll be able to post pics soon.
until then~
SF

So much to do, so little time

2010-05-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Ok. I was on a roll. I was blogging at least once - if not twice a week. But then this beautiful thing called LIFE distracted me and I was not able to stay as disciplined with my blogging as I wish I had. Sowhaddyaknow? It's almost June.....in four days to be exact. MY original plan of the evening consisted of a relaxing, brainless night that included La Crema Chardonnay and the fresh off the press smut magazines. But instead, I found myself pouring over the 100+ pics I took these past few weeks. Here is a time line of pics of what the Foley Four (well actually just me and the girls since Tim has been busy pouring "mud") have been up to. Eventually when I get my other camera back I'll post pics of the trip to Young Orchards Kate, MC, Georgia and I took to go pick strawberries. I highly recommend that you make a mental note to take a drive to do that next year! But until then, I'll post pics to prove how busy we have been these past couple of weeks....while I am enjoying my La Crema. :)

Let's start it off with the FUMC Youth Spring Musical. I have never seen so many young children sing on key and not miss a beat like I did that night. They sang God's praises all night, and it was all I could do to keep from crying. So sweet, and just so precious.

Kate and one of her BFF's Presley having some laughs after the show!

Up next - SSB Spring Recital. Kate has been going to SSB Dance Center for the past two years. Ironically, I went to SSB when I was in junior high. Funny how time flies. Here is Kate with her class before their first performance of the evening.

Tap Performance: I am a sophisticated lady.......diamonds are my best friends...

Ballet performance.

The next week we went and toured Notre Dame Elementary - her new school for the summer and 4K in the Fall. She was so excited to see the statue of our Blessed Virgin Mary that she asked me to take her picture next to Jesus' mommy.

It was then off to SLP where Kate's Godmother Mrs. Sarah and Elizabeth (or as Mary Clare fondly calls her Bets Bets) came and joined us for the festivities.

Kate and her friends lining up for their graduation with the Queen Bee Ms. Erica leading the pack and their other teacher Miss Jenny.......

Mary Clare wanted to get in on the action at the Moving On Celebration Graduation too.
All in due time my dear. All in due time.

Kate receiving her diploma from Mrs. Canafax and her 4K teacher Ms. Erica.

Kate and her other BFF Kateri afer the ceremony

With her good 'ol buddy 'ol pal Parker. Kate and Parker have been at SLP since they were infants and we LOVE the Allen Family! Thank goodness we'll still get to keep up with them for a couple of more years. Parker's little brother Paxson is in Mary Clare's class!

Celebration is over, and Kate joins her cousin Georgia, MC and Bets Bets on the hill! That is a scary hill for a 2 year old!

Aunt Carlye along with cousins Georgia and Sarah Jane came for the celebration as well. Sarah Jane is thoroughly enjoying the smiley face cookies Mrs. Sarah brought!

After the celebration we headed southbound 281 to see my brother John, SIL Amanda and their precious pretties Caroline and Mary Elizabeth. Kate took this pic of her cousins at dinner Friday night. Too bad the flash didn't work!

We also went to Aunt Patty's to see GiGi! Aunt Mary B and Uncle Dave from Omaha, Nebraska were in town as well. What a treat to be able to have breakfast with all of them Saturday morning!

Aunt Mary B reading The Giving Tree to Caroline and Kate. One of my all-time favorite books! I have the copy that Grandma B had at her house when I was child. I can't even tell you how many times she read that book to her grandchildren.

Aunt Patty and Mary B having some tickle time with Mary Clare while Kate takes pictures. Whose camera was that anyways?

Me and my precious pretties with royalty Queen Irene - aka Grandma B.
Her steadfast strength in her faith and her overwhelming love for our Savior Jesus Christ inspires me daily.

One tuckered out precious pretty in her blinged out shades.

And we end the month with Kate's last day at SLP. We made some great memories, and grew close with other teachers and parents as we watched our children grow these past few years. We love each and every one of you. Each one of you have left a lasting impression on our hearts that we will never let go of.

Kate's Last Day at SLP 5.28.10

SO as summer kicks off this Memorial Day weekend, let us not get so caught up in the hoopla of of this thing called LIFE that we forget to remember why we celebrate this weekend. Please offer some thanks and prayers for those who protect our freedom daily, and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice FOR our freedom. May God continue to bless each and every one of you.

"....And I pray that you being rooted and established on love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God......"

Ephesians 3:17-19

blessings,
SF
xoxo

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T04:55:00.001-07:00

I had to leave town Saturday morning to head to Horseshoe Bay, Texas for one of my best friend's from high school wedding. I had considered not going - mainly because it was going to keep me away from my precious pretties and my mom and mom-in-law for part of Mother's Day. AND we had boo-koos of stuff going on here in our neck of the hood. The TNA (Tanglewood Neighborhood Association--get your head out of the gutter!!) Annual Spring Picnic was Saturday afternoon on our empty lot next to our house, and the in-laws were hosting a crawfish boil at their house. What to do? I came to my senses and realized that I really needed to be there for Kristin - I mean - I have been praying for this day for her for a really long time, and she finally had her prince. So - my friend Lauren and I headed down south on 281 and arrived at the Horseshoe Bay Resort while Tim and the pretties stayed home for the fun and festivities here. The wedding was gorgeous and I fell in love with the resort. Great place for a weekend getaway with the family! Lauren and I had a great time picking out our future lake house/mansion(s). The lake mansions down there put some of the ones at PK to shame! Great time at the wedding and we were up bright and early Sunday morning to head home. We stopped in Hico to bring home some pies from the Koffee Kup for Mothers Day gifts (the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup pie is the best dessert I have ever put in my mouth) and we ate the Hard 8 again in Stephenville. I came home to these gifts waiting for me on the kitchen table. Tim took the girls to the store and Kate picked out her own card for me. They also went and picked roses for me, and Kate picked out the Coca~Cola bottle to be the vase. The table also had gifts from the girls that they made at school as well as a gift card to a spa. I was overwhelmed with all of the thoughtfulness they put into the gifts. Then I looked around the house and it was spotless. It was clean before I left, but Tim and the girls made it super duper clean! AND Tim detailed my car!!!!! S0 - even though I was at ends on leaving my family for Mother's Day, I came home to the best gifts ever. I am so blessed with such a sweet, thoughtful and loving husband and daughters! I hope your Mother's Day weekend was just as blessed as mine was!

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around the outside of your body. - Elizabeth Stone

Randomness

2010-05-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've been busy. Story of my life. I'm sure it's the story of your life as well. Sometimes I wish for more time during the day. More time to watch my beautiful girls play. More time to exercise. Organize. Prioritize. Visit with family. Write letters to old friends. Go on a date with Tim. Frame pictures. You know what I mean. Sometimes I think, "If I only had a few more hours a day." There is no doubt in my mind that those few hours would be consumed quickly by our every day life, and in a matter of time I would be asking for more time. Sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed, and I forget to "let go of the reins" (as a great friend put it). It's not like I have attempted to take the reins away from Him, but I admit I try to grab them and direct them in the direction I want to go. It's pretty few and far between for me to be gently reminded that I need to let go, but thank you J for reminding me to do it. I know HE is in control, and I am so glad we can openly talk about that!

Here are some Random pics of my girls in action. Please excuse the lack of quality of these pics....they were taken with my phone!

Couch time with some of our fave friends. MC and BetBet were so excited to be on the couch with their big sister/brother!

