Life with my sister

Henry started his Halloween morning with a spooky face! He is so silly and was so excited to get to school and see all his friends. He made pumpkin art and a pumpkin book while celebrating orange and black day with his little buddies at his school. After school he was ready to get out to the truck. He loves Daddy's truck. In fact, he is slightly obsessed with the truck. I have a little video I will load this week of him having a fit to get in the truck. So strange. We went to Sonic for 50 cent corn dogs before trick or treating. He was happy to get a ride in the truck and we were happy to eat some cheap corn dogs...it is the simple things! After a little stop in another neighborhood close by to visit a friend and my boss, we headed home to get our trick or treat on in a serious way! The duck went in his wagon and off we went. We went from house to house in style...I tell ya! We all had such a fun time. I told Randall it was the most fun Halloween I have had since I was a child.

We participated in trunk or treat at our Church's Fall Festival. It was great fun to prepare for it, but when I got there the wind was insane, so I had failed execution and found myself just sticking stuff where it would stay put. It sort of looked like Halloween threw up in the back of my ride...but it was all good! My little family was excited about our first trunk or treat with our new church family. Our duck was a hit...as he always is. It is almost embarrassing how they make over him at our church. I pray he is humble. I seriously pray for humility for him. It worries me! The handsome little duck sat in the back and watched all the kids trunk or treat while sucking on his sucker. He would occasionally belt out "I'm a duck!" and they would laugh at him. Henry is a mess! Our pastor, Bro. Stan is smitten with Henry and loves talking agriculture with Randall. He tried to get Henry to ride his pony but Henry would have none of it. He smiled and said "NO!"

We partied it up at Henry's school Friday afternoon. It was his harvest party and the last day of spirit week. It was PJ day...just so you know when you look at these pictures. He was such a cutie in his monster pj's. Henry loved his juice box. He had all these fun sweet treats on his plate and he went bonkers over the juice box. I love my sweet boy! Treat time is something at his school. I forget how fancy some of the mothers can be. I must say my treat sacks were the saddest of the bunch. And if you know me, you know how sad that made me. Seriously, I am already preparing Christmas goodie sacks in my mind...hmmmm. I love his excited face. He was elated about the Mickey Mouse "Hot dog" coloring book he got from his best girl, Piper. Piper was giddy about her Mama being at her party. She is so cute in her Dora pjs. My favorite memento from the party was the sheet they sent home from art time today. Henry colored his safety sheet for trick or treating. It made me lau

This pumpkin dip is so yummy. My Mama introduced me to it some years back and since then I have made an excuse each year to make it around Halloween & Thanksgiving. It is fun, easy and a crowd pleaser. It is great served with ginger snaps and apples. This would be a great weekend to whip some up! 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate Directions In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving. Aren't these so cute?! I was making these for Henry's Halloween party at school, but while in Walmart gathering supplies for them the bell went off in my head and the red light beamed bright in my eyes. NO...they are made with peanu

Outside my window...a rainy fall day. This is the kind of day I long for our home in Camden because it had a screened in porch. I was too busy with a 1 yr old to really enjoy it, I sure would enjoy it today. I am thinking...That this rainy day has given me a headache and I want it to go away! I am thankful for...my husband. My heart is so full of love for him today. I am wearing...Strangely enough the same shirt I was wearing last week when I did this, but this time I'm wearing it with gray sweatpants that have a hole in the most inappropriate place. I am creating...the program for the state Minister's Wives Conference. This is one of my most favorite days of the year. I'm so fortunate to be a part of the leadership team. I am going...grocery shopping today! Woo- Hoo ! I'm coming home with butter, bread and oil. Staples that we've been out of for longer than I care to share. I am reading...The Brotherhood (Precinct 11) by Jerry Jenkins. Chapter 3 made me cry until I

