Friday, October 29, 2010

Trick or Treat Night!

Last night was Beggar's Night for us.  First, I took the kids to Chick Fil A for dinner because Hello Kitty was there for the evening.  The girls LOVED it.  Bubby didn't care...lol.  They had their nuggets and then got to play in the play area for a bit.  Then we headed home to get ready to go trick or treating.  They had such a good time.  By the time we got home and finished getting everyone ready Hubby was home and we could all head out.  Butterfly went as Wonder Woman, Bee went as Snow White and Bubby was a monkey.  They were all sooo cute!  They came home with a ton of candy and had lots of fun going to get it.  Bee was still a bit slower than her sister but they both had so much fun!  Maybe next year I can do trick or treating without a stroller! 
Here are some pics of our evening.  :)





Happy Halloween everyone!
<3Alison

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Happy 5th Birthday, Butterfly!

My first baby girl is turning 5 today!  I cannot believe that she is already going to be 5.  Here are some pictures of my baby girls first five years.




















My oh my how my baby girl has grown up.  She is a beautiful little girl and I can't wait to see the young lady she will turn into.  I love you so much Butterfly!
<3 Mom

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I can post this now!

We are MOVING!  Hubby got a new job in...get this MINNESOTA!  We are thrilled to be able to move closer to family.  We will be much closer to both Hubby's family and mine. 
As we near the date of our move we are forced to come to grips with the fact that we are going to be leaving so many wonderful people that we have grown to love over the last 5 years.  So many of our friends and church family will be missed greatly as we venture on in our journey. 
We pray that God will keep them safe and keep us safe as we travel the distance.  We will truly miss all of you and hope that you all will find time to come visit us.  We certainly will find the time to come and visit you. 
There are not enough words to express the gratitude that we have for all of the families that have treated us like family.  We didn't have any family out here so the warmth that we felt when others welcomed us into their homes for the holidays was amazing.  Thank you! 

We pray that God will use us in more amazing ways as we open a new chapter in our lives.  We pray that what He has had us do here will continue to be blessed.  Without God none of this would have been possible.  God's hand has been in this experience since we began it.  He has told us no, not yet and ok, it's time.  And now as we move forward we look to Him for guidance in what He would have us do next.

Thank you for your friendships.  Thank you for your time.  We have truly been blessed.
<3 Alison

Saturday, October 16, 2010

I've been away!

Last weekend, Hubby's cousin got married.  He and Butterfly were in the wedding.  They looked great.  And now, Saturday, we are starting to get back on top of life.  It is an 18 hour drive...one way...to get back to where Hubby and I grew up.  So this was no small undertaking when we agreed to be a part of this beautiful event.  We left on Wednesday night (much to the dismay of our families who were expecting us to leave Thursday) and arrived around noon on Thursday.  We did all the fun wedding stuff and left on Monday morning to arrive back in our state around 4am on Tuesday.  What a haul.  :)  But it was all worth it.  My man looked hot, my big girl looked all grown up.  My little two were as cute as could be.  The bride and groom were stunning.

This event really brought home how much we both miss our families.  We miss the closeness, we miss them watching our kids grow up.  We rarely get to go visit, because of the drive and the cost.  We hope that we will be able to be back home for Christmas but that might be pushing the envelope a bit.  We may not get home until spring again. 

To all of our family, we miss you and we loved seeing you.  Hopefully we will see you again soon.

<3Alison





Monday, October 4, 2010

Good Monday Morning!

I hope this post finds you all well!  We are having yet another rainy day here.  It seems like it has been this way for a while.  But we had a very dry summer so I am not complaining. 

We are getting ready to go on a trip to Minnesota/South Dakota this week.  It is always such a challenge to find things for the kids to do in the car.  This summer Hubby installed a DVD system in our mini van and that has been a huge lifesaver on these long car trips. 

I try and pull some toys out of the toy room a week or two ahead of time and put them in backpacks that the kids are going to have on the trip.  Then it is like they are playing with a new toy with out having to go buy the new toy.  Of course, we do buy a few new things from the dollar spot at the store but that is about it.  We bring coloring books, crayons, magna doodles, Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shops, other small toys, and even some dry erase boards and markers. 

I know several of my friends on Facebook have mentioned other things they bring for their kids but what do you bring on your long trips?  How do you keep your little ones occupied?  How do YOU keep occupied? 
Hope you all have a wonderful start to the week. 
<3 Alison

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Pumpkin Butter Dip

My cousin's wife, Rachel, posted this recipe this week and it sounded sooo yummy, I had to try it.  We have been eating it with our apples that we picked last weekend.  Let me tell you, soo good. 

Pumpkin Butter Dip

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together.  Enjoy!