One of MC's favorite things to do is ride on her daddy's shoulders. I was trying to get the pic of her resting her chin on his head, but she saw me bust out with my iPhone to take the pic.

an early Saturday morning in the rain. I leave the girls alone for a few seconds to go put away some folded laundry, and I come back to find them outside playing in the rain.

Kate was decked out head to toe in her rain gear, and fortunately MC made it outside with a pair of rain boots on.
This is one of my all time FAVORITE things to do. Watching my precious pretties sleep. It gives me time just to slow down, collect my thoughts, and pray over them while they are sleeping.

Enjoy your weekend! We have Kate's dance recital tonight, and then it's a busy Saturday and Sunday for us! I am headed down south with Lauren for Kristin Phillips' wedding, and Tim and the girls are staying home. Not only is the Tanglewood Neighborhood Association Spring Picnic on our empty lot Saturday afternoon, Tim's family is having their 2nd Annual Mothers Day Weekend Crawfish Boil. A weekend full of funfunfun festivities indeed!

Blessings,

eclectic group of friends

2010-04-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of getting away to visit some of my best friends from college. It had been over a year since we were all together, and that was long overdue. even though we were young'uns in college when we met, our deep friendship and open hearts kept us together after all of these years. It seems as though we always pick right up where we left off - and that says alot. When my dad passed away those who could drove up immediately, and others flew to Wichita Falls to attend his services. Those who couldn't called me and checked up on me. Every single day. You can't say that about a lot of your friends that you met 15 years ago. We are friends thick and thin. And we fondly call each other "the mamas". So Friday when I got off work I drove to North Richland Hills and spent the night with my first college roommate (outside of the dorms) Meredith. Meredith (aka Poodie) and I stayed up visiting and I got to hang out with her precious daughter Lila Paige. (Yes she named her after the Lila on Friday Night Lights).

Lila Paige, me, Poodie, Stacy Girl

Saturday morning Meredith and I drove to Bliss Spa at the W Hotel in Dallas and met up with the Mamas for some RELAXATION. If you haven't been there then you need to go. It's amazing! and I LOVE the SHOWERS there!

After a few relaxing hours at Bliss we headed over to Chuy's to enjoy so great laughs and conversation on the patio. After a brief visit with Stacy's parents at their new home ( not new to them but new to me!) we joined the girls and got ready to hit Big D. Before we left though, Patti unveiled a cake that she made for Mama Carrie. Carrie is going through a divorce right now, and Patti expressed her anger at Carrie's estranged husband through a cake. It was the funniest cake that I have ever seen in my life, and the rest of the group seemed to agree.

Patti tried to reflect Seans facial features on the cake, and she did a mighty fine job! I also think she needs to go into business with divorce cakes. All though the reason of the cake is sad and unfortunate, she would probably make a killing!

UPDATE: In an effort to protect my friend Carrie, I took down the cake pictures. Once things are finalized I will repost them. It's a must see!

Getting ready to paint the town red!

Molly Brewer, Stacy Allen, Johanna Nuding, Lesha Park, Shanda Thompson, Delyssa Casey, moi & Carrie Stacey.

Johanna's rockin' hot sister Buffy met us out after she chaperoned Prom at the school where she is a guidance counselor.

Stacy and I giving Carrie some love!

JoJo & Stacy Girl
Someone told Johanna the other day that she has a face of an angel but a mouth like a trucker. That may be true, but she has one the biggest hearts of gold I have ever seen.

Shan being Shan.

"Dave" & Jo

Lesha & I

Thoreau once said, "My Friend takes me for what I am."
Thank you ladies for taking me for what I am. I love you all immensely. Each one of you have touched my life in way that words can not adequately express.
I love you all and I can't WAIT until Lilith Fair!

Skechers Shoe Shopping Extravaganza

2010-04-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know if Extravaganza is the right word to use. How about Skechers-Shoe-Shopping-Beat Down? Yeah - that is more like it. When I picked up the girls on Monday I decided that we needed to get more tennis shoes for the girls to wear to school. PLUS, the school doesn't like the kids to wear sandals or flip flops because they aren't the safest to run and play in - especially in the gravel park! So, it was off to the store! Apparently 90% of the girls at SLP wear Skechers and I was completely unaware of this. I didn't think brands really mattered to pre-k kids. Boy was I wrong. When I told Kate and Mary Clare where we were going Kate got REALLY excited and asked if I would let her pick out Skechers. Sure........I thought it was going to be a one stop shop. think again Mrs. Foley.

Well, store #1 didn't sell Skechers. When I asked the cashier if they had any she looked at me like I was an idiot. I am an idiot. Don't ask me why I thought Ross would have Skechers. Nevertheless, I made my yearly quick trip into Ross. See ya in 2011! The girls and I walked next door to Shoe Carnival and BOY did they have some Skechers! They had so many Skechers that we were in there for 40 minutes looking at them. JUST LOOKING! Yes, they were just confined to one aisle, but Kate went and studied each shoe. Seriously.

I got really excited when I saw the shoe below. Me - "Wow Kate- these are so girly and pink, and sparkly and don't have any skulls or crossbones! Want to try these on?" After a second hand glance Kate said no. Desperate to get home to my roast in the crock pot I begged her to look at them again. "Please sweet heart, Mommy loves these and I know Grammy will too." (Yes - I pulled the Grammy card.) K - "No thank you." ME - "You know what Kate? I bet you your cousins Hannah and Georgia would think these are super duper cool!!!" I guess at this point she figured out what I was doing, and her reply was, "No mother. Kateri, Amy, and so&so (I forgot the girl's name) have those already and I don't want them." Me - "Is there a new girl named Amy in your class?" K-"No - Amy is Mary Clare's best friend. I see a pair I like mommy but can we go to another Skechers store?" My first thought was "No" because of the pot roast, but she showed me the pair she wanted and without hesitation I told her we could go look at another store. MC needed a new pair of shoes as well, and Shoe Carnival didn't have anything in her size. SSSOO....off to Kohl's. By this time Tim had already met us and he graciously took Mary Clare home & he said he would take care of on my roast. YEAH!

I never go to Kohl's. But I have gone twice this week now and it is starting to grow on me! The Skechers selection at Kohl's was not appealing to Kate, but I did get a FABULOUS deal on some Adidas shoes for Mary Clare. This also meant though that we were going back to the Shoe Carnival to get the Skechers Kate wanted. Should I attempt to persuade her into the other shoes? No - because by this time it was already 7:00 and I was READY to get to the casa. SO the shoes below are the ones she picked out. They were not my first choice. Not my last choice, but close to it.

They are white, and thick, bulky, and white. I like colored shoes on my girls just because they stay, or at least look like, they are in better shape than white ones that get dirty you wear them. I don't think I own a white pair of shoes besides the white heels I wore on my wedding day. BUT - One hour and forty minutes later, I have one elated precious little girl who is ecstatic about her new shoes, and that precious little girl has one exhausted mommy. My mind started drifting off years ahead and she is a tween. Over a hour and a half for a pair of shoes when she is four? What is going to be when she is 10? 13? 16?

When we got home and she was proudly showing her shoes to her sissy and daddy I asked her why she picked those. Her reply was: "Mommy - That is why I had to look at each Skecher to see if anyone at my school had them. No one else at my school wears these." Ay-Yi-Yi.

