McLain Life

6 Ways to Raising Obedient Children...really good read!

2012-02-17T09:06:00.001-06:00

I found this very helpful; hopefully you will too!

http://www.raisinggodlychildren.org/2011/12/6-ways-to-raising-obedient-children.html

Old Shoes Spruced Up!

2012-02-17T08:36:00.000-06:00

I love these silver shoes but they had rhinestones adorning the toe and the rhinestones kept falling off. It was really annoying! So, I made two small black felt flowers and embellished the flowers with a small rhinestone. I attached clips to the back of each flower so they are actually removable. So cute! I love the way they turned out!

February Decor

2012-02-16T17:23:00.003-06:00

My winter white wreath turned Valentine wreath! I just added some pretty felt flowers!

Beautiful coffee filter kissing balls. I love the way these turned out but they took way too long to make!

Framed "love" art and I added the felt flower to the frame.

I bought some pretty ribbon at Hobby Lobby and spruced up the dining room a bit with the ribbon and red candles.

Crepe paper heart...pretty but again this took a long time to make!

I used the new ribbon other places too. This vase is one that I sprayed black and used in my dining room for October decor.

Just for fun I hung this "I love you" heart in Merit's room.

Valentine's Day 2012!

2012-02-15T21:30:00.000-06:00

We had an eventful Valentine's Day. We started early Tuesday morning with a walk at NorthPark and then a little Valentine gift shopping!

I woke up to these beautiful orchids and a sweet card. What a nice surprise!

Picking out a cookie for Daddy and asking for one too. :)

Shopping for Daddy at Nordstrom.

Talking to the ducks and turtles

The yummy cookie cake we had personalized for Daddy!

I made Merit a heart shaped sandwich for lunch.

He thought it was really funny when I gave him the rest of the sandwich!

Mimi brought Merit a little surprise Valentine and a big red heart balloon!

A new wooden puzzle...we can never have too many puzzles. And, Merit loves trains!

We had a little Valentine surprise for Mimi too.

Merit couldn't wait to open his Valentine from Mommy & Daddy.

Elmo slippers! When he opened his Valentine he said, "puppets". Too funny!

Beautiful Valentines Devotional!

2012-02-14T14:28:00.002-06:00

God's Conversation Hearts
A Valentines Devotional Julia Bettencourt

"…blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Luke 11:28

I've always loved those candy conversation hearts at Valentine's. The New England Confections Company, otherwise known as Necco, says that conversation hearts are the most popular of Valentine's candy. I read the history of the candy on the Necco website and it was quite interesting how the sayings being printed on the candy got started. Can you believe that the concept behind conversation hearts was started back when Abraham Lincoln was president?

I like the taste of those little hearts and it's one of those childhood candies that give sweet memories. I also like them to decorate cupcakes and cookies with. What I like best I guess is those little sayings. "Kiss me!" "Be Mine" "Be True". I know today they say a few different things than the ones I grew up with.

Did you know that God sends us conversation hearts too? The things He left in His Word were left for us because He loves us. Each conversation heart from God is sweet to the taste. We just don't sometimes read or pay attention to them.

Here are some of my favorites…

BE MINE - God wants us to accept His love.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

ALL MINE - God loves us and will keep us.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. John 10:27-30

TRUE LOVE - God loves us with true love as only He can.
I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3

LOVE ME - God wants us to love Him.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27

I'M SURE - God's sure of His love and wants us to know we have a future with Him.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:1-3

SWEET TALK - God's Word is His love letter to us.
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

BE GOOD - God tells us how to love Him back.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

FAX ME - God loves us so much He wants to communicate with us.
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Conclusion:
There's more conversation hearts that the Lord left for us to see His love through. We just have to dig into His Word to find them.

So, have you missed out on God's conversation hearts?

Copyright ©2001-2010 Julia Bettencourt
Scripture References are from the King James Version.
www.juliabettencourt.com

Felt Fishing Game

2012-02-13T17:53:00.000-06:00

I saw this idea in a family magazine and knew Merit would love it!

I drew fish on several different colors of felt. I drew and cut out two of each fish so I could glew it together and put the washer in the center.

My hubby went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of washers to put inside the fish. :) Thanks babe!

I made a fishing pole out random things I had around the house; including yarn and a large magnet.

Daddy had to help him get the hang of it. :)

Monday Fun

2012-02-13T12:30:00.000-06:00

Admiring the ducks and turtles on our morning walk at NorthPark mall.

Merit brought every single one of his cars from his room to the living room. Funny because he brought one or two at a time.

He kept saying, "one more Mommy" over and over again. So cute!

He is having so much fun playing the fishing game I made for him.

He said, "I caught one Mommy!"

Visiting Baby Madelyn

2012-02-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

We took dinner to our wonderful friends Jon & Debbie on Saturday night. Baby Madelyn is so adorable. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of her. We had a great time catching up with Jon & Debbie and Merit and Ashleigh couldn't get enough of each other. It was fun to watch them play!

Merit and Ashleigh had a picnic in the kitchen.

Merit did more playing then eating. Lately, he's kind of obsessed with taking his socks off. Then, Ashleigh did it too. :)

What a pair! They are such cuties!

Saturday Morning Donuts

2012-02-12T09:30:00.000-06:00

Clearly this is not a tradition I started with Merit. J.P. has been taking him to get a donut on Saturday morning for about one month now. Merit loves this treat!!! So, I guess I can't deny my very healthy eating little guy a donut once a week, right? :) Just look how excited he is!

He picked out one with reddish/pink icing; a Valentine donut.

A big first bite!

He eats the top of the donut first and many times he doesn't even finish it. J.P. says he eats the good part. Ha, ha.

Coffee Cake Muffins...oh my!

2012-02-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

I was in the mood for coffee cake this weekend. Not sure why but I was. I knew the boys in my house would love this breakfast treat! I found this recipe on Little Light Magazine's website.

