Just when you thought Paper Dolls were going out of style....

Baby Girl's best friend from gymnastics invited us to go trick-or-treating in their neighborhood after gym practice.  We excitedly accepted and then I remembered she didn't have a costume. So, we whipped up this little dandy on Sunday afternoon.

I declare, she has to be the cutest paper doll I've ever seen. Her brothers both thought our costume was creative but honestly asked, "mom, what is a paper doll anyway?".  Bless their hearts.

 
Personally, it was a win-win scenario for me....I cut up some free cardboard and she brought home a bag loaded with chocolate to share. :)

Diligent Work

 Due to the lack of a personal computer plus a few other distractions, yes, I did skip the months of September and October for H3.  But now for November, we are back with a new verse to hide in your heart.  A verse that we use often in our home...for every activity, job, sporting event, science fair, business presentation, home chores, etc.  In fact, this verse appears at the bottom of Baby Girl's ad in her gymnastics program, directly below her photo.  We hope it serves as a reminder, to us as well as her.  

November's H3 verse: 

Colossians 3:23

New King James Version (NKJV)

• "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men"

New International Version (NIV)

• "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters"

Holman Christian Standard Bible

• "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men"

One footnote I read says the literal translation means to "do it from the soul".   You know people who do this...you do this when it is something that is so close to your heart, something you want to put your all into, your very best because you care so deeply about it...whatever the "it" is.  Think about those moments when you've heard others speak about that sweet old lady in the community or your grandmother at Thanksgiving who makes the best homemade caramel cake, biscuits, fried apple pies, cornbread dressing or like we refer to my Daddy and his smoked chicken halves.  Even when you have their recipe, it never can turn out as good as theirs....they are making it from their soul. Taking a certain amount of pride and care into every step, ensuring the best outcome for others.  Oh, to think how the world could be if we all lived by this verse....working hard, doing our very best, striving to please the LORD instead of man.

Not just doing enough here and there in the workplace, at home, with our children, in friendships, family relations, etc, to get by, the bare minimum to call the job complete.  But rather to really put our heart in it, to work from the heart, knowing that we serve a Master who blesses us daily, even when we don't deserve it.  And who stores up even more blessings for our eternity with Him.  Now that's something worth putting your heart and soul into, if you ask me.

Performing in the University of Alabama Homecoming Parade

                                                  

Yes, I realize this is not our university of choice. But that little squirt in the parade is definitely my girl of choice, and I will be there, with bells on, anytime she's flipping (even when it's on the streets of Tuscaloosa).

She had a great time participating in the parade and saw lots of familiar faces in the crowd as she traveled down campus.  And she tried her best to perform well for everyone, throwing in a few extra flips here and there for those she knew.  Her eyes were so bright when she was later naming to me all the folks that recognized her and yelled her name from the sidewalks....pretty nifty for a small town little gal. I don't think she realized there would be so many people at the parade whom she would know.  So thanks to all of you, you made her day, and thus, made mine.

What's Up?

 

Mommy and Me dates from this summer are going to post soon. 

And this big brown eyed beauty will make an apperance with one of my big brown eyed children.

Why, yes, indeed it is. Over. The. Top.

I'm slowly getting back into finding a place for my photos to store on another computer.  And get back into blogging....hopefully.

Anyway, I found this photo and remembered I had never posted it.  Made my mouth water all over again. My sweet sister made this for me when I visited with her over the summer.  Recipe should be up on our recipe blog tomorrow.

Over the Top Blueberry Bread Pudding

And nothing says fun like a pallet full of cousins!

Her sweet smile makes my heart happy....

She has been in her competitive season for several weeks now.  It is a much harder level which requires many hours of training, several nights a week.  This level is full of difficult skills at each event, Vault, Floor, Beam and Uneven Bars (still her big nemesis). 

At any rate, I have been very proud of her and her accomplishments thus far. She placed 6th on vault in a meet at Orange Beach last month, 5th on beam in Montgomery, and her best competition came this past weekend in Birmingham, where she received 4th place medal for Beam. 

I hope to have more photos on a post up soon...still trying to get pics situated from the dead laptop!

She is improving with each meet and keeping a positive attitude, and always putting forth the smile that makes her eyes twinkle...who could ask for anything more? :)  

Be still my heart....

Presidential Wit

Rutherford B. Hayes:

In a writing to his sons....

"Never do anything or say anything that you would be ashamed to confide to your mother."