New Beginnings

2010-04-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin? It seems that though I am always in denial on how fast time is going. I mean - where did this weekend go? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?

It was a wild and crazy week at the office this week so that could have made the weekend fly by faster that I would have liked for it to. One of my co-workers turned in her notice and her last day was Friday. We worked side by side for 9 1/2 years, and it's been one wild ride. Sure - we have had our ups and downs working so closely together, however in the end I couldn't imagine riding that roller coaster with anyone but her. She is one of my dearest friends that I can go to with anything. Thank you Debbie. I wish you the best of luck!

To celebrate Debbie's almost ten years at MyStaf, Debbie, Sandy and I went to How Great Thou Art for another Art & Soul Ladies Night Art Class. The theme was a contemporary city skyline. Here are our creations:

One of my fave gal pals Jaclyn went to art class as well. Here is her work of art.

Mine.

Sandy's.

Debbie's

I love to wake up and hear rain outside, and that is exactly how my Saturday morning started. It rained and rained and rained, but it didn't dampen my spirits! The girls were begging to play outside in the rain with their rain boots and umbrellas, and it was so heartwarming to see them have so much fun splish-splashing in the puddles. I went to Spin class late Saturday morning. My first full hour spin class in about a year. My legs were screaming for mercy, but they will be thanking me later. :) Kate and I enjoyed getting out together for some mommy/Kate time. I took her to Mardel and let her pick out her own responsibility chart, and then we went to get pedicures.

I spent the majority of my day today at church helping with the Christ Renews His Parish weekend. It's so beautiful to see the Holy Spirit move through so many unsuspecting people, and especially beautiful to see our brother and sisters in Christ come together to sing our Lord's praises. So all in all it was a great weekend. Wet, but great.
So - here is to new beginnings. Debbie's new beginning at a new career that will give her a new leash on life with her husband Phil. A renewed &/or strengthened relationship with God for the thirty six women that went through the Christ Renews His Parish retreat this weekend. And a new jump onto the weight loss band wagon again. I jumped off and enjoyed a junk food journey after my first 19 pound loss, and now I am jumping back on again with a vengeance to get off another 19. Kate has her last Anniversary Celebration at School for Little People this week, so be on the look out for pics later on this week!

Blessings,
SF xoxo

Close to perfect weekend

2010-04-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe it is close to the end of the day on Tuesday! I am still thinking about what a great weekend we had! After a rough few days at the office last week, I was more than ready to help host a wedding shower for one of my good friends from high school Kristin and her fiance Burke. Late night - but worth it.

I was ready to start my Saturday routine by going to my classes at the gym followed by Subway with the girls - but it didn't happen that way! I started my class at the gym, but was interrupted by the front desk guy after about 25 minutes because MC had a mess in her diaper, and there weren't any diapers in her bag. How did I miss that? There had to be an extra diaper flowing around we could "borrow", right? WRONGOLA. I had to run across the street to Wal-Mart to buy some instead of taking the girls home. Knowing how much food I consumed the day before and what was in store for me later on that night, I was BOUND and DETERMINED to get my workouts in! Needless to say, Wal-Mart was a freaking zoo, and it reinforced my rule of why I don't shop there on Saturdays! 30 minutes later (yes - it took me 25 minutes to check out and get in my car after buying a small package of diapers and an extra travel pack of wipes), I am in my car heading back across the street to the gym. The dreadful on-call phone rings and neither one of the temps that was supposed to start work that morning showed up. AND to make matters worse - the customer wanted replacements STAT. After a diaper change and a quick trip to the "donut office" (what Kate calls Southern Maid donuts for all of you locals), the girls and I were hard at it at MyStaf trying to refill the positions. Luckily daddy came to the rescue and picked up the girls about 15 minutes after we made it to the office. he took them to the park, and I stayed and got the job done. Since my morning had already gone down the drain, I knew what I needed to make it back on track. Back to the gym?!?!? Heck no - I needed a good old fashioned burger that I have deprived myself of these past few weeks because of my attempt at a healthier lifestyle. Nothing like Gene's Tasty Burger on a Saturday afternoon.

Here is Kate patiently waiting on her Gene's grilled cheese.

After Gene's, Kate and I picked up my good ol' pal Lauren, and we headed off to do some retail therapy at the Cadillac Cowgirl in Henrietta. We needed some bling for the Cattle Baron's ball later that evening. When Kate and I got home, Daddy was putting up his hammock. The girls enjoyed some leisurely time on the hammock with Daddy.

Tim and I ended our day by going to the Cattle Baron's Saturday with some great friends of ours and had the BEST time! Can't wait to go again in 2012!

Sunday was a typical church & lunch with the Foleys kind of day, but we got to end the day celebrating cousin Sarah Jane Bindel's 1st birthday at the park by her house. We stayed at the park for over two hours and had a ball!

Mary Clare enjoying her cupcake!

One of my favorite pics - three Bindel girls holding hands as we were leaving the park.
so sweet........

When we got back to Marc & Carlye's house Kate was taking pictures with my phone while I was still visiting with them.

Sarah Jane attempting to make a dash into my car. I think she wanted to go home with us!

this isn't the best pic, but I LOVE it! Uncle Coach hammed it up for Kate.

Even though the weekend started out a little rocky, it couldn't have ended any better.

Nothing beats spending time with family!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

What an amazing Easter Weekend! It started off by me taking the morning off so the girls and I could run errands for the weekend - bows for their dresses from Moraths, hair cut for Kate, etc...

I ended Friday by going to Good Friday Mass and then dinner with Sarah & Matt afterwards - what a great way to end the day! Saturday didn't start out the way I wanted it to, but it sure did have a fantastic ending. Saturday after lunch Kate went to the Knights of Columbus Easter Egg Hunt at the park across from Sacred Heart, and then we went over the the Mengs for an impromptu egg hunt/get together with some other SLP families. Marc & Carlye and their girls joined us as well!

Dashing off for the eggs!

Mary Clare trying to decide on whether or not to get the orange egg. Her daddy told her that orange was a "bad" color.

Kate scoping out the scene.........

All of the kids having an Easter Eve feast!

Kate and her long time buddy Parker Allen playing pirates. Kate and Parker have been SLP friends since they were in the Infant room together. I have grown to love Parker and his family over the years. His mom is one of the sweetest, hard-working, non-judgmental woman with such a strong Christian foundation and I truly admire her and her husband! It is going to be so hard to leave Kate's friends and the parents Tim and I have come to know when she leaves to go to a new school in a few months. AT least I'll still be able to keep up with the Allen family because Parker's little brother and Mary Clare are in the same class.

Anytime Bear is around Mary Clare is bound to have a good time. Here she is waiting at the bottom of the slide for her true love..........

.....and here they are after he slid down to her! Can't you feel the love these two have for each other?!?! This is the future Coach & Mrs. Bryant J. Meng right here folks!

After we got home & bathed, Kate and I sat out carrots and spinach on the front porch for the Easter Bunny. He came, and I think the girls woke up everyone in the neighborhood as they were squealing with delight running around from egg to egg Sunday morning! It was so sweet. After Kate and I made Resurrection Rolls together for breakfast, we all got ready for Sunday morning Mass. Father Hoa delivered an amazing homily, and I walked out of church feeling spiritually and emotionally renewed!

My precious pretties after Mass.

Mc showing off her flashy pink fingernails while she is waiting for brunch.