My modifications include: light butter instead of regular, skim milk, and 2 egg whites instead of one whole egg. Also, I used the King Arthur white whole wheat flour. You will not be able to tell the difference. Seriously delicious!

http://littlelightmagazine.com/coffee-cake-muffins/

More Valentines & Crayons Too!

2012-02-11T14:06:00.000-06:00

I made an "I love you" Valentine for Merit to hold in pictures. We sent the pictures in our homemade Valentine cards to all of our many family members.

So adorable!

Making more heart Valentines with candy hearts. Merit loved doing this!

We made heart shaped crayons thanks to Pinterest!

It was so easy and so much fun!

Look how pretty they are!

Our gift for Ms. Brenda; pretty framed verse and I embellished the frame with a small felt flower. She loved it!

We used a heart shaped silicone mold that we bought at Walmart. I think it was $3. We bought crayons and I already had some cute Valentine gift bags leftover from last year. I put all of the pretty reds, yellows, pinks and oranges together for this batch. For the other batch I used greens, blues, and purples. An easy way to unwrap the crayons is to slit the paper with a sharp knife. Obviously the kiddos can't help with this part. Then put the colors you want together in a Ziploc bag and break them up. I used a hammer but a mallet might work as well. I saw several different variations of this recipe as far as oven temperature and time. I set the oven at 200 degrees and left them on there for 15 minutes. I checked after 10 minutes and some of the larger pieces had not melted yet. After I took them out of the oven I let them harden for about 2 hours and they popped right out. Beautiful!

Cutie in New PJ's

2012-02-10T20:00:00.000-06:00

Cute football pajamas from great Aunt Car Car. He really likes these!

He told me he was wearing boots when he put these pajamas on. :)

Here are some action shots of Merit climbing into his bed!

He really loves to climb these days!

This Little Light of Mine...

2012-02-09T19:00:00.000-06:00

Merit's going to let it shine. He adores the Cedarmont Kids DVD's. I gave him his flashlight so he could wave a light while we sang.

Making Cookies with Mommy

2012-02-09T17:00:00.000-06:00

Merit loves watching the mixer go round and round.

He helped Mommy by pouring the white chips into the red velvet batter.

He also tried a few of the Valentine M&M's just to make sure they tasted okay. :)

The cookies turned out fabulous! I'll post the recipe later today.

Gel Clings

2012-02-09T13:23:00.000-06:00

Doesn't Target have the best stuff in there $1 section??? :)

I couldn't resist these Valentine gel clings. They were obviously for boys because they are robots with hearts. He had so much fun playing with these!

It wasn't so much fun trying to clean up the mess though. Apparently you are not supposed to leave them on porous surfaces such as wood. Merit left them on the coffee table and the next morning we found red hearts and circles where they had been. Oops!

Raising Godly Children: Raising Godly Children Key #1 (Purpose)

2012-02-09T08:27:00.000-06:00

Raising Godly Children: Raising Godly Children Key #1 (Purpose): No one can succeed in any task without keeping his goal clearly in mind. Imagine a baseball team that becomes so wrapped up in their be...

In the Mood for Chocolate???

2012-02-08T08:53:00.004-06:00

There are some really yummy chocolate recipes here including one of my favorites, Chocolate Sheet Cake! Follow the link below!

00412000073727/http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/best-chocolate-recipes-00412000073727/

Gifts from Aunt Alicia

2012-02-06T16:16:00.000-06:00

Merit couldn't wait to open his Christmas gifts from Aunt Alicia. Here he is patiently waiting for Daddy to help him.

Wow! A new Hot Wheels play set! Daddy put it together immediately.

Cute picture of Merit smiling while playing with his new play set.

Thank you Aunt Alicia for picking out some really cute clothes for him too! Merit wasn't quite as excited about the clothes as he was the Hot Wheels set. :)

Crepe Paper Hearts

2012-02-06T15:03:00.000-06:00

Merit tearing the red crepe paper into tiny pieces for our project.

He really liked this part!

I drew a heart and filled it in with glue...

then Merit filled it in with the pieces of tissue paper. Fun and pretty! This will look great on one of our home made Valentine cards!

A Very Late Christmas!

2012-02-06T13:39:00.000-06:00

My mom and I went to visit Alicia, Marc and baby Luke this past weekend. We so enjoyed spending time with them and especially getting to cuddle and love on sweet Luke. Here are a few of my favorite pics from our weekend!

Finally getting to open our Christmas gifts from each other.

Pretty bird salt and pepper shakers.

Sweet Luke cuddling with Mimi.

Mimi just couldn't get enough of Luke!

I gave Alicia a "mommy" necklace. She loved it!

I also made her the adorable felt flower for her hair.

Alicia gave me a Waxing Poetic initial necklace. So unique!

http://www.waxingpoetic.com/

Love, love, love my "boy mom" baseball shirt from Alicia!

http://www.boymomdesigns.com/

Here is the link to Posh Mommy where you can purchase this adorable "mommy" necklace.

http://www.poshmommyjewelry.com/posh-jewelry/discs/mommy-discs/one-disc-necklace-s.html

Monday Fun!

2012-02-06T12:58:00.000-06:00

Admiring the hearts on the ice rink. Merit said, "Where happened to the snowflakes mommy?"

Loves to spin this as fast as he can!

He thinks the big animals are really cool!

Happy boy!

Pizza Dip!

2012-02-05T20:30:00.000-06:00

I made this yummy dip for the Super Bowl party. Several of you asked for the recipe so here it is!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hot-pizza-dip/

Healthy modifications: I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese, Sargento Light Italian blend shredded cheese, and Turkey Pepperoni. You can use whatever toppings you like on pizza. I chose black olives and pepperoni because those are my favorite. I served this yummy dip with sliced french baguette. I warmed mine in my fondue pot and left it in there so it would stay warm throughout the evening. Delicious!

