My New Best Friend...

It seems as though the kitchen timer is my new best friend. I use the timer on my stove to time everything.

Just today, I have used my nifty new best friend to time the "turn taking" with the baby stroller between the girls, to time "time-out" while holding hands on the couch, to time the healthy corn dogs as they cooked for lunch, to time how long you must not touch something in order to not mess up your freshly painted nails so I would not have to repaint another small fingernail, and to time how long until our favorite dress would be out of the dryer so there would be no more questions about "How much longer?".

Oh, I must go! My best friend is telling me my banana bread is done.

I sure hope my good friend, Mr. Timer lasts as long as my oven...

The One and Only...

Here is the latest piece of art from my newly turned seven year old, Lainey. (Notice her signature on the bottom right of the painting. So Cute!) Take a number... a have a feeling she is going to go somewhere with her love for art. Any one know any children's book authors who need a good illustrator?

First, Miss Lainey drew the fairy free hand and then painted it with her watercolors. I love how she made the background tie-dyed instead of just leaving it plain. I am very impressed. She is so gifted! She is something really special!

Momma said there'd me days like this...

... the kids have argued like crazy.

... I have heard "I'm Sorry, Mommy" and "I love you, Mommy" lots today.

...I ran two miles and swam thirty minutes (Dont be too impressed. I am only doing it so I dont die at the triathlon in a couple weeks!)

...I have kissed multiple boo boos.

...I have made lots of chocolate milk.

...I have laughed and cried all at the same time.

...I got all the laundry done, the carpet vacuumed, the tile swept, the dusting done, and the glass cleaned, the dishes done, and ready to start dinner.

...I have loved like there is no tomorrow.

...I was reminded how blessed I am to be a mommy.

...I cleaned up lots of watercolors because that is the girls' newest hobby.

...I have had my daily supply of water.

...I have sung at the top of my lungs.

...I haven't sat down very long today until now.

...I look forward to bedtime.

...My face never saw make-up and my hair is a mess.

...I rocked all three of my babies as they woke up this morning and prayed that they would still want me to rock them a year from now.

...I caught up with a good friend on the phone today.

...I have thanked God for giving me TODAY!

Verses on my heart...

Here are some verses that I have been repeating, pondering, enjoying, singing and dwelling in this week.

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."

Numbers 6:24 "The Lord Bless you and keep you."

Ecclesiastes 3:17 "...He has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work."

Happy Weekend...

California Time...

My, oh my, we had a great time in California! With the busy-ness of the wedding preparations and the two hour time change and the fast pace of Orange County, California... I must say I am tired! But it was so worth it to spend six days in a beautiful part of the US. We flew into Long Beach, CA and had our first dinner at the most awesome restaurant. We had three large salads and I do mean large... they were beautiful! (Not sure why I didnt get a picture of them. I guess I didnt want to seem too touristy!)
The first two nights in CA we stayed in the home of one of Walt's friends in Anaheim, CA. They live right across the freeway from Disneyland. Wille and I both admitted that this is the only time in our lives we will be able to enjoy the fireworks from Disneyland and Disney World in just a matter of weeks. They were beautiful and shook the windows of the homes in the neighborhood. Walt said Disney has to pay a fine to the city every day because of the fireworks. I am sure they can find the money to pay the fine.
Thursday, we spent the morning visiting floral shops trying to decide what do to for the center pieces at the rehearsal dinner. We finally decided to make them ourselves so we made stops at Michael's, Target, and a local floral warehouse.
I was in charge of putting the arrangements together. This is the final product. They looked great if I do say so myself and I think my days of selling flowers in NYC are soon approaching.
We got small round vases, filled them with clear stones, added the flowers and fern, and then the bow. We found everything to make them perfect. We were even able to save some $ by finding the perfect ribbon that was white with sage green stitching in the one dollar bin. We finished them off with some candles, petals, and sage green chargers.

