Fall Decor

Two weeks or so ago, Dave pulled my box of fall decorations out for me. I don't have that many decorations, but, I love what I have all the same.

Wanna see a few pictures?

Huge Fall Plate

 I have a huge turkey platter that is probably meant to be used for none other than good ole' Thanksgiving turkey meat. (I'm sure I purchased this at Hobby Lobby after the holiday some year.) Anyway, I love this plate, and would love to display it, but it would take a pretty hefty duty plate holder to do the job and a nice tall space to place it. I don't know if it would fit above my counter tops, but it would above my fridge. I'm worried though that it would fall over when we actually opened or closed the fridge doors....so that won't work either. The last few years this turkey has been sitting on my countertops, looking huge and in the way. Any suggestions?

Melted Candle

 This is my melted candle that I am thinking of putting on my back porch. The "fall" sun is still so intense here, that the candle may just re-melt and go back to a semi-normal state. It's already caddy-wompus-- what could that little expirement hurt?

Sad fall wreath

 When I made this wreath, I didn't have my girlies around yet. I remember making it though, thinking about how interesting the little heads of wheat were. I actually remember picturing myself with some future kiddos of mine while schooling them on grain and wheat. I'm still gonna do this someday....right after I fix this sad little wreath. It was pretty at one time...

2010 Fall Project

This is the last bit of fall decor I will present to you today. These are pumpkins that the girls crafted last year. Lydia's says: Thank you God for God.
Julia's says: Thank you God for elephants because I only like Christmas.
It still cracks me up.

Well, these little fall items are not all the decorations I have, but I thought they were the best ones to show you. :) I also have some pretty little ceramic pumpkins, some hand-painted pilgrims, and a fun cornucopia centerpiece that are actually very pretty. Those just didn't seem as interesting, though. Hopefully I'll make time to pull out a hurricane vase and make it up really pretty with some unmelted candles and some candy corn...but you just never know.

Happy Fall, Ya'll! -Amber

Simplicity.

So, I know it's technically a new weekend, but I've been meaning to get on here and reflect on last weekend for 5 days now. So, here goes:
Last Saturday, our little family packed up and headed to Port O'Connor. I posted about visiting this small, Texas town last year. (You can read about it here.) This time in Port O'Connor, though, there wasn't a family reunion complete with sea fishing. But, there was a new thing that Dave has always wanted to do. Dave spoke at his Uncle's church. --Dave played preacher, and he loved it. It was such a humbling experience for me, though. I've gotta tell ya, I sorta felt like a preacher's wife. I sat in the small church, called The Fisherman's chapel, feeling under the weather, I fiercely blew my nose, while waiting for Dave to cue me to switch power point slides, all the while listening and wondering how the message (that God gave Dave) would be recieved. I felt meek, but content.
Although we were only in the small fishing town of Port O'Connor for 2 half days, it felt like a lot longer. Why? In order for anyone else to understand what I mean, I'll have to explain the landscape. Dave's uncle lives in a large parsonage that is located one small yard away from the church that Dave's uncle, Erny, pastors. The house has an upstairs that Erny and his wife, Joanie live in, and two downstairs apartments for relatives and guests to stay/live in. The church and parsonage are only 2 blocks from a quiet beach and peir. In fact, all restaurants and convenience stores are about a 2 minute drive away. --This to me equaled sweet serenity.
On Sunday morning, the girls, Dave and I woke up leisurely, got cleaned up, dressed, had breakfast as a family, and we still got to church early. There's just something so fulfilling about going to church nix traffic, long driving times, breakfast in the car, and the hustle and bustle of getting out of our house by 8:25 a.m. on a Sunday. But, don't get me wrong, Dave and I LOVE our church, and, feel very called to continue doing what we're doing, because I know that the long drive times, hurried early morning traffic and morning chaos isn't due to where our church is located; it's because we live in a Houston Suburb. It's how life is here. I guess I'm still not used to it. But, I know God called us here, to Missouri City, to this house, to this church, to our jobs for a specific purpose. And I am thankful for all them. I'm just not so thankful for the craziness (or the heat).
In Richard J. Foster's book, "Celebration of Discipline", Foster speaks about the value of simplicity by saying,
"The Spiritual Discipline of simplicity sets us free to receive the provision of God as a gift that is not ours to keep and can be freely shared with others. Once we recognize that the Bible denounces the materialist and the ascetic with equal vigor, we are prepared to turn our attention to the framing of a Christian understanding of simplicity."These days, I long for simplicity. Not a lack of hard work and diligence, but just an ease to our chaotic existence. But how do I do that? God called us to this here and now. I guess I'll just have to keep my attitude positive and take the long drives, and crazy hectic daily activities with as much simplicity as possible. If you keep reading Foster's book, he also says "Simplicity itself becomes idolatry when it takes precedence over seeking the kingdom." So, I'll do my best to shy away from idolizing the lifestyle of people who walk to church. But, maybe someday, when Dave and I have retired, we'll be living in something other than the fast lane, enjoying nature, good books, and the blogs of our kids and grand kids. We'll probably also reflect on the "good ole days" of whizzing from place to place, never having time to complete the laundry, dishes or  a sentence. We might even miss it. But, hopefully we'll choose to be content, as I am striving to be even now.