Super Bowl!

2012-02-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

We had a great time at the Spurrows' Super Bowl party. It was an evening full of fellowship with good friends, kids playing and delicious goodies.

Merit enjoying the food at the Super Bowl party.

Playing cars with Keller

Giving kisses to the Spurrows' cute dog

Peanut Butter Buckeye Bars...yummy!

2012-02-05T11:24:00.000-06:00

I made these for the Super Bowl party. Modifications to make them lighter: use applesauce or melted light butter to replace the oil. Use fat free sweetened condensed milk instead of the regular sweetened condensed milk. Also, use reduced fat peanut butter instead of regular peanut butter. You will not notice a difference with these substitutes. These brownie bars were rich and delicious!

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/bars/peanutty-buckeye-bars/

Great Ideas for Chicken Dinners!

2012-02-04T08:39:00.000-06:00

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/chicken-dinner-recipes-00412000073938/

Letter, Numbers and more Letters!

2012-02-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

I made Merit a magnetic board to practice his letters and numbers. So easy, cookie sheet from Walmart spray painted black. :) I found these cute wooded numbers by Melissa & Doug at Marshall's.

A certain adorable dog stole the letter "S". :(

Merit also really likes playing with the foam letters and numbers while in the bath. They stick to the wall when wet!

Raising Godly Children: The Prayer We Parents Rarely Pray

2012-02-02T08:29:00.000-06:00

Raising Godly Children: The Prayer We Parents Rarely Pray: Doug Wolter: We’ve all been there before as parents. Your child has been told what to do and doesn’t do it. You’re tired and irritated....

Raising Godly Children: 10 Commandments of Parenting

2012-01-31T23:20:00.000-06:00

Raising Godly Children: 10 Commandments of Parenting: 1. Pursue Righteousness in Your Marriage Husbands, you need to show your children how a husband loves his wife, even as Christ loved...

Dinner and Fun!

2012-01-31T12:51:00.000-06:00

Merit loves taking his own socks off! He really likes to have them off when we play at the Galleria play land.

Daddy went out of town and Mimi came over to spend the night. We had a surprise "Thank you" gift for Mimi!

Every night is a special occasion, right? :) I'm using my fancy place cards tonight for dinner! Thank you to Melissa for giving them to me.

Banana pudding trifles for dessert...yum!

Papa joined us for dinner but he's not in any of the pictures. :(

As you can tell, Merit thoroughly enjoyed this treat!

Handsome Boy

2012-01-29T17:30:00.000-06:00

I know...I take way too many pictures. I just can't resist this adorable face!

He loves to ride his tricycle in circles through the kitchen and living room.

Playing in the leaves...totally all boy!

New Play Set!

2012-01-29T14:30:00.000-06:00

Our sweet neighbors are moving in the next couple of months. They called us this week to tell us that they wanted to give Merit their boys' play set. We haven't bought him one because we have a playground literally across the street from our house. However, we really couldn't say no to their thoughtful and generous offer. Merit had so much fun playing on it. He really liked climbing up the side and then going down the slide. Cali and Maui even got in on the fun! Thank you Bolton family!

A tunnel, slides and walls to climb...Merit is in heaven!

Saturday Fun & Projects!

2012-01-28T10:30:00.000-06:00

Merit helping Mommy die coffee filters for a Valentine project.

Making shapes using candy hearts

Mommy is working on a project for Merit's room; a magnetic board to work on his letters and numbers.

Playing with dominoes; I used to love this and Merit likes it too! They are great for matching numbers or just stacking!

Cool New Shoes!

2012-01-27T21:04:00.000-06:00

J.P. and I found these way cute New Balance tennis shoes online and couldn't resist buying them for Merit. He got really excited when we told him his new shoes came in the mail. Daddy put them on his feet and then he ran around the house. I bet he can run really fast now!

Interview Update!

2012-01-26T19:09:00.000-06:00

The interview went great! She told me that she'd like to highlight what each survivors "weapon" was for their battle. After I told her my story she asked me if she was correct to say that my battle weapon was God. I said, "yes! God, his Word and my faith". I hope I get selected! However, she said with my permission she would like to possibly use my story in another article if it's not selected by her editor this time. Thank you for praying!

Ready For a Nature Walk

2012-01-26T16:30:00.000-06:00

It rained all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday. However, when Merit woke up from his nap on Thursday the sun was shining bright. So, we both put on our rain boots and headed out to find some puddles. We actually didn't find very many but we still had fun! I'm not sure why he looks so serious in these pictures; too funny.

Unique Opportunity to Share My Story - Maybe!

2012-01-26T08:32:00.001-06:00

Today at 2:00 pm I have a phone interview with a reporter from the Dallas Morning News. She is working on a story about cancer survivors. She wants me to share my experience and tell what has been most helpful in getting my through this time. Well, for me it's been my relationship with God and my faith. I love sharing my faith and telling of how God truly carried me through my diagnosis, treatment and helped me overcome my fears. I will be completely honest with her however, I know that my story may not be chosen because of my faith. So, I would appreciate your prayers. I'm praying that the reporter and editor feel that my story would be very helpful and encouraging to others and that it will be chosen. Stay tuned for details!

Balloon Fun!

2012-01-25T16:00:00.000-06:00

I needed to go by Party Warehouse to pick up some supplies for a project and I couldn't resist buying a balloon for my sweet Merit while we were there. It's amazing how something so inexpensive can make a little one so happy! He giggled the whole way home and then played with it all evening.

Merit really thought it was funny to hit Mimi on the head with the balloon!

Mimi spent the night with us that night and brought Merit a chocolate cupcake. He enjoyed it but of course I only let him eat half of it. :)

Health Update!