We did have some time to visit a few beaches in the area. This picture was taken at Newport Beach. It was really beautiful. I was amazed each day by the palm trees. They were everywhere. While at Newport Beach, we saw a group of dolphins jumping not far from where we were wading in the ocean. They were beautiful and an added bonus to our trip to the beach that day. Will saw them, too, and was heading to the shore because he thought they were sharks. :) In his defense, there were times when you could only see their fins, but when they jumped it was obvious they were dolphins. Wish I could have gotten a picture of them.
This shot is from Huntington Beach. This is the pier there. Our hotel was only about three miles from this beach. The waves here were incredible. I must also mention that the water was freezing and the temperature never got over 78 the whole time were we there. The people in Southern CA say this is the constant temperature and many of them dont have air conditioning.
Will and Walt acted like little kids again "body surfing" in the ocean. Yes, that is them way out there "chasing" the waves.
One of the days I just sat on the beach and didnt participate in the cold water. It was nice to just relax!

On Saturday about 25 family and friends of Walt and Adah's headed to the Anaheim Angels and Boston Red Sox game. It was so fun!
It was a sold out crowd of over 44,000 people. The weather was beautiful and it was a great game. The angels were victorious which made all our buddies excited!
Walt and Adah were good sports by sporting their "bride" and "groom" baseball caps that Adah's sister had bought them.
Will and I had a great time, too. Silly tourists!
The flowers were beautiful there. This rose was in the front yard of Walt's friend's home and it was huge!

The wedding was a full day event on Sunday. After a small service we headed to Huntington Beach Central Park for pictures. I really didnt get any good pictures but it was a beautiful area.
(Oops my pics are out of order, Sorry) Saturday evening was the rehearsal dinner. It turned out beautiful. Molly (Will's sister), Marilyn, and I arrived early to set it all up.
Will's mom had candy bar wrappers made with Walt and Adah's picture on them. They were so cute.
Here are the table arrangements I made. I think they turned our GREAT!
And here is the happy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Walt Hale. The wedding was very simple and just what they wanted. After the wedding, they served Texas Bar-B-Q and Puerto Rican food to all the guests. (Yes, Adah is from Puerto Rico... forgot to mention that) We had a great time celebrating with them and spending some time in beautiful California.

We're Home...

We're home from here...
We had lots of fun...
Spent some great time with friends and family...
And celebrated as these two became one...

More to come soon.
Happy Monday!

Fun in the Sun...

We are off to spend six days here...
Soaking up some sun on these beaches...
And hopefully watching some really beautiful sunsets...


While we celebrate the marriage of these two.

Will's brother, Walt and Adah.

Happy Hump Day!

Caudle Family Reunion...

Well, the annual Caudle Family Reunion was another success! We all met in Abilene and spent a great weekend together eating, swimming, eating, more swimming, some shopping thrown in the middle, and a trip to the zoo!

Here are the second cousins (minus Andrew,who had not make it to the zoo yet, Drew, and Taylor, we missed you sweet girl!)
My girls always love getting together with the twins. Abbey and Katelyn were inseparable!
Aunt Delpha pulled through for us once again and had a craft for the kids. The girls made butterfly costumes and the boys made bug hats. Then all the kids put on a show for the grown-ups. My girls LOVED it!
Here are Miss Lainey and Emiley showing off their wings!
Garrett and Uncle Chad got into the action! Isn't my nephew adorable... I think he gets it from me.

And what is a family reunion without Ci Ci's pizza. Once again the look on the girls' faces show nothing but pure delight. Ci Ci's was good, but I miss the days when we had Zitner's steaks at these family reunions. I guess 16 kids, under age 10, caused us to make a change in our restaurant selections.
Then it was time for the annual talent show. I cant believe how "grown-up" Dacayla is... she did a great job on her clarinet. She didnt even squeak :)
My girls performed a cheer and pyramid! Can you say they take after their momma!!!
Miss Brooklyn even participated and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with her mommy.
Dacayla got baby Drew in on the show, too with his performance of "Tick Tock."

