Fun with Ava

***edited to add: this is my 120th post!!! woo-hoo!***

I don't have time (cause I'm getting sleepy) to write about the entire trip to Louisiana, so for now I just wanna post some recent pictures of my Ava girl.

She is getting so big. She is talking up a storm, dancing, eating everything in sight, and getting cuter by the minute.

This visit she seemed to have a special love for Justin. He got lots of play time and cuddle time.

Aunt Lissa got a little loving in, but Ava was not having the picture taken with me.

She had fun wearing my heels around the house. Mommy needs to buy her some that fit. She is such a girly-girl! :)

Look at those curls.. she doesn't get that from our side of the family. Me and my sis have stick straight hair.

My new stuff!

Well, we made it back home.  That felt like one of the quickest trips ever!  We got there early Saturday morning and were back Monday afternoon.  We stayed busy the whole time, too.

I'll write more about our trip and what we did (including lots of pictures) later, but for now I want to show off my new stuff!

Lacey Herring created me some art pieces and gave them to me as a gift.  I gave her an inspirational piece, and she changed it up to fit Justin and myself.  It was a complete surprise.

First, here is the inspiration...

And here is what she made for us...Some close ups...And in our living room....

I love them!  They are very unique.  If you don't already know, the reason that we moved from LA to TX is for Justin to go to ministry school.  We both feel that we are called to missions in some way or another.

These paintings/art pieces have pictures/words/maps/quotes that are all related to missions work around the globe.  She also included some scriptures that are perfect:  "Go and make disciples of all the nations.. baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19, and "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you And you will be my witnesses to the ends of the Earth" Acts 1:8.   

 

Also, my other new item is a book.  It's actually not mine, nor is it new... but ya know!  I'm borrowing it from my mom-in-law.Have you read it?  What do you think?  Don't give anything away because I've only read the first chapter so far!  I've heard that it's really good and I'll probably read through it quickly.  We shall see.  I haven't been much of a reader lately.

 

One more new thing...Not the dog.  (He is my in-laws' puppy.  We wish we could have him though.)  I'm talking about my BANGS!  I got my hair cut Saturday morning and went ahead and had her cut me some bangs.  I like them so far.  Ask me again when they start growing out and you may get a different answer.

busy little bee

That is what I have felt like this afternoon.  We are leaving as soon as Justin gets off work to head to our hometown.  All afternoon/evening, I have been running around the house like crazy getting us packed, washing/drying/folding clothes, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning kitchen, etc.  I don't like coming home to a dirty house.  :)

It's funny to me, too, that even though we will only be gone two days, I'm taking 4 pair of shoes and about 5 sets of clothes.  It's safe to say that I always overpack.

 

I probably won't be posting or reading other blogs very much this weekend because I will be busy pretty much the entire time.  We are trying to squeeze so much into so little time.

Tomorrow morning I have a hair appointment.  I think I will keep my length, but get some bangs cut.  I had bangs for a while and loved them, but got tired of getting them trimmed so often.  What do ya'll think?This is from Easter last year.  If I do get bangs tomorrow, they will probably be a little shorter than this.  They had started growing out here and looked kinda funky.

Tomorrow night we are going to Corey and Kendra's wedding.  I may get the opportunity to second shoot for their photographer, Kyla Branch.  She also shot our engagements, wedding, and my sis-in-laws wedding.  I hope it works out, because I could really use the experience.  I have yet to fully figure out my camera in manual mode.

Here is a picture of Corey and Kendra that Kyla took...Pretty good, huh?!

Well, gotta go get busy again....

This is not a joke. Sadly.

I was trying to find things to do instead of doing The Shred bored a few minutes ago and decided to look through the pictures that are still on my memory card in my camera.

I found this one and had to post about it.

A week or so ago Justin and I made a late night trip to Wal-Mart and came home with the above items.  Sick, isn't it?

Apparently we are sweet addicts.  All the more reason I need to be doing the Shred DVD. 

In my defense, three of those items were for 1 dessert.  My mother-in-law told me how to make dump cake.  It is probably the easiest dessert in the world that everyone else knows about already.  But I'll share anyway.

DUMP CAKE:

1 CAN STRAWBERRY PIE FILLING (CAN ALSO USE ANY OTHER FLAVOR YOU LIKE)

1 DUNCAN HINES BUTTER RECEIPE CAKE MIX

1 STICK MARGARINE

Spread pie filling in 13 x 9 pan – better to use a glass pan that has a cover as you need to keep it in the refrigerator.

Spread dry cake mix over the top of the pie filling evenly.

Melt the margarine and pour it over the top of the dry cake mix.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Serve with ice cream!!!

It's really yummy.  You should try it!  Also, I had to use a little more than 1 stick of butter to cover the whole thing.

I'm excited!

I'm anxiously awaiting this weekend for a few reasons. 

-I get to go to a wedding.  I love weddings.  Justin's cousin Corey is finally getting married to a sweet girl named Kendra.  We hung out with them a bit when we still lived in Louisiana.  They are such a cute couple.

-I most likely get to see my sister and my precious Ava girl.  I feel like it's been forever since I've seen them!

-I get to go to Christ Church!  I have missed it and my church family so much in just the few weeks that we have been gone.  I just don't think there is another church like CCWM.  Justin and I have been visiting churches around here, but have yet to find one that we love. 

-I am getting some new artwork for above my couch in our living room.  One of my best friends ever is also an artist.  She is making me something, and it's a surprise.  It's driving me crazy wondering what it will look like!  This is Lacey. 

Here is a picture of a piece she did for me a while back.

 

Guess that's it for now!  Not long til the weekend!!!

Lions, and tigers, and bears!

First of all, I want to say thanks to all of you who gave advice on my last post.  Ya'll are helping me overcome my healthy-cereal-fear.  Next time I go grocery shopping, some of those cereals will be coming home with me.  :)

Secondly, I still have no job.  Bummer.  It's nice not having to wake up early and work every day, but it's not so nice looking at our banking account.  Yikes!  I've gotten really frustrated with looking for a job lately.  We went to several places today, and almost everywhere just sent us home to apply online.  How impersonal!  And online applications take 10 times longer than an in person application/interview.  Anyway.....

On a happy note, Justin and I went to the Dallas zoo a few days ago.  It was super hot, but so much fun.  I am a huge fan of zoos, even the teeny tiny junky zoo in Monroe where we are from.

So, enjoy some pics from our zoo trip.

Now I can't wait til we go to the Forth Worth zoo.  I have heard it's even better! 

PS: I don't advise going to the zoo on "dollar day".  It was PACKED!!  but, hey, we saved some money!  :)             

I need your input/help/advice/opinion!

This is silly, but it's my blog and I can be silly if I want to! ha :)

Justin and myself eat cereal a good bit. Almost every day for breakfast. The problem is that he only eats sugary, not good for you cereal, so that is what I've been eating. I want to try some "healthier" cereal, but I'm afraid it won't taste good.

So my question to you is, do you eat cereal that is even slightly good for you? If so, what kind is it and does it taste yummy?

Thanks for your help!