2012-01-24T14:33:00.002-06:00

Many of you have asked how my health is lately.Well, my bone marrow biopsy came back and I was so close to remission that my doctor decided to leave me on my current medication. J.P. was thrilled about this because he was worried of new side effects coming with new medication. I am supposed to meet with the head of Oncology at Medical City in the next month to determine course of action at this point. Dr. Juturi believes I will reach remission very soon because I am so close now. I appreciate your prayers and please continue for complete healing for me. I faith that God will heal me in His perfect timing!

Giving Him all the glory,

Charissa

Silly Merit

2012-01-24T09:13:00.000-06:00

Using the snuggies to block the sun; his sunglasses were in his backpack.

Climbing up to the very top of the stairs at the Galleria. Merit gets his exercise too! And, we practice counting on the way up and the way down.

My happy boy. :)

My First Backpack!

2012-01-22T21:04:00.000-06:00

Merit trying on his new backpack; look at that smile.

Showing Mommy & Daddy that he knows how to unzip his back pack

Taking a look inside and wondering why it's so heavy!

Practicing walking around wearing his new backpack

Merit really likes to bring all of his stuffed animals into the living room.

Enjoying a caramel apple after a busy day of shopping.

I just love these pictures! You can tell how proud Merit is of his new backpack. I've been wanting to get him one but haven't really spent any time looking. So, Daddy found this one at the Oakley store when he was there buying some new lenses. What a great find!

Shapes with Beans

2012-01-22T16:47:00.001-06:00

This week Merit is working on the number four and the letter P. I always try to come up with some sort of craft to reinforce what he is learning. So, this weekend we made shapes our of dried beans. I put several different types of beans in plastic containers and then drew shapes with glue. I drew the shapes and then filled them in with the glue. Merit sprinkled and placed the beans in the shapes. He loved mixing the different colors of beans. We used lentils, black beans, black-eyed peas and sunflower seeds too. The finished product looks really nice! He was very proud of his artwork!

We also made a polar bear out of cotton balls and used black beans for his claws, eyes and nose. Polar bear begins with the letter 'P'!

Fun With The Griffin Family

2012-01-21T20:00:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed time with Tim, Holly and baby Thomas on Saturday night. We met at Hard 8 BBQ, had a delicious dinner and then enjoyed some great music from the band. Merit and Thomas had fun together. Merit tried to get him to laugh by doing silly things, such as sticking his tongue out. These two were pretty entertaining to watch. What a fantastic evening with wonderful friends. Friendship is truly a treasure!

Being silly with Thomas. They are both pretty darn cute, huh!

Watching the band and all of the kids

Listening to the music with Daddy

High-fives for Thomas

Being Silly With Cali

2012-01-21T18:00:00.000-06:00

So, this is what was going on while Mommy was in the shower. Merit really thinks it's funny for the doggies to get in his bed. J.P. put them in there and apparently a jumping fest began. So sorry I missed this event. Ha!

Winter/January Wreath

2012-01-21T15:19:00.001-06:00

Love, love, love how my January/Winter wreath turned out. I used furry white yarn to cover the wreath form. Doesn't it look warm and cozy? :) I bought felt in heather gray, white and black to make the flowers. I used a couple of different websites with felt flower tutorials; it was so easy! Some of the felt flower tutorials instruct you to sew the flowers but I used hot glue for all of mine. The hot glue worked perfectly and made the project less timely. When you're a mom time is precious! I used some rhinestones that I had taken off a pair of old shoes to embellish the flowers. Here are the websites containing the tutorials: Loopy felt flower, Felt flowers five ways

Letters and Numbers with Cars!

2012-01-21T10:20:00.000-06:00

I am constantly trying to think of learning type games to play using Merit's cars. We play matching games like, group all of the yellow cars together, group specific types of cars together, for example group all of the Mustangs together, etc. Lately, we have been making numbers and letters out of his cars. He has so much fun doing this and he is learning! As you can see, Daddy got in on the action too!

Daddy's Home!

2012-01-20T20:35:00.004-06:00

Merit and I picked up J.P. from the airport Friday evening. Merit was so excited about Daddy finally coming home and so was I. I believe this was definitely the longest he has ever been gone. Daddy brought Merit a couple of neat presents; a new race car and a new fighter jet plane. Merit played with them up until bed time and then took both new toys to bed with him too. Praise the Lord for bringing Daddy home safely!

2012-01-19T20:19:00.000-06:00

Papa came over for dinner this week while J.P. was traveling. Merit adores Papa and gets really excited when I tell him he's coming over. These are some cute pictures of Papa and Merit enjoying my homemade Gingerbread while watching The Polar Express. Papa has been growing a beard since Christmas so it's getting pretty long now. Merit touches it and laughs; he thinks it's kind of strange and funny too! We both really love Papa!

Catching Bubbles

2012-01-19T13:00:00.002-06:00

So, this is a game we play. I blow bubbles and Merit tries desperately to catch them in his net. He has a ball doing this and giggles non-stop. I tried to capture his enthusiasm but it was hard to blow bubbles and take pictures at the same time. :)

Stirring the Pudding

2012-01-18T19:27:00.008-06:00

I find it amazing how excited Merit gets over food. When I told him I was going to make him chocolate pudding he was ecstatic, "yea Mommy, chocolate pudding!" He exclaimed. He wanted to help stir the pudding of course. Mimi held him up to the counter so he could put the finishing touches on our dessert. :) Helping him eat it was the best part. He smiled so big after the first bite and said, "yummy Mommy, yummy!" He loves when I top anything with Cool Whip and wants to eat all of that first. Adorable!

Our very lazy dogs. Took this picture for J.P. because I thought he might be missing the doggies too.

Ear Check & Cooking with Mimi!

2012-01-17T14:50:00.000-06:00

The ear check went great; ears clear and Merit was pronounced healthy! He had fun watching the fish swim and we talked about the color of the fish and the size. He really likes playing with the toys at the doctor's office. Praise the Lord, he is finally completely well!