Then it was the ever dreaded family photos. Here are all the first cousins. (L to R) My brother, Chad, Cathe, Deeon, Me, Vanessa, Dustin, and Marc. My mom and her brothers.
Then the second cousins born in 1999 (Yes, Abbey is a midget but Boston and Jill are really tall.) It was always a joke that we hated for cousin to announce that they were pregnant because the rest of us would soon be pregnant, too. It is lots of fun now having so many kids the same age. And just think, they will all be at ACU together, too :)
The kids born in 2001... Branson, Thomas, Whitney, Lainey, Katelyn, Kameron (yep, our kids still the short one.)
Then the ones born in 2002 (Grant, Beau, Emiley, and Andrew) When Vanessa announced she was pregnant AGAIN at Christmas 2001, we laughed and said "you are one your own this time"... just kidding... Cathe and I had Emiley and Beau not long after.
Then the "Others." Those kids born in a year all to themselves... Garrett(2004), Dacayla (1995), Drew (2008) , and Brooklyn(2006).
Saying good-bye is always so hard. Deeon, Vanessa, Cathe and I discussed trying to get together around Christmas time so it is not as long between our get togethers...
We will have to get to planning. Until next time Caudles.

Check it out!...

You must go check out our proofs from our photo shoot with Ashley. We met Ashley and Jordan at ACU on Friday evening and she got some great shots. ! Let me know what you think.

www.ashleyphillipsphotography.blogspot.com

Get your tissue. There are some super good pictures and the song will bring you to tears.

TGIF...

I love Fridays. I have always loved Fridays and will probably always love Fridays. But for some reason, I am especially glad to see this Friday finally here. Maybe it is because I woke up with fever this morning but it is not near as bad as the migraine I had on Wednesday. Maybe it is because we are headed to a fun family reunion with five of my cousins, aunts, uncles, my brother, my mom, and our 18 KIDS! Maybe it is because I am using my free photo shoot with Ashley this evening at ACU! Maybe it is because Will and I leave for Huntington Beach, CA in just a few days all alone. Maybe it is because I got to watch my cute babies perform what they had learned at cheer camp this week... Abbey and Kourtney

Lainey and Chasey

Emiley and Audrey

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!

I got nothin'...

... but a headache.
... and a rooster who insists on pooping on my stairs in the garage that lead into the back door of the house.
Yes, this is Rusty's new favorite place to roost. Forget about abundance of land around here or the dog house that was once his home. He now roosts at night on my stairs in the garage. Do roosters poop in their sleep?...

A Health Nut...

We have become somewhat of heath nuts around the Hale household.

We try to consume our daily supply of fruits, veggies, and water each day.

Will and I are trying to make our daughters a bit health conscience.

Yesterday Emiley says, "Mommy, I have been drinking water all day. I have had so much water that it is starting to come out of my eyes."

Miss Em, I am not sure if it is all the water or just your allergies! But keep drinking that water baby! It is making you healthy...

Lost and Found...

Emiley's glasses had been lost for almost a month. I had been on my month long cleaning and organizing streak and had not found them... ANYWHERE!

I had cleaned out every closet, drawer, cabinet in the house. I had cleaned under all the sinks. I cleaned under every bed. I tore apart the couches and dug down deep in the cushions... just to be sure they had not slipped into the depths of the couch. I cleaned out the suburban, looked under all the seats, in all the cubby holes, laid down the middle seats and pulled out the third seat.

Last night I had a dream that I found Emiley's glasses. In my dream, the missing glasses were in Will's backpack that we often take to races. As soon as I woke up, I headed for the closet and tore the backpack open. I searched all 500 zipper pockets. Sure enough in the bottom of one of the side pockets were the adorable glasses that help Miss Em see. YEAH! One less thing to make an appointment for, order, and get before Kindergarten starts. I love it when a mystery is solved...