And the winner is....

AVA!!!! :)

THIRTY-ONE GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm so excited to be doing my first:

Thirty-One

give-a-way!!!

You know how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVEEEEEE Thirty-one, the fact that it is a faith-based company and the FABULOUS bags they offer. This gem is the Pull-apart Cosmetic Bag (valued at $24.50). I actually use mine to carry my (large, hard-cover) Bible to church. (Just an idea). I have also included this cute devotional full of scripture and quotes on friendship, entitled Whispers of Friendship.

Soooo... here are the ways to enter (up to 2 entries per person):

Receive 1 entry for leaving a comment listing 1 thing you are thankful for that day.
Receive 1 entry entry for linking this post to your blog (let me know so I can give you credit)

If you are unsure of how to leave a comment, shoot me an email at staceysbags@gmail.com


I will draw for the winner on Thursday night, Good Luck!!!!

Purple toes and "just so you know's"

Blogging has been a bit of a challenge for me this summer. Half the time I can't find the camera (didn't realize how irresponsible this sounds, until I typed it, yikes!). Here is a little bit of what is going on in my blessed world.

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I am BEYOND excited for Olivia to start school! We are homeschooling the kids and found this GREAT school on the northside for homeschooled children. Northpoint is a HUGE answer to prayer for our family. The kids (Olivia now, Logan next year) will go on Tuesday and Thursday and then we will teach them on the other days. They will learn the basics, enjoy the classroom setting (which I LOVED as a kid) and learn about God (Yay God!).

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I LOVE Oberweis organic milk. Did you know at Target they CHARGE you $1.50 for the glass container? You can get it back when you return it. This SOOOOO reminds me of the days of bottled coke products that you would return to the store. I can still picture the RARE occasion growing up when an 8-pack of glass bottles sat on the step in the garage. Yes, I was a deprived child who didn't get to drink pop, who now deprives her children of pop as well. Ahhh... the memories...

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Splash Island in Plainfield. WOW, so much fun! I KNOW I took pictures that day, NOT on the camera. hmmmm.... did I accidentally pick up someone else's camera? That would be hysterical. Saw Deanna and her family there! so fun!

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My new FAVORITE purse from Thirty-One.

The new City Skirt purse. I think I could actually make some money, if I didn't want to buy so much. HA! Darn laws of economics!

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"Trust in the Lord with ALL of your heart and lean not on your own understanding..." This was the Bible verse at VBS this year. Olivia and I learned together weeks ago, not realizing how much I would cling to it this summer. Knowing God is in complete control is such a blessed gift, but letting go of the human need for "partial" control is very hard. I love how God gently reminds me that while He loves and desires my participation, He does NOT NEED my overthinking to get the job done.

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Logan's long awaited favorite present of the summer. They took the FULL 10 days of the quoted "7-10 business days" to get here.

Sight words flash cards to along with the Sight Words DVD. (Love the learning!)

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We have been through TWO backyard pools this summer! Are we extra hard on pools? or do they just not make them like they used to.

and remember the taking-toys-to-your-room buckets from a previous post? Apparently they make better boats this time of year. sigh.

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Yesterday the kids and I set off on an early-morning walk. We opted to take the stroller on this particular day instead of the wagon. At the FARTHEST point from our house a stroller wheel came off. Permanently. We sat by the side of the road and waited for Tommy to rescue us. The kids thought it was the coolest adventure. I loved watching them treat it like an adventure, while thanking God that Tommy's job affords him to work from home some days.

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And finally our purple toes. Olivia asked if our next toe-color could be purple. Far be it from me to deny a rockin' request like that... This mama delivered and now we both have purple toes. I LOVE my daughter!

Hugs from Indy!

Random Thoughts July 22, 2010

The kids and I saw a little twister today, it was scary and magnificent at the same time.
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I have never held a garage sale, but I participated in one with a friend over the weekend and made $97! Love it! (one trip to the "black hole" I mean Target and it was gone) :(
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I love summer, but I also crave the structure of our fall/winter activities. BSF, MOPS, Mom's Group and now Kindergarten!

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I am so excited for Olivia to start school I can't stand it!!!!!