Mimi came over for dinner that night. I had already cooked our entree and Mimi volunteered to cut the veggies for our dinner. Merit pulled the kitchen chair up to the counter so he could watch Mimi more closely. So cute!

More Christmas Gifts!!!

2012-01-16T14:00:00.000-06:00

As you know, Merit thoroughly enjoyed opening gifts at Christmas. Nana had Christmas gifts for us and since we had not seen each other since before Christmas we opened them on Monday! Nana always picks out perfect presents for Merit and for me too. Merit had already read the book Nana got him over and over again. The clothes she picked out are adorable. As you can see from the picture, Merit was pretty wiped out from our fun-filled day. He started his nap on the way home. :) Thank you Nana for the gifts and fun; we loved spending time with you!

Fort Worth Stockyards with Nana!

2012-01-16T10:30:00.001-06:00

We really enjoyed spending time with Nana on Martin Luther King Day. We took Merit to the Fort Worth Stockyards. He loves petting the goats, feeding the Lama's and rabbits and he really liked getting to sit on a tractor.

After we spent time in the stockyards we went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science. Wow! What a fabulous place! Merit had a blast! We looked at the dinosaur bones, played with balls and air, windmills and visited a pretend city to learn about oil fields.

Bye Bye Daddy

2012-01-15T11:00:00.007-06:00

Watching the airplanes

Playing with Daddy

Big hug before Daddy left :(

We took JP to the airport early Sunday morning. He had a conference in Asheville, North Carolina. Merit and I were pretty sad about Daddy leaving for the entire week. :( We got to the airport early so we could watch some airplanes take off and land. Merit really likes airplanes! We will have fun this week with Mimi but we are definitely going to miss Daddy!

Playing at Home

2012-01-14T11:53:00.001-06:00

Being silly playing with my wreath form

Playing with all of his cars in the living room

Welcome baby Madelyn!

2012-01-14T09:16:00.000-06:00

Debbie and Jon welcomed baby Madelyn this week. I coudn't wait to meet her too! Big sister Ashleigh it pretty excited about Madelyn finally arriving. Congratulations Sykes family! We are so happy for you!

Fun Winter Craft!

2012-01-14T09:06:00.002-06:00

What a fun winter craft! Family Fun magazine has a really neat way to make your own window clings by using puff paint! I saw the idea on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try this. You need: wax paper, snowflake template and silver puff paint. Here is the link: Glittery Window Clings

Merit thought the snowflakes were really cool and he wanted to help me hang them. Definitely something you can keep and use from year to year.

More Polar Express and Hot Chocolate

2012-01-12T20:32:00.002-06:00

Merit just can't seem to get enough of this movie. He watches the "hot chocolate" part over and over again. So funny!

Loves His Cars

2012-01-12T14:15:00.001-06:00

Merit really loves playing cars. He has quite the collection. We spend a good amount of time every day racing the cars, crashing the cars and hauling the cars in his dump trucks. I love listening to him play cars and make all of the car sounds. He is ALL boy, that's for sure!

First Tootsie Roll Pop!

2012-01-11T14:11:00.004-06:00

Merit thoroughly enjoyed his first Tootsie Roll Pop. He kept saying, "It's yummy!" What a treat!

Polar Express + Mimi = Fun Times!

2012-01-10T20:00:00.000-06:00

Mimi has spent a lot of time with us lately. Daddy had been traveling and when he travels she comes to stay with us. Merit adores Mimi and loves her being at our house! He is quite obsessed with watching The Polar Express lately and Mimi likes watching it with him. He looks pretty mesmerized in this picture. Cute!

Haircut Needed!

2012-01-10T09:35:00.000-06:00

Merit really needed a haircut. I don't like his hair too short but I also don't like it to look bushy. So, we headed to Great Clips by our house for a haircut early Tuesday morning. He was such a good boy when the stylist was cutting his hair. He sat very still and even looked down when she needed to trim the back. I think he looks pretty handsome!

Silly Boy

2012-01-09T13:29:00.007-06:00

On our way to the Galleria for our morning walk

Being silly with the snuggies

Trying to climb the light poles at the Galleria... thank goodness the security guards weren't watching!

He loves to count these lights.

Helping Mommy cook and counting the pieces of chicken

Sampling the tortillas before I put the casserole together

Merit is so much fun these days. He loves being silly with his snuggies, playing at the Galleria and his latest thing is helping Mommy cook. He pushes a chair up to the counter where I'm cooking and says, "See Mommy better" and "Help Mommy". So sweet!

Papa 'D's Visit!

2012-01-08T16:17:00.000-06:00

My little iPad whiz. :) Really is amazing to watch him use this.

Admiring Papa 'D's corvette

Checkin' out the engine

Playing games on the iPad with Papa 'D'.

Saturday kids show at the Galleria! The Critter Man brought some really neat critters with him!

Watching the show intently with Daddy.

The critter man brought a bunny rabbit too!

Merit waiting patiently for the next critter to be brought out.

Enjoying a ride in a race car just his size.

Showing off for Papa 'D'. Look at that swing!

Snuggle time with Papa 'D'. He had just woken up from his afternoon nap.

About to enjoy some BBQ at one of our favorite spots...Hard 8 BBQ in Coppell.

Being silly with Papa 'D' and Bear

Enjoying our last evening with Papa 'D'. They were watching cars on the iPad.

We really enjoyed our visit with Papa 'D'. Grammy didn't get to come because she wasn't feeling well. We were disappointed but so glad that Papa 'D' still came. We had a fun-filled weekend!

Dinner at Car Car's House

2012-01-05T18:00:00.001-06:00

Merit hanging out with Jo Jo

What a treat! Car Car served Merit ice cream and cookies for dessert!

Car Car had a Christmas gift for Merit...a car from the Pixar movie Cars. What a great choice!

Merit had a blast playing with Kia!

Kia is known for eating food from the table when she's not supposed to. We witnessed this first hand!