My amazing family & in-laws! God truly blessed me when I met Tim (thanks to a little cupid named Sarah!) and I became a member of their family. I don't feel like I deserve their overwhelming generosity and unconditional love, but they are constantly gracing me with it. Thank you God for allowing me to become a part of this amazing family, and most importantly thank you for doing the unimaginable and ultimate sacrifice by giving up your Son and watching him die for our sins. Hallelujah!! Our Savior has Risen!

"We have Seen His Glory Full of Grace and Truth"
John 1:14

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Birthday Weekend for Mary Clare!

2010-03-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

Whew! This past weekend was a doozy!!! There was so many things going on last week with Tim being in Arizona, a still lingering sinus infection (me), Attic Affair, and Mary Clare's big birthday weekend that I feel like I am just now recovering from the festivities! In fact there were so many things going on last week that I forgot to order Mary Clare's birthday cake....even after Jaclyn reminded me to at lunch two days before the party. I STILL didn't get it done, and was scrambling for a cake plan on Friday afternoon. Luckily my friend Lauren saved the day and sent me her grandmother's recipe for the cupcakes for the kiddos, and I used the Chocolate Sheet Cake from the Pioneer Woman cookbook for the actual birthday cake. They were thebombalicious! In fact - I ate probably two cups of cake batter Friday night, which was very detrimental to my Weight Watchers weight loss journey. I'll let you know what progress - if any - was made this week on my weight loss journey when I weigh Friday!

Saturday morning daddy took the-last-day-to-be-one-year-old to the Browse Shop to get her a pair of official cowgirl boots for her western themed birthday party that afternoon. She was ecstatic and apparently kept screaming with delight in the store. I believe him, because this was the same girl who was screaming with extreme anger at her mama Saturday night when her pink John Deere boots had to come off. I guess she wanted to sleep in them......

Wearing her pink cowgirl party hat watching the Brumley boys ride the horses around the yard.

Easy killer.....getting on the horse for the first time.

It's amazing to me that this child is deathly afraid of dogs, yet she rode the horse like she's been doing it all of her life. See her sister in the background? Kate stayed on the horses the entire duration of the party. And when I say that I mean ALL DAY! She would get off to let other kids ride, but as soon as the kids got off and lost interest Kate got back on. Let me just say Tim REALLY wants to move to Windthorst now!

Our sweet friends that we actually consider family Theresa and Chuck Berend drove up from Fort Worth Saturday morning and spent the night with us. Here is Kate & MC posing with only two of their children Evie and Luke because little brother George wasn't interested in iPhone camera time.

Sunday morning started off in a hurry as Kate and I were rushing to FUMC so Kate could sing with the Cherub Choir at their service that morning. Here is the little choir girl waiting in her robe for her debut. I really think she was too exhausted to smile..............

Kate is the first child on the back row. The choir did very well!!

After a birthday lunch with Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Coco & Aunt Coco's boyfriend Trevor, Tim took Kate and the birthday girl went on a road trip to OKC to pick up one of Tim's employees from the airport. They made it back in time for us to enjoy some play time at Kiwanis Park.

What an amazing weekend! I don't know if it was all the physical work that had to go into making the weekend so special for Mary Clare that wore me out, or if it was just the overwhleming gratitude I felt all weekend that emotionally drained me. Thank you to all of our family and friends that came to celebrate our sweet Mary Clare's birthday. Your unconditional love and friendship overwhlems me and makes my heart swell with love. May God continue to abundantly bless you and your family as much as He does for Tim and I.

Tim & I can't imagine our lives with out our precious Mary Clare. Mary Clare, the baby that I was so scared of losing because of the complications I was having during my pregnancy. The baby that the doctors in WF and Fort Worth scared me into believing was possibly going to have permanent physical or mental challenges for the rest of her life.

But by offering it up to God - by letting go and letting Him - I was at peace knowing that she was going to be the child God created her to be.

She is the precious little girl with blonde hair and big blue eyes that absolutely adores her big sister.

The beautiful daughter of mine that is terrified of dogs, crazy about her Grammy, loves horses, loves to read, loves to eat, loves to smile, loves to laugh,

and loves singing Amazing Grace............

Happy Birthday my precious pretty. I pray every day that I will be the mother God wants me to be to you and your sister. I pray that as you grow that you have an undivided heart, and that you will walk in the truth of the Lord. I pray for your faith, your character, your decisions, your friends, your future husband. I thank God multiple times daily for you and sissy.

I love you with all my heart,

mommy

xoxo

Soccer Sensations

2010-03-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't see myself ever being a soccer mom. I played one year of soccer in elementary school, and I was absolutely horrible at it. DREADFULLY HORRIBLE. So I figured my children would be ballerinas, tennis players, possibly basketball players - but not soccer players. That may have changed when we moved to Tanglewood a few years ago. Kate's BF Kateri lives right next door to us, and her dad happens to be a high school girls soccer coach. A really good soccer coach at that. So - like any other day, Kate asked if Kateri could come over and play like she does everyday when I pick her up from school. I thought that she wanted her to come over and play with their babies, but Kate had something else in mind. As soon as we pulled into the driveway she picked up her soccer ball from the garage and darted across the yard to Kateri's house. She wasn't home, but her daddy was and his eyes lit up when he saw Kate with the soccer ball in her hand. He came outside and played with Kate (or "practiced" as Kate called it) while we waited for Kateri and her mom. I was speechless. My daughter has skills. I don't have skills - but my daughter does. Everything he told her to do she did, and he kept commenting on what a great job she was doing. Now, she did try to kick the ball once with all her might and missed. It was pretty cute and pretty funny because it reminded me of myseldf when I was a kid. What would you call that? An "air leg" since she completely missed the ball?

Mary Clare enjoyed watching from the sidelines......

....until she decided that she wanted to play! My baby has skills too! Kateri got home and they played soccer until it got dark.

For some reason, Kate is really into soccer right now and I don't know if it is because she is crazy about her cousin Patrick and she wants to play like him or what. All I know is that I see some early Saturday mornings at the soccer field in my near future.

Art Night part one

2010-03-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

My friend Jamie and I headed over to How Great Thou Art art studio for a Ladies Night art class. It is so fun. I didn't get to go in January, the February class was canceled (BUT the make up class is tonight!!!) so I was REALLY looking forward to last nights class. The theme was a cross, and even though she gave us instructions on how to do it step by step, no one's cross looked the same. Everyone used different colors, different sizes and styles. My favorite part of the night is at the end of class when you walk around and look at everyone's masterpieces. Here are ours. The top cross is mine and the bottom one is Jamie's.

Looking forward to art night part two with Jaclyn and Lauren tonight!

Phillipians 1:3

2010-03-18T11:20:00.001-07:00

I thank my God every time I remember you.

I woke up with a heavy heart this morning....

Three years ago today God called my father to His eternal home. I still struggle with that sometimes.....I replay everything that happened that morning March 18, 2007 in my head. Maybe I do that because I want to hang on to every last moment I spent with him that morning, every big grin he gave, every last word he said, every breath he took......

......maybe I do it because I am trying to remember if there was anything obvious that I missed that showed me that he wasn't feeling well. Maybe if I would have noticed it I could have taken him to the hospital and he could still possibly be here today.....just little things that make me go hhmmmmm.....