I'm here. Wherever here may be at the time you read this. Here, at home, washing piles of laundry. Here, on the road, taxi-service for all those non-drivers and their endless activities.  Here, on the football field, taking snapshots and cheering for the guys in red. Here, in towns all over the state, praying Baby Girl sticks it on beam, smiles big on floor, doesn't injure herself on vault, and God Bless her bar routine. :)

Here, still borrowing a computer here and there, whenever I find one and can steal a minute with it!

Here, still having laptop withdrawals. And my folders of photos! And Pinterest, Blogs, and Full Page e-mail withdrawals.

I promise, soon, pics and posts and stories galore. 

But for now, I have but one question to ask....

Does anyone know how to add an extra hour to the day? That would be a big help.    

Middle Child's Friday Night debut.

No new computer. But where there's a will there's a way.  Old desktop from the 90's....slow but still works. 

So, a few pics to commemorate the big break onto the Varsity Football scene for Middle Child.  Our small high school begins in 7th grade, and our coach allows all the football players to dress out on a Friday night for the sidelines.  Rarely do the young guys ever don the field of play....but it just so happens, if we are ever in a situation and have a game pretty well handled (big lead) in the 4th quarter, he starts subbing them in like fireflies.  And it makes their night.....or at least for mine.  Where else can you be 12 years old, weigh in at 78 lbs. and make it to the "big show"? 

• You're going to have to come close to the screen for this first one....he's little #9 mixed in with the big guys....on the far right hand of the photo. See him?

                                    

• Here he is helping with towels and water during a time out.  Notice the real Varsity guys are kneeling....and Middle Child is just about their size. :)  

• Now we are getting to the nitty gritty....here he goes late in the 4th quarter....the first time those cleats dug in for the run onto the field, entering the game on a play as a mighty Friday night High School football player. 

He lined up. Was knocked down. And then he got up again. I cannot tell you how excited he was. Or how excited I was for him. The sideline referee nearest me was excited for him too.  He said "I hope the coach gives him the ball to run"....I replied "Oh Lord, I don't, they'll all try to tackle him!!"  :)  Hopefully soon I can post the pics of the boys in their Junior High games....you know with people a little more their size. 

talk about adding INSULT to INJURY....

So, these computer woes are really depressing.  It's hard to live life without your laptop (the mothership for files, photos, all manner of data, etc.etc.). And don't even get me started on the idea of no internet. It's like having to go back in time before indoor plumbing…..
The laptop was completely TOTALLED in car insurance terms and is presently in recovery mode.  Keep your fingers crossed I didn't loose any photos...they are the snapshots of our life.


Anywho...since we don’t have photos at the moment, on to this post, concerning that recent trip to the ER. Let's go back in time a bit....Labor Day weekend. What fun! We kicked it off with a trip to Auburn to watch the National Champions in their season opener! (Auburn is my happy place and I'm getting a shirt with that on it one day.) The young tiger team did not look stellar for the season opener, but still managed to pull out a victory and we had lots of fun....we were in AU afterall.


On Sunday, Temple and I woke up and I mentioned that my back was hurting.  He replied, "well, you know Kimberly, we are getting older and you did sit in the stadium yesterday on those hard bleachers all day in the heat for hours."


To which I rolled my eyes and WANTED to say aloud (but only said it in my head as I was trying to save energy to ease off the pain)   --  "Look, buddy, just because you turned 40 last month doesn't mean that we are all receiving Scooter and HoverRound packets in the mail.  I've still got a year left as a spring chicken thankyouverymuch. My back is not hurting because I sat outside in the heat on a set of bleachers for hours."


He continued getting ready for Sunday school while I laid there contemplating the effects of old age.  In just a few minutes, I had the most intense pain known to man. Or at least known to this woman.  I thought I might die right in the bathroom floor.  I knew that I felt something inside me happen...but I had no idea what. I managed to pull myself to our bed and when Temple came out to check on me he found me laying there in a lump crying.  Hysterically. Of course he inquired what was wrong.  I tried explaining that I was having severe pain in my abdomen. My lower abdomen, below my belly button.  Here's the conversation:


T: "Well how bad does it hurt? Is it worse than when you broke your kneecap and had surgery?"

K: "Yes, much worse"

T: "What about when you had the babies, is it worse than when you had labor with 3 kids?"
K: "Yes, it is worse than any of those. It's bad. Really bad."

T: "Are you kidding?  It's worse than giving birth?"
K: "Yes, worse, I'm telling you I have never felt pain like this in my entire life."

T: "Well, what all did you eat yesterday at the game, I mean what about your abdomen, where does it hurt exactly, is it sharp pains, grabbing pains, I mean you know do you feel like you might just need to use the bathroom, like maybe your bowels need to move, you know how bad that stomach cramping can feel....."


