The State Fair

Until a few years ago I had little to no interest in the fair. I was kind of a snob about it -- the people seemed strange, the food was greasy, the rides didn't seem safe, and the whole thing was kind of dirty. Then my friend Tara introduced me to Pronto Pup corn dogs and Fiske fries...and my friend Sally introduced me to the fried mushrooms and lemonade. Sometimes grease is good. :) I've learned that I only like to go to the fair during the daytime and preferrably on a weekday. And now that my children are big enough to go on the rides, it has become something that we anticipate every year!

We actually made 2 fair outings this year...once just me & the boys and the second time my mom and my nephew, Robert, joined us.













These boys love ice cream! And so does baby #3. :)

School Pictures = Good (Again)

For the second year in a row I have been equally surprised and impressed with the boys' preschool pictures. Once again, they turned out really cute. Last year Mason's were especially good, and this year Roper's are especially good.





Mason also had soccer pictures a few weeks ago. I was somewhat hesitant to order these, because we didn't get proofs. You had to pay for them up front. So I ordered the smallest package and a team picture and hoped for the best! They turned out really good too! I think Mason looks so much like Graem in this picture.





Photo credits: Stephanee Seay Photography (school pics) and Southern Sports (soccer pics).

Litchfield

I mentioned in my post yesterday that we spent the weekend at the beach...my Aunt Ruth let us use her brand new condo at Litchfield and we had such a relaxing mini-vacation. October is a great time to go to the beach...I could hardly believe it, but people were actually swimming in the pools and the ocean!

We took lots of walks/bike rides...


...hunted alligators...


...enjoyed the scenery...






...had races on the beach...






...and I did my best to ensure that we left Aunt Ruth's beautiful condo with brand new furniture exactly like we found it, which was difficult considering we had pizza for lunch one day, ribs for supper one night, and 2 messy children, that look like this after eating toast with jelly:



After the Carolina *victory* on Saturday, we headed back to the beach for a bike ride on the sand during low tide. Once we got there, the boys quickly lost interest in their bikes and were fascinated by the tide pool left behind during low tide. You can see the progression in the following pictures how putting their feet in the water turned into running around, which turned into jumping in, which was followed with rolling around in the water. At some point Roper took off his shirt. :)













When we were at the beach in August, Graem took Mason to the go cart track and had some tickets leftover, so we rode up to MB to race go carts. I'm still not sure if this was for Graem's entertainment or the boys'??









This was our first trip to Litchfield as a family and it brought back many wonderful memories of vacationing there when I was growing up. My grandparents had a condo at Litchfield so we went there often...I can remember walking on the beach with my grandmother looking for shells...visiting my grandmother's friend from college at Debordieu...sitting on the beach at night with my grandfather watching a meteor shower...and watching the Atlanta Braves on tv with my grandfather. It is a very special place and none of us wanted to leave. We are very thankful that we will get to go back often! Thank you, Aunt Ruth!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

My friend Miriam posted a link on her blog for these cupcakes, and I knew I had to try them. A new Starbucks is open in town, but I haven't visited since I have eliminated cut back on my caffeine for Baby. So I thought these would be a good alternative. I have to say they are better than the drink! You could even make the cupcakes decaf if you wish.

On the way home from the beach yesterday, I remembered that I was signed up to bring a dessert to small group last night. We were pushed for time, and the easy thing would have been to pick up some cookies on the way, but I had already purchased all the ingredients for these, and they only needed to bake for 18 minutes. And I have been obsessing over them since I read the recipe and purchased all the ingredients. :) So I gave them a shot. I had to ice them before they were completely cool, but surprisingly the icing didn't melt.

I pretty much followed the recipe, except that I don't know what espresso powder is & couldn't find it in the store. I just used instant coffee granules & they did the trick. Unlike Miriam, I used the canned pumpkin that the recipe called for. Like Miriam, I used cream cheese icing.

Cream cheese icing is so easy to make...1 stick of softened butter + 1 block of softened cream cheese + 1 lb powdered sugar (4 cups) + 1 Tbsp milk. (Double the recipe for a cake). If you are like me & pushed for time, you can soften the butter & cream cheese by zapping them for 60 seconds at 50% power. Cream the butter & cream cheese. Add the sugar and milk and mix until smooth and beautiful and delicious.