At the time it happened, I questioned God's goodness and then I got mad at myself for doing so. I will not deny that the question, "Why?" wasn't asked in my personal conversations with Him. BUT - I know God is good all the time. He just happens to test our faith so that we may trust His faithfulness. God doesn't promise that we will never experience bad things or heart-wrenching circumstances in our lifetime, but he does promise in Psalm 46:1 "to be our refuge and our strength" and in Psalm 23:4 that He will will be there with us every step of the way.

He must have known that I needed to hear a really good song this morning to start my day. I usually listen to KLOVE, but the co-hosts in the morning have a tendency to get a little chatty, so I just happened to turn it to the local Christian channel KMOC exactly when All of Creation by Mercy Me was starting. I have never had a chance to listen to the whole song - I always catch it at the very end. But I got to hear all of it today and I am so glad because every single word in that song is so true.

and all of creation sing with me now

lift up your voice and lay your burden down

and all of creation sing with me now

fill up the heavens let his glory resound

Thank you God for constantly having your loving hands around me to catch me when I fall, to guide me and to comfort me. Thank you for giving me 30 & 1/2 amazing years with my daddy.

Thank you daddy for everything you gave me while you were with us. As Marc has said, thank you for teaching us how to be generous, how to work hard, how to play hard, how to love hard and most importantly to stay strong in our faith. I will forever be grateful for all you and our Heavenly Father has given and continues to give to our family.

the reason we breathe is to sing of His glory

and for all He has done

praise the father praise the son and the spirit in one

Please pray for strength in faith and acceptance of God's will for Poirot family today. My sweet friend Rhonda and her husband Richard are burying their son Chris this afternoon who passed away Sunday in a tragic motorcycle accident in Fort Worth. Offer it up.

xoxo

PS - A very happy birthday to Tim's Brother-from-another-mother Chuckles. We love you.

Like mother like daughter

2010-03-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have crazy wild hair in the morning. I am sure a lot of you who are reading this do. Or you may not. In college I would always get teased from my roommates regarding my hair EVERY morning. I heard every comment from:

"Bindel - Comb that weave!", "BINDEL - Quit shocking yourself in the electrical outlet!!!"

"Bindel - I really don't think I have seen any nappier hair than yours."

It goes on and on.It was all fun because 1. I knew my hair was bad and 2. They loved me and were only kidding....or I at least thought they were only kidding. :)

So, now that Kate's hair finally started coming within the last year, her hair is getting worse and worse every time she wakes up in the morning. The pictures below don't do it justice!
Now matter how much detangler I use after her shower, no matter how many times I comb it before she goes to bed, she wakes up looking like her hair got in a wrestling match with a comb and the comb won. Just like her mama! :)

10 hours

2010-03-13T06:09:00.000-08:00

When I woke up yesterday morning I mentally made big plans for my Friday night. I was a little tired from my whirlwind weekend last weekend, and Tim being gone all week so I was ready for some relaxation. I was going to meet my mom at Target to do some Spring clothes shopping for the girls. After that I was going to the drive thru at Kocks to bring home a bottle of La Crema Chardonnay, and sip on my chardonnay in my pajamas after I put Kate to bed at 8:30. That was going to be a close to perfect ending to a busy week. Well - it didn't happen that way and to make a long story short, I was the one in bed by 8:30 last night - not Kate! 8:30 on a Friday night? I am either getting old, or just incredibly boring. I fell asleep before 9 last night, and didn't wake up until almost 7 am. 10 hours of sleep!?!?!?!?!?!? I can't remember the last time I got a solid 10 hours of sleep that wasn't induced by excessive consumption of alcohol from the night before. I can't remember the last time I got 10 hours of sleep regardless of how much I drank the night before. So - I am ready for what ever this weekend holds! The girls and I are about to head off to the gym so I can torture myself through Cindy & Jennifer's classes, and then Kate is off to a play date with one of her BFF"s Presley. Before Tim headed off to work this morning he asked me what I wanted to do this evening and he made the comment that we could do whatever I wanted. My mind immediately started racing on dinner, movies, having friends over and cooking out.......and then I thought - those 10 hours of sleep felt pretty good last night. Yeah - I may want to do THAT again. It may be a 7:30 bedtime tonight! :) Don't forget to set your clocks forward tonight! Have a great weekend!

On your mark........

2010-03-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful day! Thank you Lord for this beautiful weather! I was tired of looking at my gray, dirty, shaggin-waggin Suburban, but I was hesitant to wash it because all of the gloomy wet weather we have been having lately. I celebrated the sunshine this afternoon and took my car to All-American Car Wash during my lunch hour. It is so pretty and shiny! All of the dings and scratches have been forced out of hiding, and are more visible than ever! That doesn't bother me though - mainly because it is paid for!

As I was checking out at All American today, I noticed a flyer on the counter for the 1st Annual Running of the Mustangs 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run at MSU. As some of you may or may not know, I was a runner at one time in my life. Obviously you can't tell now, but I am slowly but surely getting myself back in shape to attempt running in races again. This may be what I need to jump start my goal of running a half marathon this year! It benefits the MSU Women's Cross Country Team and will be held on Saturday, April 3rd. I think it's $20 if you register before April 1st. Check out the info:

http://www.active.com/running/wichita-falls-tx/the-running-of-the-mustangs-5k-2010

If you can't make it to the MSU 5K, there is also the CASA 5K and 1 mile Fun Run on April 17th at Lake Wichita.

http://www.active.com/running/wichita-falls-tx/casa-5k-run-walk-2010

So, let's lace up our shoes (if you need some new running shoes I highly recommend calling up my friend Lauren @ Jerry's Sporting Goods), and get out there and run or have a fun walk. It will benefit MSU, CASA and most importantly our health! On your mark....Get Set.....GO!

I'm a coming home

2010-03-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

On my way home to my precious pretties. I don't think Kate is ready for me to come because she has LOVED living with her Grammy these past four days, but I know Mary Clare is ready to see her Mama and Daddy. Tim and I called yesterday morning and MC started crying when she heard our voices on the phone. Ann-aka Grammy-(Tim's mom) said that MC saw a picture of Tim and I later that evening and started whining for us. So sweet. I can't wait to see them and love on them. We may even have a slumber party in our bed tonight so I can snuggle with them all night. Tim and I have had a amazing mini-vacation, but it was hard being away from the girls. Mary Clare hasn't been away from both us at the same time before, so I guess this has been harder for her than I thought it would. Tim has to stay here in DC for a conference so we'll have plenty of mommy time before he gets home. I'll also post more pics when he gets home as well.

I heard a disturbing story this morning on the DC news, and it reminded me of home. There was a jogger running in the mall early yesterday morning, and was hit & killed by a semi truck. The trucker didn't stop, so it is a tragic hit and run accident. It's pretty disgusting that the trucker is on the run, but what is the most sad is that the jogger wasn't carrying any id on her so the police and the hospital don't know who she is. All the police have been able to so is show pics of her keys and the bracelets she was wearing in hopes someone would recognize them and come forward to identify her. It made me think of Mrs. Terri Otto, who was also hit and killed by a truck a few months ago while she was out on her early morning run. Completely different scenario though because the man who hit Terri actually stopped to render aid. Terri's family and church family and friends started to immediately pray for her and congregated at URHCS to comfort and support the family and each other. This jogger didn't have that. Her family doesn't even know she has passed away. So, as brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray for this woman, and pray for her family when she is finally identified and her family is contacted. Also, please pray for the trucker, that he/she listens to their conscience and comes forward.