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When I was in Kindergarten my teacher so graciously would take me to the office to call and check on my momma. I was so worried she was lonely without us. Turns out, she wasn't. :)

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Olivia wants to know how God made himself. and now I do too. "In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God..." An amazing truth that is so hard to wrap a human mind around. (is around a preposition? if so, sorry mom)

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I have so many wonderful friends, some I have known forever, some since college, and some since moving to this area. I LOVE all of the people God has placed in my path. I am so thankful for each and everyone one of them.

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I really want to be the kind of friend who REALLY prays for her friends. Not just someone who casually says "I'll be praying for you." but REALLY do it.

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Logan calls an apostrophe and "up-high comma", now I do too.

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When I list for Logan all of things I think he is great at doing (a great tooth-brusher, a great reader, a great swimmer) he gets so still to listen. I could go on forever Logan, you are an amazing little boy!

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My momma bear instinct came out the other day in a library. It is amazing how strong that instinct is when it comes to defending our children. I sent an email expressing my frustration. The reply said: "Thank you for your input". sigh....

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Olivia and Logan used to cry when I would leave them, now when I come home they ask me to leave again. I love that they love their grandparents!

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I just think Tommy is SOOOO cute! :)

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That is all for now! Hugs!

I just love change...

If you know me well, you know I love change. I often paint walls or rooms in our home just for the "change" in scenery. (LOVE our new bedroom color) I rearrange furniture so fast the kids don't know where to sit (we moved the bed in our room, lots of running into it in the middle of the night, HA). SOOOO the ever-changing Indiana climate is perfect for me. I LOVE the change from winter to spring, and then from summer to fall.

However, this past winter, on the day the above picture was taken, when I was so sick of winter coats, boots and finding mittens, I PROMISED that I would NEVER complain about the heat in the summer.

Well I broke that promise this past week.

I L.O.V.E. summer, but I also love open windows, and breezy days, and central Indiana is SUPER hot and muggy right now. It is the you-can't-even-sit-outside-kind-of-hot days. And dare I say it? That this picture of a snowy day looks nice and refreshing. {GASP} I know, shocking.

So I am justifying it all by saying that its not that I am complaining, or that I am ungrateful. I just LOVE change. ;)

Someone please remind me next February about this post.

Hugs!

Catching up...

LOVE this pic of Tommy and Logan :) We took the kids to their first Major League game in Cincinnati. Logan was a little upset when he couldn't go down to the field to play...

Last weekend we visited Grandma and Grandpa W. Little did we know it would be on the night of a HUGE storm, power out, lots of limbs down, etc. The kids thought it was pretty cool to sit by candlelight. I guess Logan wouldn't stand still, no good pics of him playing :)

I couldn't help myself. How cute is this? Apparently Logan couldn't wait until he got INSIDE, this is RIGHT outside the house. Hysterical.

Chillin' by our kiddie pool. Couldn't resist Logan's face in this one. Does he think we are all crazy?

While Tommy was out of town, I decided to tackle our room. It seems to get the least attention at our house. I had two little helpers, who were MORE than eager to help. {smile} Love how it turned out, I will post an "after" picture soon!

Hugs from Indy!

Girl's Day in Chicago!!!!

Yesterday was a day for the girls, our LITTLE GIRLS! Jill, Jamie, Krissy and I took Eva, Avery, Emilee and Olivia to Chicago for a day just for them. It was so much fun to watch the girls enjoy a day that was all about them.

The train ride in: The girls...

And the mommas!!!

First stop: American Girl!

My little girl carrying her little girl

Trolley ride!

Navy Pier!

The Ferris wheel is the best way to see the skyline...

Olivia and Eva on the Lighthouse ride

Lego store

The "Bean" at Millennium Park

Olivia: "I don't want this day to EVER end!"

Memorial Day Weekend

Over this past Memorial Day weekend we took the kids to Louisville. We visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and then went to the Kentucky Reggae Festival.

Love little day trips with the kids, they are great car travelers and seemed to really enjoy our day!

Trying to lift the GIANT bat!

Our week in pictures

Logan is 4!

It is so hard to believe...


How can he be so big now?

Why does age 4 sounds so much older than age 3?

We love you so much Logan, you are wonderful.

Pictures and details of our day to come soon...

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Me: "Happy Birthday Logan!"

Logan: "Happy Mother's Day Mom!"

Hugs! :)