At which point I no longer roll my eyes, I cock the eyebrow and declare "I THINK I AM OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE WHEN MY BOWELS NEED TO MOVE-----THAT IS NOT THE TYPE OF PAIN I AM HAVING."


First, he implies I'm on the edge of requesting a room in the nursing home and then, 10 minutes later implies that I must be a child who hasn't quite grasped the onset of poopie pains.  I tell you, a real gem.


Now, as not to bore you with the next 5 hours of details, just suffice it to say that the severe (I think I'm dying) pain lasted about half an hour and afterwards there was just a minor lingering pain, and tenderness all over my abdomen.  I did manage to make it to Sunday school, church, and came home to rest for a while to see if the pain would subside.  When it did not completely give way, I decided I needed to be checked, not just by Temple's perusing of WebMD from my iphone.  And I insisted I would be fine to drive myself to a medcenter office.  After much ado, they decided it best for me to go to the ER to have a catscan to see if my appendix had ruptured.  So much for being fine. A demerol shot and half an hour later, my brother arrived with Temple to gather me up for the hospital.


Long story still long but shorter, I drank the light up juice and took the scan.  Fortunately, my appendix had not ruptured...but an ovarian cyst had.  That was the SEVERE pain I had felt.  I've never had one before but so many women have, young and old. Those who can sit on the bleachers for long periods of time and even those who know about their own bowel movements. So, I joined the club for ruptured cysts.  It's not a fun place to be.  And then I had to follow up in 3 days with my gynecologist.  More fun.  All I had ever known of ultrasounds were those involving a wand drug across cold jelly that had been smeared onto my prego belly.....I had no idea you could be sent for an ultrasound that involved a PROBE.  Ugh. 


The cyst did rupture on Sunday morning during that period of time where I thought the pain was EVEN WORSE than giving birth.  Even 3 days later it was still really large despite being somewhat deflated with fluid around.  Because of this, the doctor choose to do a few more tests of which I hope to find out the results later this week.  The best part of the visit.....Dr. Morgan gave me a great analogy to share with my husband.  He said in order for him to better understand what I was going through, I should explain it like this:    "Assume one of your testicles swelled to three times it's normal size.  Then it exploded from within. Do you think that would hurt a little and do you think you would tell someone?"


Or it could have just been that my bowels needed to move.


Yeah, right.

Difficulties.

Life is full of them.

I have many posts to offer. (like DIY furniture projects)

I have much to tell. (like a weekend trip to the ER)

I have pictures begging to appear. (like my boys playing football and baby girl's gymnastics)

But alas, difficulties. Technical ones. Really BIG technical difficulties.

My computer died. Flat out, died.

And while I love documenting our life here on the family blog, I don't care too much for having to type it out from my iPhone.

Hopefully, I'll be back soon!

Presidential Wit

Boy, it's hot. Summer in the South. Hot indeed. Thought you'd enjoy this little quip from good ol' Ronnie.

Ronald Reagan:

When speaking to a church audience, President Reagan told the story of the shortest sermon he had ever heard, which was given in his hometown in Illinois on a very sweltering Sunday morning, stating the preacher said, "If you think it's hot today, just wait."

Dipped. Drizzled. Delicious.

I seriously think I could eat an entire tray. You are supposed to have like 3 servings of fruit a day, right? 

Because some days you just need a list.

I have so many random things swirling around my noggin that really aren't cohesive to make a post.....other than to just make a list, so here goes:   

1) College football begins in just over a week. War Eagle!!!!

2)  Are y'all enjoying Pinterest as much as me?  I hardly have time for it, true, but I'll carve out a minute for it when I can because I know I will immediately find something inspiring....a neat craft, a yummy recipe, a laugh out loud quote, a cool idea for the house, etc.etc. So many ideas....so little time.

3)  This summer I added a new app to my phone for the kids to play to help encourage their math skills---Arithmetick. 

 

I also added the iheartradio app (i know i'm way behind on getting this app but anywho...)---and my exercise regime has never been happier.  I love that I can listen to whatever I want....talk shows, various 80's music, comedy bits, or a little Elvis every now and again....

And speaking of apps (I still remain hooked on Words with Friends).....I was wondering what you had added lately....or what your favorites were? For the kids, yourself, cuisine, anything??  Please do tell.

4)  This guy is a killer.  And while I'm still not a cat-lover, I do love Mr. Jingles.

                                                                                                                  

5) I hope to have new updates posted next month sometime on finishing up our basement level.  We are using it soooooo much!  Love the spaces. Need to add some wall art, photos, lamps, chairs, etc., just some finishing touches....although as I've found with a home, there's always more to do. 