Back on Monday also means back on track for exercising and eating healthier. I've been doing well (despite some weekend setbacks) since January and I am actually down 12.2 pounds!! I also did well the first part of last week however, it was hard to keep that momentum going when you have all of this amazing food to choose from in NYC & DC! On my way to the DC airport SO - back to life - back to reality!

The Big Apple - Day 1

2010-03-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

Tim and I made it to NYC safe & sound. After we checked into our hotel (Tim booked not only the same hotel where we stayed for our honeymoon, but he also booked the same room!), we headed out! We were famished from not eating breakfast or lunch, so we had lunner (kind of like brunch, but with lunch and dinner) at our most favorite Italian ristorante ever - Angelo on Mulberry Street. I have visited NYC three times within the past 5 years, and have eaten here every time! It's AMAZING! Best Italian Food EVER!
We did some sightseeing in Little Italy and found this most beautiful cathedral. It's the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral and the pic below is the view from the pew of the altar.

It's even more breathtaking in person........

We then booked it 1 1/2 miles to West Village to delight ourselves with an infamous cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street. YUMMY! They also have another location on 6th Street for all of the tourists in Times Square to enjoy.

We took the subway to Times Square and took a lot of pics just like every other tourist in NYC.

And then made it back to our hotel room to watch the The Office. Here is our view from the hotel room.

All in all, it was a good first seven hours in the Big Apple. Tomorrow we are going to go on The Sopranos tour, eat at Sardy's, and go see a Broadway show to end our day. It's going to be busy so I need to get my rest! Good night!

Ducky Doors

2010-03-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

If you have seen this gray, dirty, shaggin' wagon suburban driving around town with some the duck magnets from the Leap Frog Fridge Farm set on it then it was me. I have no idea how long they have been on there because I hardly go the passenger side now that Kate knows how to buckle herself in. I guess Mary Clare decided that mommy's car needed something extra..... I just never know what my girls are going to do....they never cease to amaze me and make me laugh!!

Tim took Kate and Mary Clare with him to a boot store Decatur yesterday evening. Tim has REALLY big feet (almost Shaq's size) and they usually have his size. The store didn't have his size, but they did have Kate's and she got the cutest pair of pink & white boots! She is so proud of them that she wore them to bed! Now I just need to find some for Mary Clare. I'll post a pic of the proud cowgirl tonight.

Really lucky

2010-02-27T04:32:00.000-08:00

I received some bad news yesterday afternoon that pretty much knocked the breath out of me. One of my dear sweet friends from college shared with me that her cancer is back with a vengeance. She's only 33. thirty three. And she has been battling this for the past 5 years. five years. Let me give you some background on sweet Jennifer. We met at UNT, and it was an instant friendship. Funny thing is, we both went to MSU the previous year, and saw each other, but never introduced ourselves. God made sure we did at UNT and I am so humbly grateful for that. She is super smart, loves math & numbers, was very responsible in college, she always made time for me and her other friends, and she remained steadfast in her faith. I on the other hand, have some smarts to me but didn't utilize them as much as I should have in college, I loved having a good time and hanging out with people, I wasn't very responsible, but I was steadfast in my faith. She was born and raised Baptist, and I am a cradle Catholic. Neither one of us had any desire to learn more about each other's religion, but we did share the desire to learn more about the bible and to strengthen our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. SO - we found an amazing non-denominational church called Denton Bible Church that had an incredible College ministry to go to together.....to learn together and to grow in together. We would attend services at our own churches, but we would never miss going to DBC together. We went our separate ways after college (she eventually went back and earned her Masters & a teaching certificate), but we still kept in touch. Jennifer is also a runner, and I can not begin to tell you how many 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and marathons she has under her belt. She is the one who encouraged and inspired me to pick up running in 2002/2003, and over the next few years I would travel to DFW a couple of times a summer to run in races with her. My last race with her was January 2005 and we went to the Houston Half-Marathon. She was concerned about beating her previous time from her last half, and all I wanted was to get one of those plastic FINISHER medals. We both succeeded.

I got married, had a baby, and pretty much gave up on running. She kept plugging away and got her dad to start running with her. She also stayed strong in her faith knowing that God had a special plan for her, and he would send her someone special for her to spend the rest of her life with when He was ready to. God brought Jen and Eric together, and she knew from the beginning he was the one. It wasn't long after they met that Jennifer found out she had lymphoma, and had to have surgery to have some lymph nodes removed. She also went through some radiation, and had to give herself shots every week as part of her cancer treatment. Guess who offered to give her shots to her. yup - Eric. When she finished her treatments he proposed, & they got married on a beautiful summer afternoon in June, but when they got back from their honeymoon Eric got laid off from his job so they had to move to the Houston area. Jennifer almost had clearance from the doctor to start to trying to conceive, when they found a spot on her lung. Her lung??!?!?!?!! She has never smoked a cigarette in her life! She runs MARATHONS! But alas, that is where it was so after surgery and radiation, she was good. She remained in remission, until this past December when during a routine checkup, they found another spot on her lung. She had some treatments, and I guess the doctors wanted to monitor it these past few months to see if the treatments worked. It didn't. Not only did the tumor on one of her lungs double in size, the cancer spread to her other lung (multiple spots), her liver (multiple spots) and her lymph nodes. She starts chemo next week & if that doesn't work then she has to be admitted to the hospital a week at a time to have biochemo. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds absolutely dreadful.

You know, when I first heard the news my initial reaction was to go crawl in a closet at work and cry. Then I wanted to ask God "Why? Haven't you put her and her family through enough?" (I forgot to mention that Jennifer's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in January). I realized that is not what I am supposed to do either. I realized that God loves Jennifer so much that He knows she is worthy of this. He knows her strengths, He knows her limits, He knows her better than anyone, and He chose her to go through this. Someone has to right? God chose her to endure this pain, this suffering, these grueling treatments not out of spite, but because she is so special to Him, and He knows that she is so strong in her faith that she can handle this. If that doesn't say a lot about Jen then I don't know what else to say.

I ended my day with a night out with two of my favorite girlfriends. We celebrated a new house for Lauren, and weight loss for all of us despite the "broken" scales at Weight Watchers yesterday. We talked and laughed and talked and laughed and it was just what I needed to end my work week. Knowing Jennifer's story, & listening to their stories of some challenges they are facing in their personal lives reconfirmed my belief that the really lucky people in life don't necessarily have the best of everything. They are the ones that make the most of whatever God throws at them. I am so humbly grateful to have some really lucky people as my friends. Thank you for continually inspiring me to be a better friend, a better mother, a better sister, a better daughter, a better person and most importantly a better child of God.

Remember: The will of God will never take you where the grace of God does not protect you.

Please keep my sweet friend Jennifer in your prayers.

xoxo
sf

Chocolaholics

2010-02-24T19:39:00.001-08:00

Tim and Marc were both out of town Valentine's Day weekend, so Carlye and the girls came over for some pizza and play time. Aunt Carlye brought over the dessert and whipped up some yummy chocolate covered strawberries. Needless to say the girls loved them! Above is Kate with her chocolate 'stache, and Mary Clare is showing off her messy fingers and messier t-shirt (that was actually Kate's and now it is ruined!) Georgia is showing off her chocolate fingers as well, but all of the chocolate was on the inside of her hands....so she actually looks clean! The girls had a blast. Thanks Aunt Carlye! come back over soon!