We enjoyed dinner and fellowship with Carolyn, Ronnie, Papa, Mimi and Jo Jo Thursday night. We were happy to get to spend a little time with Jo Jo before he left to go back to college. Thank you Carolyn for a fun evening! We love you.

Spinning Top

2012-01-04T16:00:00.003-06:00

Sharon and Dave gave this toy to Merit quite some time ago. It is amazing how he still loves to play with it! He can make it spin by himself but Mommy and Daddy can make it spin much faster. So, he sometimes asks us to do it for him. Thank you Sharon and Dave for this very lasting and entertaining toy!

Morning Walk & Play

2012-01-04T10:00:00.009-06:00

He loves to press the buttons for me in the elevator.

The tree being taken down and boxed up until next year.

Waiting patiently for the elevator

On our morning walk at the Galleria today we got to see them taking down the beautiful Christmas tree. All of the years I've been going to the Galleria during the Christmas season, I have never seen this before. It was quite an ordeal and really neat to see in person. Merit thought it was pretty cool too. We always have so much fun on our morning walks. It is really a great start to the day!

Fun Craft for 2012!

2012-01-03T14:06:00.006-06:00

Merit and I had so much fun with this craft. I used dry black eyed peas to make a sign with "2012". I basically drew the numbers with glue and then let Merit place the peas on. He didn't do all of the peas; I helped him. He did a really great job with the ones he did place though. :) I then made a cute board to display our January art work; skating snowmen and embellished with pretty glittered snowflakes, pretty!

First Play Dough Set

2012-01-02T10:00:00.004-06:00

Grandmom and Grandad sent Merit a Target gift card. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy him...a play dough set. He doesn't have one and he's never played with play dough. We picked out a Cookie Monster set because it helps you learn the alphabet and various fruits and vegetables. It is really a neat set. Merit wanted to get it out and play with it as soon as we got home. He had so much fun feeding the letters, fruits and veggies to Cookie Monster!

New Year's Football and Friends

2012-01-01T20:29:00.000-06:00

Tim, Holly and Thomas came over to watch the New Year's Day football games with us. We had a great time watching Thomas interact with the dogs. He smiled and laughed at them constantly. Merit had fun watching Thomas. We enjoyed catching up with Tim and Holly and hearing about their Christmas. We are so blessed by our many good friendships.

Taking Down the Decor

2012-01-01T10:00:00.008-06:00

Merit had so much fun helping Mommy take some of the Christmas decorations down. He pulled most of his race cars off of his Christmas tree. What a good little helper!

New Year's Eve Party!

2011-12-31T17:26:00.016-06:00

Cute family picture :)

Yummy desserts I prepared for the party!

And more desserts!

Dining room decor

Christmas mantle

Sweet friends, Amber and Darcy

Our beautiful Christmas tree

I started collecting decorative trees...love them!

Merit had so much fun playing with little Keller. He is a cutie.

Merit showed him how to push his dump truck around the house.

Our friends Timmy and Dusty came by to say hi.

Dear friends, Kevin, Julie and Hannah

Snowy village with a race track running through it. Merit absolutely thought this was the coolest!

Tony made his Grandma's famous carrot cake for the party...it was fabulous!

We had a wonderful time celebrating New Year's Eve with good friends and yummy food. JP and I bought a Honey Baked Ham and I made a ton of desserts. What a fun night!

Another Trip to the Doctor

2011-12-30T09:30:00.000-06:00

I know he doesn't look sick in these pictures but trust me, he was. I had been up with him since 5:00 a.m. He kept crying and telling me his ear hurt. Not the ear that was infected already but the other ear. Oh my...so I called my mom and she was able to get us in to see our doctor early that morning. We were the first appointment. Sure enough his other ear was indeed infected. He received two shots of a strong antibiotic and they changed his antibiotic too. We stopped taking the Amoxicillin and started taking Omnicef. Mommy and Daddy were just praying this antibiotic would do the trick. At least we have fun when we go to the doctor. The office and doctors where my mom works is wonderful! We have seen several of the doctors and I like all of them. The office has large salt water aquariums and all kinds of neat toys to play with. Merit really does like going!

Fun Gift from Aunt Nancy

2011-12-29T17:03:00.000-06:00

Aunt Nancy was supposed to join us for Christmas dinner but ended up not being able to. She sent Merit a really special gift though. Merit was completely mesmerized by it. It's an electric snow globe that blows snow, plays music and spins. He has had so much fun playing with this new toy! Thank you Aunt Nancy! Aunt Nancy sent Mommy a new snow globe too. :)

New Stocking Holders!

2011-12-27T17:01:00.000-06:00

Aunt Susan gave me a gift card to Hobby Lobby and I new exactly what I was going to buy...new stocking holders. I love these! And, I really love the fact that I bought them %60 off of the regular price!

2011-12-26T21:00:00.000-06:00

Lookin' very cool in the new shades from Santa. These cool sunglasses have Lightning McQueen on the side. Santa is such a hip guy!

Back to the Doctor

2011-12-26T18:00:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a morning of shopping and playing at the Galleria. Daddy was off work and he wanted to do a few returns and get some things too. After Merit awoke from his nap crying and complaining of his ears hurting we decided we'd better head back to the doctor. So, thank goodness our doctor's office has evening hours. They fit us in and sure enough Merit now had an ear infection on top of the sinus infection and the Croup. Oh my...poor Merit. He sat so patiently as we waited for the doctor and really was the perfect patient. With new medicine in hand we were sure to have a better night and a better little boy.

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-25T18:00:00.012-06:00

Papa gave Merit shiny gold quarters. He told him to save them because they'll be worth a lot more 20 years from today!

We gave Papa his Christmas gifts; a new calendar full of family pictures and a cool book about World War II.

Mimi and Papa in his new down-filled vest from mom.

Doesn't he look amazing for a 90 year old!