Several people at small group asked me how I got the icing to look so pretty. I used a pastry bag, which in all honesty is the easiest way to ice cupcakes. Much easier than using a spatula. You can use a ziplock bag with the corner cut off for a pastry bag, or you can buy pastry bags at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Or you can make your own with parchment paper if you are good at origami. I also used this tip to make the swirls, which you can buy at Hobby Lobby for only one or two dollars. And it is an over-sized tip so you don't even need a coupler.

Mmm...I think I will go have another cupcake. :)

Gigi's 87th Birthday Celebration

My beloved grandmother turned 87 a few weeks ago, and we celebrated with a party on Sunday, which also happened to be my cousin Kate's birthday.

The birthday girls with their cakes...




Gigi with her grands and great grands...and 2 of her grands-in-law. :)


And some other pictures from the party...












I can only hope to be as elegant and sweet and fiesty and funny as Gigi is when I turn 87...or at any age, for that matter. She is the perfect role model for southern graciousness and I am so blessed to be her granddaughter!

Exactly What I Needed to Hear

The sermon on Sunday morning at the women's retreat was exactly what I needed to hear. Don't you love it when that happens? I really think the whole reason I was at the conference was to hear that sermon.

Apologies in advance for what is sure to be a deep post. Here goes.

I am a pretty happy person in general, but sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed with all the suffering in the world. And I feel helpless because I can't fix it.

Cancer, and what it is doing to my sweet mother-in-law.

Gangs in schools.

Starving children. Neglected & abused children.

Friends that struggle with infertility.

Teen pregnancy.

Birth defects.

When you couple all this suffering with the disappointment I feel for our country, our society, our world, it can really get you down. Then I start thinking about my children having to grow up in this world...and my grandchildren...goodness, how depressing. I know its not all bad, but I know how much things have changed since I was a child, and it saddens me that my children will have so many additional things to worry about.

So...back to the sermon. The guest pastor was Rev. Brian Habig from Downtown Presbyterian in Greenville. He was really good...and I'm not gonna lie, as much as we love our church and pastor, it kind of made me want to move to Greenville just so I could go to his church.

I'm planning to download the sermon so that I can listen to it whenever I start feeling "the weight of the world on my shoulders."

I'm pretty sure my recap of his sermon won't do it justice, so I'll just stick to his scripture references. The sermon was centered on Romans 8:18, a familiar verse. But for some reason it really resonated on Sunday.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

How encouraging! And the rest of the passage is great as well, so I'll post it below. And since I'm a good Presbyterian, I will continue through the part about predestination. :)

19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

On the subject of horses...

Here is my little cowboy all dressed up for Western day at school last week. He couldn't understand why he couldn't take his holster & cap gun to school.

"Mama, cowboys get in gun fights. And I might need to shoot a deer."

I didn't think the gun would go over too well.

Why is Roper scared of horses?

Doesn't he know his mama was riding horses from a much younger age?





Alice, David & me on Molly the pony...


And one of me in high school...yes I was wearing Wranglers (how embarrassing). No, I didn't wear them to school. Just while riding. :)



Did you know that you can ride your horse on the beach from Nov-Feb in Garden City?

Conquering the Rock Wall

Before I share more about the weekend, let me back up to last Friday, when Mason had his first chance to conquer the rock wall at Riverbanks Zoo.

This zoo trip back in April sparked an obsession with climbing the rock wall. At that point, Mason was still several pounds shy of the 40-pound minimum. So...we did what any parents would do. These words were spoken often over the past six months:

"Eat your {fill in the blank} so you will be 40 pounds and big enough to climb the rock wall."

Ever since his 4-year check-up, when the nurse announced his weight (40.25 pounds), Mason has been asking when he will get to go to the zoo and climb the rock wall.

His perfect opportunity was Friday morning...my mom was in town...he asked her...and, well, she doesn't say "no" to her grandsons very often. In fact, she said she would climb the rock wall with him. And she did. :)

Gearing up...








Roper entertained himself on the playground while Bebe and Mason were rock climbing.



Then on to the train...



And then to the ponies...Roper insisted all the ponies were named Minnie, which is the name of my uncle's pony. He wanted to ride, or at least thought he did, until it was time to saddle up, then he changed his mind. Mason climbed right up!



It was a quick zoo trip, which is one of the perks of living close by and having a membership...you don't feel like you have to stay all day to get your money's worth!