Best buddies

2010-02-08T10:39:00.001-08:00

Here are my girls with two of their best buddies. The top picture is Kate with one of her BF's Kateri. Kateri lives right next door to us and she is basically considered part of our family. This picture was actually taken last night after they had a bath. K & K also are in the same class at SLP, and take dance. It won't be long now before Kate starts playing soccer with Kateri!

Mary Clare is with her future husband Bryant. I know that is crazy to say, but Bryant, or "Bear" has been crazy about Mary Clare since she was a baby in the infant room at SLP. He would (and maybe still does) call her "my baby". Mary Clare also sings about him at home. If she is upset at SLP, they go get Bear and he calms her down. Good thing I think his parents are pretty fantastic because they may be our future in-laws in about 20+ years! haha :)

Hello strangers

2010-02-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry to say that it has been a super duper long time since I last blogged. December 19th! DO you know how much has happened since December 19th? Some of you may, but alot of you probably don't since I haven't been on here in ages.......

Christmas was exceptional. The only thing that would have made it better is if my daddy could have been here to share it with us. Of course I am selfishly saying that because I want him here with me, but he is where we all want to be one day, and what could be better than that. WF received almost a foot of snow on Christmas Eve, and it kept us confined to our houses. All church services were cancelled, and I know God was ok with that. I truly feel He gave us that snow for a reason. For everyone to just stop....stop running from here to there, stop shopping, stop everything and just Be Still. To pause and remember why we celebrate Christmas. Psalm 46:10 states, "Be still and know that I am God." That is exactly what we did, and it was truly amazing. Thank you God for that beautiful Christmas day and most of all, thank you for Your Son.

January started off with a bang and it's already gone. Crazy how time flies when you are having fun. Kate is growing taller by the second - she is already in size 6 clothing. It's hard to find sweet little girls clothes in a 6. It's like some of the clothes for little girls are preparing them to be tweens, and I don't want my four year old to be subjected to that quite yet. She is still in dance class, and she is wrapping up her last year at School for Little People. It makes me really sad to say that because we absolutely love the program at SLP. I truly feel that there is not a better preschool in WF than SLP. We are so happy with everything they have done for our daughters there. It will be bittersweet when Kate leaves in the summer, but she will be starting a new chapter in her life when she goes to a new 4K class in the Fall at Notre Dame. We are going to try to get her into Boehm Ballet in the Fall as well, and I don't know if we are going to attempt soccer, piano, or just wait another year until she is 5.

Mary Clare was released from her therapy with ECI at North Texas Rehab Center in December. I am truly grateful for Lacy and Barbara with ECI. Christmas 2008 Mary Clare was 9 months old and could only roll in one direction. It was hard for her to sit up without falling over. My precious child went from that to running, climbing, singing and talking in a matter of 11 months. I know Mary Clare had a lot of people praying for her, and I know God's hand was not only guiding Mary Clare every step of the way, but her therapists and her teachers at SLP as well. She turns two at the end of March, and I am already thinking of birthday party ideas for her. Mary Clare will be starting the 2K program at SLP in the Fall, and we are so excited. It's going to make for long mornings and evenings driving to drop off and pick up both girls every day at different schools, but it will be absolutely worth it.

As for Tim and I, things are going well for us. We couldn't be more grateful for all of the abundant blessings God continues to grace us with every day. Tim will be busy going back and forth from here to Phoenix (yes - ARIZONA!) for a big project, and who knows what else they have in the works over there. I am will be getting busy with Junior League commitments here pretty soon, and well as helping out at SLP and church. Probably one of the biggest changes Tim and I have made together is our commitment to a healthier lifestyle. You would have thought that with the unexpected passing of my dad in 2007, we would have jump-started our weight-loss goal earlier, but I guess it took me longer to accept the fact that my dad was gone. I needed to come to terms with myself that no one was going to be able to change my life for me but myself and my trust God. So, since mid September, Tim has lost over 50 pounds just by changing his eating habits. Can you believe that? He has 20 more pounds to go to get to his goal, and he is going to start working out with our neighbor. Our neighbor is a coach at Rider so Tim is going to meet him at Rider twice a week (when his schedule allows him to) to work out.

I on the other hand have lost 20 pounds since September with 9 of them coming off this past month. Two of my incredible girlfriends and I signed up with Weight Watchers. We have a "date" every Wednesday and go to a meeting together. I have also been waking up at 4:30 in the morning to go get an hour workout in at the gym. Now some of you know that I have been going to the gym at the crack of dawn for a while now, but I wasn't consistent. AND, I would sabotage myself by eating whatever I wanted - especially on the weekends. SO, here I go! God satisfies me more than the richest of foods (Psalm 63:5) so when you see me at the gym, you can pretty much bet that I am working out while listening to Christian music, and I am studying more scripture. Nothing is healthier for my soul than studying His word. I know that I am very excited about the weight-loss I have seen on myself this past month, and I can't wait to see what the rest of this month will bring! (or take off! :) )

Tim and I are heading to NYC and Washington DC next month, so I hope to lose another 9 pounds before we take off. We are also planning on taking a trip to the Virgin Islands with some friends in June, so that in itself is a huge motivator. I think the main motivator for me is that I want to be in excellent health for my daughters and I want to set a good example for them. Also, by God's grace, I would love to have another child, and I need to get this weight off to help my chances of having a healthier pregnancy.

That is it for now. Tim brought home a laptop for me so I need to figure out how to download pictures on here. Once I do I'll post some of my precious pretties. They are super and make me laugh everyday! Wow....I didn't realize how long this is. It's amazing how much time I had this morning with just Mary Clare home. Kate spent the night with her cousins at Grammy's house so I bet Grammy is tired! I need to go to get Kate so thanks for stopping by to read this and I'll post pics soon!

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

Princess girls

2009-12-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

Georgia has discovered Kate's passion for anything priness related. ANYTHING. So the girls changed princess outfits numerous times last night and had a ball! My brother John and his wife Amanda drove in this weekend to celebrate Christmas with us. Everyone came over to my house for dinner last night (the King Ranch casserole from Market Street was super yummy!) and we are going to my mom's house today for a Bindel Christmas. Here is Kate & Mary Clare with their cousins Georgia, Caroline and Sarah Jane crawling in the playroom. The only cousin missing from this picture is Elizabeth, but I bet we get more pictures of her today. Merry Christmas!

It's a first for us both

2009-12-12T06:24:00.001-08:00

Kate and I put together our first gingerbread house. This is the first time we have done it together, and unless my memory has failed me, this is the first time I recall ever putting one together myself. I look forward to carrying on this tradition for years to come. Once Mary Clare gets older we'll start our own gingerbread tradition with her as well.

Merry Christmas Photo Shoot

2009-12-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

There is a new photographer in town that I happen to know through my sister in law Carlye. Every year for the past three years we have had our Christmas pictures taken in the park with our favorite photographer DeEdra, but this year I wanted something different. Rachel Archer of Rachel Photography gave me more than just "different". Her Christmas photo session just took my breath away! Here are just some of the fun and beautiful pics she took of my precious pretties.

Merry Christmas!

There is no excuse.......

2009-12-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Other than the fact that I have been super-duper-Wonder-Woman-busy. For Real. That and my computer is not retrieving my pics from the cartridge on my camera so that is why there are no pics. I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE! Here is the DL...........so, Laura, one of my dearest most bestest sweetest friends from high school had twins the day of Kate and Mary Clare's parade (my last post). Welcome to the world Quinn & Gentry!