Mimi looked pretty in the new sweater I gave her and I'm wearing the new sweater she gave me.

Playing with his new Hot Wheels race set made especially for the bath tub.

Feeling pretty good and enjoying one of Mommy's gingerbread cookies.

Brushing his teeth with his new toothbrush

Papa joined us for Christmas day dinner. Mimi did most of the cooking since I made breakfast for us. We had a delicious dinner. Merit enjoyed dinner too despite not feeling his best. It was a special evening.

Christmas in Bonton

2011-12-25T16:14:00.000-06:00

J.P. and I served in Bonton while Merit took his nap and Mimi finished making Christmas dinner. We had a wonderful time and it was nice to be able to serve others. We plan on making this a tradition for our family.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T10:48:00.000-06:00

Santa left sweet Merit fun toys and a nice note.

He couldn't wait to try out the Duplo dumptruck.

Swollen eyes :( But excited about the metal Tonka dumptruck for outdoor play!

Fun shark puppet in Merit's stocking

Daddy showed him how to turn over his stocking and dump everything out. :)

Lots of presents to open!

Wow! A Hot Wheels race track!

A new Eric Carle book...he loves these books!

Neat diosaurs from Papa 'D' and Grammy!

Mimi opening her special gift from Poppy; a Grandmother necklace.

Well, Merit woke up Christmas morning with both eyes almost swollen shut. Poor baby. It was really sad to see him sick. He was coughing and crying. We wiped his eyes with warm wash cloths and then took him in the living room to see what Santa brought him. He perked up when he saw his presents on the fireplace. He absolutely loved his dump trucks and all of the many Hot Wheels cars. I fixed a delicious breakfast; homemade mini frittatas and captain crunch encrusted french toast. It was yummy! It took us quite a while to get through all of the gifts. Merit really had a great time tearing through the wrapping paper. He really got the hang of it and then when we were done he asked if he could open more presents.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T19:00:00.004-06:00

So, Christmas Eve went a little different then we had planned. We took Merit to the after hours clinic where he was diagnosed with his first sinus infection. We knew something was wrong because he woke up from his nap crying and would not go back to sleep. Merit is a great sleeper so this was very unusual behavior for him. We missed the Christmas Eve service at church and stayed in for the evening. Mimi came over and we watched The Polar Express, made s'mores and drank hot chocolate. Once the Ibuprofen kicked in Merit started to feel a little better. :)

Christmas Eve Gaylord Trip

2011-12-24T10:10:00.012-06:00

We took Merit to see the train set and decorations at the Gaylord on Christmas Eve. He wasn't feeling quite himself but he still enjoyed seeing the beautiful displays. His favorite part was definitely the trains. He wanted to watch them go by over and over again. It was a fun outing for the three of us! Of course, little did we know that later that evening we'd end up at the after hours clinic with Merit. We missed the Christmas Eve service at church which was a real bummer. However, we were so thankful there was a doctor on duty on Christmas Eve!

Puppet Show with Sweet Friends

2011-12-23T12:00:00.003-06:00

We enjoyed the puppet show at the Galleria on Friday. Our friends, Carolyn and Marcy Johnston joined us for the show. Merit thought the show was fabulous! He was mesmerized by the acrobats, jugglers, magician and dancing puppets. I took several videos during the show so he can watch them later. Carolyn and Marcy brought Merit a Christmas gift. He was pretty excited when he saw it was four cars from the Pixar Cars movie. He is certainly going to enjoy playing with them! Thank you Carolyn and Marcy!

Our Own Gingerbread House

2011-12-22T22:14:00.002-06:00

Daddy thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread house with Merit this year. Merit was pretty delighted when we started getting out all of the pieces and candy decorations. I wish I could say that he helped us but truthfully he was much more interested in eating the candy then using it to decorate the house. It was pretty funny really. After we finished I displayed it on one of my cake pedestals in the kitchen. Every morning when he saw it he asked for candy. Candy for breakfast??? I don't think so. :)

First Place Yard!

2011-12-22T16:00:00.004-06:00

Merit and I stopped to admire the yard in our neighborhood that won most creative for their Christmas decor. He absolutely was in awe of the Santa in the helicopter and thought all of their yard decorations were really neat! Looks like we will have to step it up a bit in order to win this prize!

Cotton Ball Snowman

2011-12-22T07:57:00.000-06:00

Merit had fun making a cotton ball snowman today. I'm trying to come up with some fun "snowy" type activities for him. We drew circles using different size cups, filled the circles with glue and then filled them with cotton balls. We used black-eyed peas for his eyes, a candy corn leftover from Halloween for his nose, and black beans for his mouth. He turned out super cute!

Watching the People Ice Skate

2011-12-21T19:12:00.008-06:00

Merit really enjoys watching the people at the Galleria ice skate. He is so content just to sit and stare at them. We have a few books that talk about ice skating and playing in the snow so it's fun for him to see these type of things first hand. One of the books is a Clifford book and he wants to read it over and over again. On this day, we shopped for a family in need. Our Bible Fellowship class adopted a family and then some of the girls in the class bought the gifts for them. What a wonderful thing to do during the Christmas holidays.

Funny Stuff!

2011-12-20T18:01:00.000-06:00

Isn't he too young to be using this??? :)

Pretending to be asleep

Merit wants to do everything we do. I have been under the weather and therefore using my organic herbal heat pack. It really does wonders for neck pain, shoulder pain, and I hold it on the front of my neck when I have a sore throat. Anyway, Merit wants to use it every time I have it out. I think he's a little too young to be using one of these!

Pictures by Mimi

2011-12-19T17:06:00.000-06:00

Mimi has become quite the photographer these days. She offered to take some pictures of me and Merit one Sunday after church. I think she did an excellent job. She got some really cute shots of my sweet little boy!

Fun at Mimi's!