6) Somebody had a haircut earlier in the week....like 5 or 6 inches cut off...and she's never looked cuter.

7) And finally.....FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!!  It has arrived!

"Night under the stars"--decade birthday camp-out

Baby Girl wanted a party with a camp out themed sleepover in purple, one of her favorite colors. We tried to oblige and keep it girly as well.....so the invitations:



The tablescape:

Grapico to drink and hot dogs and rotel with chips to eat!

And a delicious cake from my favorite teacher (retired) turned baker:

Party Horns that should be outlawed.

Doesn't everybody do push-ups in between party activities?

After blowing out the candles and eating a little cake it was time to move the show outside for more party fun.....and more sugar late at night....s'mores by the campfire, a movie viewed from the tent, and glowsticks all around!!

Here's the Birthday girl with her party guests modeling their craft we made...shoulder bags from a T-shirt.

Party Favors:

And the morning after....a cereal bar with personalized spoons! Great idea I found here.

 
I love parties. I love Baby Girl. I simply cannot wait to see what the next decade holds for her life.

"babbitized"

That's what Baby Girl called it when she was much younger.  And while she was always amazed, she was also often afraid of getting "babbitized and having to go down deep in that water behind the glass wall".

But in recent months, as she's talked more and more about this step in obedience to God, her fears have been calmed by the One who created her.  She was ready. Beyond ready. And very emotional, excitement abounding.

Our pastor, and good friend, said it pained him to buy it, but when he saw this orange and blue bible he knew it was perfect for Baby Girl...and she was thrilled.

We couldn't be more proud of her decision to follow Christ with her whole heart. It won't always be an easy path, but we consider it a blessing to help encourage her along the way.

I have survived another night in the tent. Sort of...

What can I say, I am a delicate flower. 

I only sleep outdoors for special occasions....and this was a birthday-sleepover-camp out-under the stars.  And that's the only reason I'm out there. Because I love my child. And I pray she doesn't want me to camp out again any time soon.

Anyway, T-5 snapped this shot of us early this morning....around 6:30 a.m.  Here's a timeline of events after midnight:

• 12:33 a.m. -- the movie ended (we used a projector to watch SOUL SURFER on the big screen outside (king size sheet hanging down from the porch)
• 1:15 a.m.-- I had to go inside and get two fans because the girls were hot in the tent. Nothing like roughin' it with some fans.  If I would have owned a window unit, don't think for a minute I wouldn't have tried to plug it in and cool the entire outdoors.
• 2:30 a.m. -- Sadie, the dog, decided to bark at the friendly nightlife loving critters in the backyard. Lovely. I had to call her name and whistle for 5 minutes to get her to come back to me and shut her muzzle.
• 3:45 a.m. -- Sadie's furry friends aren't the only ones who like to throw it down in the wee hours....I can't be sure, but I think the frogs and crickets were having their own version of a Velcro Pygmie College Band party. They sang hard until the sun rose. And then they passed out.
• 5:05 a.m. -- Jingles, the cat, decided to play a round of POUNCE with my toes. Which were sticking out of the cover because I was HOT and I didn't have a FAN blowing on me...they were cooling those little princessess in the tent, remember?
• 6:20 a.m. -- I hear something going on nearby....T-5 is out there with the camera clicking away. Already, 3 girls are awake. I need rest. Please don't ask for breakfast before 8:00 a.m., I'm too tired to even open the cereal box.

I'm hoping to recover enough before next week that I can get a complete "Night Under The Stars" birthday bash recap posted. It was great fun!!  Everything except the part where it was supposed to be a sleepover, but I didn't actually get any sleep.

here's a phrase I NEVER imagined myself saying.....

it's official, I'm married to a 40 year old man.

I should have known he wasn't getting any younger when he kept receiving these letters in the mail:

What can I say?  It's been a crazy few days around the House of Bowling....let's recap, shall we:

• Elder Son became a FRESHMAN this week.  And if he had a facebook account it would read "in a relationship"
• Middle Child began High School this week. And was DRILLED by a senior football player last week at practice.
• On Sunday, we celebrated a whole DECADE of Baby Girl.  I haven't any children in single digits....how sad.

And now I have a husband who turns 40 today. 

Which means I'm married to a 40 year old man.  I keep saying it, but it still doesn't make it seem real.

Happy Birthday, T-5! Don't worry, age is just a number. Yours is a high one, but still, it's just a #. :)

I really just wanted to keep them home.....

First Day of School.....the years just keep flying by....