Then it was Halloween, and in the midst of Christmas Magic market during the first weekend of November I planned a surprise birthday dinner for Tim. My sweet friend Lauren and I were busy planning and coordinating Christmas Magic Auction the following weekend and we spent a lot of time up at the Wellington. ALOT. Our (me & Tim) truly kick-ass friends Chuck and Theresa drove up from Fort Worth for Auction (we raised over $35,000! woo-hoo!) and even though I enjoyed every minute of it, I am SO glad it is OVER.. You would have thought that I would have spent the day in bed after auction but NO - Tim and I invited out friends Jaclyn & Jason up to Norman to watch the A&M and OU game. We had an excellent time with our friends despite the terrible, horrible, no good very bad game.

What happened after that? OUR precious pretty Kate turned 4. FOUR! So it was a birthday weekend marathon with birthday breakfast with Luke, Elizabeth and Sarah Pitts that morning, a shipping trip to Toys R Us, hair cut and a manicure with cousin Georgia, and the stage performance of Snow White with Kate's best friends Kateri and Presley. You got it - I was worn out. HOWEVER I wanted to keep my family in tact Thanksgiving and so that meant a road trip for the girls and I to College Station for the A&M vs Future BCS Champions UT (and I don't mean Tennessee). It also meant a Black Friday shopping spree in College Station with Theresa (the kick-ass friend I mentioned before) and her children's au pair Lindsey. Sigh of relief November is over but now a deeper breath for December. I am trying to stay calm amidst the chaos of the season now that we are in December but I think we all know that we are all fooling ourselves. SO - Tim is off hunting with his friends and I have the girls Christmas portraits tomorrow, and then having a mom's day with Sarah and Beth. This next weekend is my company Christmas party and my 6th annual Dallas Christmas Shopping Excursion with Sarah next weekend. Top it off with my brother John and his wife and girls coming in from Austin the following weekend. They have never been here with their girls during the Christmas so I am just so stoked they are coming! SO, once I get the cartridge figured out I will post pics. Let me just remind you that although we are all running around like crazy trying to get our ducks in a row for Christmas parties, etc.....Let us NOT FORGET that JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON!

Halloween Pics

2009-11-07T12:41:00.001-08:00

Happy Kitty. Until she realized that she had to stay in the buggy until the parade was over.

Mad Kitty.

Kateri, Brett & Kate in the parade.

I call my mom buddy Kim here "Super Mom". She is so creative and so..well SUPER!
Paxson (on the left) is in class with Mary Clare, and Parker and Kate have been friends since they were teeny toddlers!

Supermodel/Beauty Queen Carolyn (my cousin) with her handsome boys Luke & Corbin.

This is my friend Jaclyn with her shirtless pirate Bryant. "Bear" is smitten with his little kitten Mary Clare. She's crazy about him too!

She would not sit still for the application of whiskers. Meow.

Bewitched!
Kateri, Grayson, & Kate

I have been pretty getting everything together for Christmas Magic Auction next Friday, church/bible studies, Kate's dance, play dates, getting things together for Tim & Kate's birthdays and everything else we have going on. We have gone to a Sesame Street show, and we went to Christmas Magic this morning for the girls to make Christmas ornaments and see Santa. See Santa??!?!?!?!?! It's only November 7th (Tim's birthday btw) and Santa Claus is here!!!!!!! The holidays are here! YEAH!

New to Us Set of Wheels

2009-10-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Do you remember how you felt when you got your first bike? I was so excited when I got mine, and I was so proud of it. I still remember by daddy teaching me how to ride it when he took off my training wheels - running behind pushing me - letting go - yelling at me to keep my balance and yet I still fell. He would then rush over to me, brush off the dirt, and we would start again. Just a phase in childhood that everyone can relate to.....Everyone has their own bike story.

this is the beginning of Kate's bike story. Mine didn't start when I was three, but Kate's story has! Her cousin Hannah passed down her Barbie bicycle that she had outgrown and it had been sitting in our garage for about six weeks before Kate and Tim finally went to Academy to buy some training wheels. Tim finally put the training wheels on it, and you would have thought that Tim took her to DisneyWorld. She was so excited!!! Here is Kate standing with her bike once the training wheels were on.
Two weeks ago we had some BEAUTIFUL weather, so the girls and I went outside to enjoy it. Here Mary Clare's shoe is getting put back on so she can enjoy the outdoors!

Kate likes to practice riding her bike in the driveway. She is great at pedaling, but not so great at stopping. She accidentally ran over Mary Clare about 20 seconds after I took this picture.

Kate following her daddy and sissy down the sidewalk. I know she isn't wearing her helmet, but we only let her ride to the driveway next door and back.

Mary Clare in her "new" set of wheels. Santa actually brought this for Kate her 2nd Christmas, and it has gotten lots of good use by Kate, MC, and all 0f the other friends that come over to play!

Dancing Queens

2009-10-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Wow - today started off great. can you believe that my girls - MY GIRLS - slept in until 8:15? That is believable with Mary Clare, but now with Kate. She doesn't want to miss a thing so she wakes up when the sun does. SO after breakfast we had pajama dance party. Any of you that know my oldest daughter knows that she loves to dance... And now she loves to dance while singing to Taylor Swift. The first time Kate heard Taylor she was with her cousin Hannah - who is 7 - and Kate came home singing the the chorus of You Belong With Me. She now knows 95% of the words. Do I have a future Taylor Swift on my hands? Only God knows!

Kate singing and dancing to Taylor Swift's song Love Story, or as she refers it to as Romeo & Juliet.

Mary Clare doing her best dance imitation of her big sister.

Both of the girls rocking out.

Last day of September

2009-09-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Foley family went to one of our favorite places to shop together - Home Depot! The girls love the race car cart, and ooohing and ahhing over the different things Home Depot has on display. Tim had to go to get some stuff for work, and I went because I wanted to spruce up my courtyard with some fall colors....and mainly because I am starting Dave Ramsey's Money Makeover tomorrow since it is October 1st, and I know buying flowers is not in the all new budget! Kate helped me pick out some red and orange crysthanthe.....well just mums and I also got some yellow flowers that are not mums to put in my front pots. We potted them in the dark (it was only 7:20) and from what I could tell they looked great! I hope they look as good as I think they do in the morning when I see it in day light!
Speaking of the race car carts - I wish they had carts like at all stores!! It keeps the girls happy, and I can get in and out with what I need in likity split. That makes mama very happy! Our favorite grocery store United Market Street - or the blue store as Kate calls it - has car carts, however the car part that they ride in is on the ground and a thirty minute trip to the store turns into and hour and a half because the girls keep getting in and out. So - my vote is for the race car carts at every store!!! Happy fall and wish me good luck with my new and improved budget! If only I had bought some pumpkins tonight!!!

How Great Thou Art

2009-09-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

I had the most fun last night. Some girlfriends and I went over How Great Thou Art - a little art studio on Brook Street - for a Ladies Night Art Class. The subject of the night was a pear, and Rachel Liles the owner gave us step by step instructions on what to do. There were about twenty women there in all, and it was so neat to see the different pears that were made. Kathleen left before I could get a pic of her pear, but hers looked great as well. Rachel is having a a class next Friday night so I higly encourage you to go if you have never been. I promise it is a wonderful experience! I am already signed up for the butterfly class in October!

Here is my pear masterpiece

Beth's Pear

Sarah's pear