I hope the weather where you are is as beautiful as it is here. It is gorgeous today. The temperature is perfect, it's sunny, and the leaves are changing colors. Oh, I just love this time of year. This weekend we will once again be helping out the Boy Scouts at Cane Creek . Every year the state park in our area has a Ghost Roast . The park is decorated for halloween , all the campsites are occupied with campers that have decorated their campsites and they give out candy to the thousands of children that come for that night. It costs them a fortune in candy, but they love it. It's a safe place to take your kids trick or treating. They also have hayrides, games and the Boy Scouts have a haunted house. Now, the Beavers family doesn't do Halloween so much. If we can't make a costume with what we have at home then we don't dress up. And my kids have always dressed up. We aren't in to all the scarey and gore that comes with halloween . Samuel helps with parking (the

I just love this song. It makes me cry when I listen to it. Always has, always will. It reminds me of my bestest friend in the whole wide world and the bond we share. We were inseparable growing up and in college. Where she was, I was and vice versa. We were rarely apart. I love that girl with a fierce love that cannot be explained with words. She is the truest friend I have on this earth and I could never thank God enough for the meaningful and funny memories we share. Moving away from her 10 years ago to start a new direction in life was tough stuff. I love that our bond has not changed through the course of time and I trust it never will. We are stuck like crazy glue! Melissa and I met in Little Rock this past weekend and had a fun sleepover, eating frenzy and shopping fest. We never do anything like this anymore and I thought it was high time to kick the fun into gear. She is a mama to 3 precious boys and with me having Henry and living in a different town we don't make time f

I am s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g trying to make this a food related post since it is Food Friday. I cooked nada this week...not a thing! It was an odd week with activities and illness in our home. Today I sat down to post this and I am drawing a blank on coming up with a good recipe because I plan to cook nada this weekend as I head out for a little girl time with my BFF. So, bear with me as I try my best to relate this post to food somehow :) This is what we ate for supper last night. (This is my attempt to make this food related, just in case you were wondering.) We had special guests over and no one cooks on Thursday nights in my house. So, Pizza Inn was on order and all our guests were excited. Pizza Inn is a family favorite and from what I hear it is becoming pretty hard to find anymore. Our special guests were Julie and her fun crew. Juju loves her Henry. He does not always show his love in the best and brightest way to her though. I am glad she loves him anyway. Poor Ju! All the way

About three weeks ago I looked at Anna at church and noticed that her two front permanent bottom teeth were right behind her front baby teeth. Her baby teeth were not loose at all. Not for lack of wiggling. We have been trying to lose teeth for a while now, but to no avail. So when I saw that the permanent teeth were moving in whether the baby ones were ready to leave or not I called the dentist. Yesterday we headed to the dentist. I didn't know if they would pull them or wait until another time. Once they looked at them they decided to pull them. Poor little girl. They didn't tell her. All they said was that it was going to hurt a bit. Poor baby. I could hear her cries from the waiting room. I texted a few people and asked them to pray right then! It's great to know that I have friends that will pray right when I ask. Even more great to know that God hears those prayers. I calmed down, and so did she. The next time I saw her she looked like this. Still just as pretty wit

I used to do this on my personal blog and really enjoyed it. So I though I would bring it back out today. A favorite picture... Anna's 7 th birthday party. Her cake was designed by her and made by a friend of mine. She was so cute and enjoyed her day so very much. Outside my window...Is a beautiful sunny day. A little warmer than I like in October, but so beautiful. I am thinking...about getting to visit old friends this weekend. Thursday just can't get here fast enough. I am thankful for...my children. I was taught to pray for those that give you trouble. I am praying for these children a lot today. If you get my drift! From the kitchen...nothing so far. But tonight will be homemade chicken strips and cheesy mashed potatoes! I am wearing...brown fleece pants, a Buck-e Beaver t-shirt and E aster socks. Don't hate me. I am creating...UGH! I practiced etching glass today, I was planning on making Christmas gifts using my new talent, but it looks like there will be a lot mor

In celebration of Samuel's and Aunt Babs' birthday week, we are highlighting the cake Julie made for Samuel's big day. It looked so cute and fun with the colorful candles on top. I wish I could have had a piece....maybe I will make one and celebrate on my own! Grease a large tube or Bundt cake pan with 2 teaspoons of the oil. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the popped corn with the M&Ms and the peanuts and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, the remaining 1/4 cup vegetable oil, and the marshmallows over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When melted, use oven mitts or pot holders to remove saucepan from heat and pour marshmallows over the popcorn mixture. Stir to combine. Spoon mixture into the prepared cake pan. Using your hands or the back of a spoon, press firmly so that the mixture is compacted. Cover with aluminum foil to keep moist. Let sit for about 3 to 4 hours, or until firm and set. To serve, invert the cake pan onto a large plate or pla