Okay, enough already. Here are some pics from our weekend:

God Bless! -Amber



Toot-er-ing

Our Newest Music Video:

Updates:

Dave started tutoring on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays a few weeks ago. When I told the girls where Daddy was, Julia laughed and said "He's toot-er-ing?" She followed up the question with a lot of unnecessary bathroom noises.

Lydia continues to be our little collector. Everywhere she goes, she carries some little princess or doll along. It's really cute (except for the times when she has to leave her toys at home or in the car. Those times are less cute.)

Julia still misses her teacher and playmates from last year. She likes her new teachers, but she says she's bored at school. I truly hope that she turns a corner and doesn't whine the whole year!

Lydia likes school when Julia does.

Our girls continue to amaze us! -Amber

Birthday Dave

Dave turns 32 tomorrow. It is so weird. I distinctly remember when my mom turned 32. For some reason, I learned that Michael Jackson and Madonna are the same age my mom is. I have no idea why that stuck with me. It's just one of those things, I guess...But, this blog isn't about my mom turning 32; this is about my husband. Woah! That's different.

For Dave's birthday, the girls and I plan to celebrate him as much as possible and love on him through out the day, and I am excited to do so. I am excited because Dave is a great man! I don't talk about him a ton on my blog, but that's not because he isn't important, it's probably because he is graciously taking care of something mundane and not "blog worthy". In the last few years, Dave and I have learned so much about each other, and I think we are continuing to grow in such neat ways. In every milestone, I have watched Dave change into the man he is today. And, I am proud of him. When Dave and I were very new parents, Dave was so supportive of me, and desired to be such a good dad.

Example:
Dave: "Amber, we have to start getting Julia to sleep through the night. I want to make sure she gets enough sleep."
Me: "Dave, She's only 4 days old."
Dave: "Right. Ok."

Dave loves our girls so much. It is a joy to watch. When Julia was only 2 months old, he asked me when we were going to start trying for more kids. I laughed when I thought he was joking and was appalled when I realized he wasn't. But the fact was, Dave loved Julia, and wanted to continue to spread the love.

After Lydia was born, things got pretty hectic, and Dave's urgency for more kids subsided, but someday, we plan to have more. (Dave certainly loves Lydia just as much as Julia.) I know that when we do, Dave will continue be beside me to discipline and love on our future kids as much or more as he has been there for me with  Julia and Lydia.

After moving to Houston, Dave and I grew even closer. I was totally depressed (and Dave was scared) but he was there for me to comfort me with his kindness and leadership. It was such a blessing. I will be forever grateful.

Just in the last year, since I started working part-time, Dave has really started helping with dishes, laundry, vaccumming and even some cooking. He decided that our bread machine was sitting dormant for way to long, so he pulled it out, and started baking. We haven't bought bread in weeks. Amazing, right? --He also decided to try his hand at making hummus, and it's really delicious. Yeah for that!

So, this blog is a tribute to Dave for his birthday. I know it's super sappy, but sometimes you just have to go there, you know? And, I wanted to sit and think about how my husband has changed in the last decade. There's been so much improvement that I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring!! Woohoo! So, without further ado, Happy Birthday Dave!!! Love, Amber

The Texas Times

What's going on in the suburbs of Houston, Texas in early September? Heat. It has cooled off to the lower 90's this week. And, I'm not gonna lie, I think it feels great! (I guess I'm adapting to this crazy weather afterall. The girl in me who was once sweltering in Anchorage, Alaska because it barely reached the high 70's is evaporating.) Ten degrees really does make a huge difference. (I'm trying to ignore the fact that the rest of the nation is much cooler.)
But, honestly, the temperature of the outdoors is not my main concern. The heat that is most discouraging to me is the heat that is coming from the fires that have destroyed over 1400 homes in South Texas. How devastating would it be to get a knock on your door telling you that you need to evacuate your home because fire is on the way? Lord, please send rain!
As the girls and I drove from our neighborhood into Sugar Land on Thursday, I saw and smelled the smoke. It dawned on me a few seconds afterwards where the smoke was coming from--the wildfires. Yikes!
I'll say it again, please Lord, send rain!
Blessings and love to you all! -Amber

First of Day of School and My Birthday Week

The day before my birthday, my girls had their first day of preschool/mother's day out. They love their school and so do Dave and I.

4 year-old Julia

3 year-old Lydia

Cousin Time

Birthday Dinner complete with candles and a fudgy chocolate cake

Hugs for Aubrey and Josiah at the airport. We all mis you!

My sweet hubby helped our girlies hug their cousin.

Me and my sis.

In the picture above, I look as tired as I am...we had a fun and exhausting birthday week. (I didn't know my sister was that much taller than me. Hmmm...)

Well, I thought I had a lot more pictures from the week. I guess I didn't get any picures of my parents or my brother! Oops! Sorry!

Thanks Dad, Mom, Aubrey, Alex and Josiah for visiting me on my birthday.  I love you all! -Amber