2011-12-18T17:17:00.002-06:00

Aunt Nancy met us at Mimi's house and Merit got to open some Christmas presents early. He was pretty excited about this! Aunt Nancy had picked out some really neat books for Merit. One of the books played "Away In a Manger" and he loved listening to the song and looking at the pictures. The other book was a Thomas the Train book. He thought it was pretty cool too. He really enjoyed looking at all of Mimi's Christmas trees and her pretty ornaments. What fun!

Visiting Santa's Village!

2011-12-17T16:45:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun visiting Santa's village in Richardson. Merit got to meet Frosty, Sparkey the firehouse dog and Mrs. Claus. Mrs. Claus gave Merit a green cookie and he ate it immediately! He loved seeing the firemen from the Richardson fire department too. The highlight of the evening was Santa arriving on a firetruck with the sirens blaring. What a special time with my little boy! Mimi had great fun too!

Washing the Snuggies

2011-12-16T16:41:00.003-06:00

I've tried to explain to Merit that Snuggies get dirty just like we get dirty. So, we have to wash and dry them occasionally. He thinks it is funny when we wash them and he loves to watch them go around and around in the dryer. When they are in the dryer he asks me over and over again, "Mommy, Snuggies dry now?" What a cutie!

Bears in Tote

2011-12-14T16:34:00.007-06:00

Lately, Merit wants to take certain bears with us wherever we are going. Many days Scout is one of those bears.

Being silly with the bears

Playing after our morning power walk

At home playing with cars...his favorite past time.

What fun times! Merit is such a joy in our lives.

Ashleigh's Turning 3!

2011-12-12T17:09:00.000-06:00

Princess Ashleigh about to enjoy her birthday cake.

Eating cake and loving it! He asked for more. :)

Watching Ashleigh open her gifts.

He loved this monkey in the box toy. He'd never seen one before it he giggled every time the monkey popped out!

Merit enjoyed the coloring pages Debbie had out for the kids.

He liked watching Ashleigh open her gifts and was excited to give him our gift.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ashleigh's birthday. I can't believe she is already three! My how time flies! The party theme was princess so Merit came dressed as a prince. I made him a sash with "Prince Merit" written across it, a gold crown adorned with jewels and a green velvet cape. He looked quite adorable.

Snowman!

2011-12-12T17:02:00.000-06:00

I love this idea I saw on Pinterest...a wreath snowman! So cute! I used three different size wreaths, wired them together, strung them with lights and then added an old scarf, hat and ski goggles. Merit loved this!

Polar Express Party

2011-12-10T22:49:00.001-06:00

Decorating sugar cookies! Yummy!

Hugging on Nana; so sweet!

Playing with the train table

Jumping up and down at the site of Santa!

Enjoying the decorated cookies

Cousin Kevin & Amy's adorable kiddos

Merit got to sit in Santa's lap!

All of the kiddos

Cuddling with Nana

Telling Santa what he wants for Christmas

Amy hosted her annual Polar Express Christmas party on Saturday night. We knew Merit would have even more fun this year then last year because he is older and really knows how to play well with other kids. He definitely had a fantastic time and was not ready to leave at the end of the evening. We enjoyed yummy food, played with the trains, watched some of the Polar Express, decorated sugar cookies, listened to the book Polar Express, rang bells and even got to see and talk to Santa. It was a very memorable evening!

Saturday Crafts With Mommy!

2011-12-10T10:39:00.001-06:00

I love doing crafts with Merit. However, he doesn't always love doing them with me. :( Sometimes he just isn't interested and that is quite disappointing to me. This Saturday, we made Santa with cotton balls and crayons. He turned out really cute and Merit had a great time placing the cotton balls on his beard and hat. We also played a fun matching game that Ms. Brenda sent home with him. He is doing such a wonderful job recognizing items that match! This week he has been pointing out ornaments on our tree that match. He says, "Mommy, this match?" He kind of makes it sound like a question which is so adorable. What a smart boy!

Party With Mommy & Daddy

2011-12-09T22:31:00.007-06:00

Lookin' handsome in his new Polo shirt.

Playing Legos with the other kids

Merit joined us for the Tomson's annual Christmas party and ornament exchange. All of the kiddos were invited because most all of us have kids now. It is funny how this party has changed over the years. He had so much fun playing with the other kids and we had a great time too! Thank you Shane and Heather for hosting another wonderful Christmas party!

Story Time with Santa & Scrooge

2011-12-09T11:37:00.000-06:00

Yea! It's Santa! Merit actually was not that impressed. :(

He listened intently for all of about 5 minutes. We had waited on Santa for 30 minutes so by the time he got there Merit was pretty much ready to leave.

However, he loved the Scrooge performance! He thought it was really funny. And, Scrooge talked to Merit! :)

Northpark mall has story time with Santa going on right now as well as many other fun things for the kiddos. Check out their website for details! http://www.northparkcenter.com/events/eventscalendar.html

What a fun Friday!

Snowflake Inspired Mantel

2011-12-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

I love, love, love my new mantel decor! Honestly, I didn't even go buy anything new. I used what I had: snowflakes, fake snow, branches from the backyard, Christmas balls and clear glass votive holders. I sprayed the votive holders with Elmers spray glue and then rolled them in the fake snow. I did the same thing with a few of the Christmas balls. I hung the snowflakes with clear beading thread. I love it when my creative juices start flowing! And, I love decorating for Christmas!

Baby Luke's Arrival!

2011-12-02T19:39:00.011-06:00

My first time to see sweet baby Luke.

Sheer joy on my sister's face.

Yea! I love being an Aunt!

Look at that precious face!

Mimi cuddling with little Luke...

and Granny Glasses cuddling with little Luke too!

As you can tell, Luke is already getting plenty of love and attention!

Proud Daddy holding Luke.

Holding Luke one more time before hitting the road to head back to Dallas. :(

So proud and happy for my sister! Luke is truly a blessing we have prayed for quite some time. Thank you Lord for Luke.