Birthday letter to Samuel. Samuel, I love this picture of you. You brighten so many lives with that smile. People have called you Smilen ' Sam for years now. You are so happy and bring that happiness to others. I am so proud of the young man you are growing up to be. You have had to make some decisions that didn't make you very popular, you have endured some ridicule because of decisions I have made for you. But you have done so with such maturity and graciousness. I have learned lessons from you. You are having a great school year. We were anticipating a lot of bumps in the road this year but so far it has been a great year. Aren't you glad? Me too! We'll keep praying! This past year you surrendered your life to God's ministry. I can't wait to see what that looks like in your life. You know it doesn't matter to me if you are a preacher in the biggest church, a teacher in a Christian school or a missionary in the farthest jungle. As long as you are doing wh

Pumpkin Crunch Cake This dish is A- mazing ! It is more like a custard or a ooey gooey cake than a traditional cake and it is yummy for the tummy. My little Henry ate more of it than his Daddy and me combined. He loved it. The more pecans, the better. I love fall and all the pumpkin recipes. Why do we wait until fall to eat pumpkin?! We should enjoy it all year. Ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup) 1 cup butter, melted Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom of 9 x 13″ pan. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour mixture into greased pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and top with pecans. Drizzle melted butter over pecans. Bake 50-55 minutes. The Pumpkin crunch cake may be supper yummy but my little pumpkin is the best pumpkin in the whole patch! I love my little

It seems that most of my days lately are spent teaching my kids and then running them around all over the place. They all have somewhere to go and something to do. It also seems that I spend a tremendous amount of time talking loudly (yelling), and disciplining them. I get so tired of it! I feel like my mothering skills are shameful because I'm still having to discipline them at the ages of 13, 10 and 7. Shouldn't they have caught on to somethings by now???!!! But then I remember the times when we drive down the road and laugh with each other. When they all come in our bedroom in the morning and sit on the bed with us. We laugh, talk, and just sit and wake up together. I look at their faces. They have gotten so big. They can no longer lay between Stephen and me. They no longer need me to lay out their clothes or fix their breakfast. I love them so much. I catch myself smiling and wiping a tear from my eye. We haven't done everything right as parents, probably not the majori

A couple of days before we went on vacation (a month ago) David began complaining about his ears hurting. I promptly called the doctor and got him some ear drops. I'm such a good mom! Daniel had an ear infection a couple of weeks prior and I figured something must be going around in their bedroom! I gave David all of his 7 days worth of ear drops . I'm such a good mom! The next couple of weeks he would complain off and on about his ear but he didn't run a fever and it wasn't an everyday complaint so I did nothing. I'm such a good mom! Monday David really started to complain about his ear. He cried a couple of times so I called the doctor Tuesday and couldn't get in. I called on Wednesday and they didn't even answer the phone. (This doctor's office is the WORST ! I love the kids doctor but I wish she would move to another office!) Thursday I had to be in Arkadelphia to help lead a conference for ministry wives, but I called the doctor's office while

Friday afternoon Henry and I headed about an hour outside of town to one of Randall's plots so he could ride the combine with his daddy. Henry did not pose for this picture. It just happened. He was watching his Daddy out in the field and looked back at me to tell me "Daddy work". When we got there Henry ran in the corn yelling "Daddy's corn" over and over. It was the cutest thing. His daddy made a pass up to the front of the field and picked up Henry soon after we arrived. Henry was eager and excited to get on Daddy's "tractor". We tried to correct him but when we said "combine" Henry said "crouton" (he loves croutons!). This is a research combine if you are wondering what in the world kind of combine this is. It is very specialized and records data as the corn is cut/shelled. I just love my boys. They live for each other. It is the sweetest thing. I don't know who was more excited...Randall or Henry. Randall loves be