San Antonio Rodeo

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how we took the girls to the San Antonio Stockshow. Well, yesterday it was Kelly's and my turn - only we had tickets to the rodeo. It has become a yearly tradition for the two of us to go the Xtreme Bulls night at the rodeo - all bull riding all the time, or almost all. And this year it was at 1:00 in the afternoon, but nevertheless, the tradition must go on!

So yesterday the babysitter came over, and off we went. It is always nice to get away just the two of us, especially since we only get to do that 3-4 times a year (I love all those marriage books that insist on weekly dates - who are they kidding!?!). If you enjoy the bull riding this is definitely the time to go. But I think our favorite part was the "Mutton Bustin.'" Children ages 4-8 are allowed to climb on the back of a sheep which then races out of the gate towards the other end of the arena. Whoever hold on the longest wins. They were really cute.

Then we went out to eat ALL BY OURSELVES. We didn't have to cut up anyone else's food. We didn't have to clean up spilt milk. We got to have entire conversations UNINTERRUPTED. I can't decide which was better: that, or the unending supply of Dr. Pepper the waitress kept bringing me. Then we came home to happy, fed children, and a clean kitchen. So, thank you Bethany for making it all possible. next time I'll remember to have some soda in the house for you. :)

Works for Me Wednesday, er, uh, Thursday

I just do not seem to be able to post on Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, the girls and I have our weekly history discussion, and I get them started on their writing assignment for the week, plus I'm getting ready for an early dinner so we can make it to Bible Study. I'm also baking something to take to Bible study and it's my laundry day. So I think I'm either going to have to give up WFMW, or type it in ahead of time and wait to publish until Wednesday.

But I'm going to write out my helpful hint anyway. I make breakfast for my family every morning. I can count the times they've had cereal for breakfast in the last couple of years on one hand. We have several reasons for doing this, but usually I get asked, "How?" The secret is preparing the night before.

Many pancake and waffle recipes can be made up the night before and stored in the fridge. Just use a whisk to give it a stir while the griddle/iron is preheating.

Make homemade muffins with the ease of a mix: mix up all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cover and leave on counter. In a smaller bowl, mix up the wet ingredients: the milk, eggs, oil or applesauce (I always do half and half - cuts the fat in half without changing the texture as using all applesauce does), honey, whatever is called for. Cover and put in the fridge. I even get out the muffin tins and my muffin scoop and leave them out. Then in the morning, all I have to do is dump the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry, stir, and start scooping into the tins. And I usually do this at about 5:15 am, so believe me when I say that this requires no brain power to do in the morning. :)

There are also many breakfast casseroles that are made the night before and have to be refrigerated overnight. Sometimes I'll make a coffee cake the night before as well. I also mix up my can of orange juice the night before as well.

With a little bit of planning the day before, the morning can go so much more smoothly. If you have any hints or tips for breakfasts, please post a comment and share with us!

All I want for, uh, President's Day is my two front teeth

Life is certainly interesting around here at times. Yesterday Brynna lost one of her top front teeth. This comes just days after Kora losing a canine tooth, and Aubrey still has gaps from the last two teeth she lost. And then Lauryn is still working on cutting the last of her little pre-molars.






Needless to say, Hailey feels a little left out.

A little perspective

For the past couple of years, our girls have been participating in American Heritage Girls, a Christian scouting organization. The girls have really enjoyed it. Our troop also offers Boy and Cub scouts for the boys, and the whole family participates. They even have "Wee Scouts" for Hailey.

One of the things the girls are required to do is to put in a certain number of hours of community service every year: the older the girl, the more hours required. So yesterday, Kora, Aubrey and I headed to the San Antonio Food Bank to put in a few hours of work. Since the girls are on the young side, a parent has to be there working alongside them.

But I chose the food bank for a couple of reasons. Not only are the hours convenient for me - i.e. I can go on Saturday when Kelly can be with the little ones - but we want to expose the girls to the fact that not everyone lives the way we do. While Kelly and I have certainly had our share of money woes over the years - who hasn't? - the girls have never really been aware of it. They've never wondered where their next meal is coming from. My mom tells the story about how she was crying one day when my dad got home from work when I was a baby. My dad had just been paid. Once my mom paid the mortgage, utility and other bills, there was just a few dollars left and she hadn't even bought food for me yet. That story has always pulled at my heart strings and makes me tear up, even though I don't remember it.

Of course, God was, and is, faithful and saw them through that hard time, just as He has been for us. But often God uses US to help others in our families, church communities, and our neighbors through situations like this. We want to expose the girls to just how much God blesses us. Yes, these blessings are more than monetary, but we try to instill in the girls that everything we have is due to the grace and mercy of God. And we are called to share that with others as well.

Another great side benefit - it is hard work! After three hours of carrying, lifting, sorting, sifting, discarding, etc., the girls (and their mother) were VERY tired. So if you have younger ones with energy to burn, I highly recommend it!

OK, so I haven't been in the mood for a serious post lately...

I've been busy. Again. So shoot me.

I was in some serious need tonight for something lighthearted (and for some chocolate, but that is a different story), and I found this website on another blog - Life in a Shoe - written by a woman with more girls than I have. Anyway, she has a link to these cartoons, which she describes as a Christian Far Side. Far Side was always a mixed bag for me, so I was unsure. But some of these are really funny. I just HAD to post one for my friend Aubrey. Aub, there's hope for Ike yet!

In light of recent Bible Studies...

San Antonio Stockshow

Last week, my parents came down from Odessa and spent several days with us. The girls were ecstatic, of course.
On Friday while they were here, we all - except for Kelly - packed up and went to the San Antonio Stockshow. Fridays during the rodeo are dollar days, so it's alot cheaper to go then. But it was cold - stayed in the mid 40's the whole time we were there. But the girls got to see HORSES!
OK, there were other things besides horses there.

We also went to the petting zoo.

Lauryn finally even loosened up to touch a few of the animals.
Before we left, we went to the jousting demonstration put on in one of the horse barns.
This horse is the "little" brother to the tallest horse in the world - also at the stockshow - at almost 20 hands tall.
And of course, after we left, the sun came out and the day warmed up into the upper 50s. Sigh. At least we beat the crowd. :)