And a new name was written...

"The one who is victorious will, like them,  be dressed in white.  I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels."

Rev 3:5

This morning, while Riley was getting ready for Kindergarten, I had a "Kingdom moment".  For one small second, I was privileged  to be part of something immensely bigger than myself.  Something that God has been preparing for my little girl since He knit her together in my womb!  Typing this out still seems so surreal!!   

The Lord has been working in her little heart for some time now... and both Jordan and I have felt that she truly understood the concept of salvation.  However, since she is only 5, we decided to let her call all the shots.  And did she ever! :)

Jordan had already left for work, Kendall was still sleeping, and Riley, Jace and I were all hanging out in the kitchen talking (or rather cramming cereal down our throats so we won't be late for school! :). We were actually discussing our Elf on the Shelf, Rudy.... and Riley said that Rudy is kind of like God because even though we can't see Him sometimes, we know He is there.  So, that was our intro.  God = Rudy.  Hmmmmm. :)

Anyway, Jace went back to his room to get dressed, and Riley followed me to my bathroom to engage in our daily morning hair brushing session/breakdown.  It's awesome.  But today, it really was awesome! :)  We just kept talking about things, and she told me that Jesus lives in her heart.  I agreed but told her that in order for Him to live in your heart, you have to believe that Jesus died on the cross for you, for all the yucky things you have ever done and will ever do, and he washed you white as snow!  And now, at this very moment, He is preparing you a place in Heaven to live forever with Him!  She just smiled that precious smile and shook her head in agreement.... "Mommy, I do believe those things!".  So I asked her if she would like me to pray with her, and she crawled up in my lap with her little legs wrapped around my waist and repeated after me.  Then, with tears streaming down my cheeks, I kissed her tiny forehead and PRAISED our God that He allowed me the honor of leading one of His precious children to Him.

Later, when Jordan came home and we sat down to talk, she LOVED listening to him tell her that the moment she prayed and believed in Jesus with all her heart, that all the angels in heaven were rejoicing!  And that Jesus picked up His pen and wrote "RILEY JOYCE NEWTON" in the Book of Life.... and sealed the deal for her eternal life with Him, and with all of her Christian family.  Seeing the Lord through a child's eyes is so exciting! It reminds me of the way I should approach Him, eyes wide open in absolute AWE.

I will never forget this day as long as I live.  I can not imagine a better moment in the life of a parent than to see your child come to know the Lord.  And to be able to play a small role in that moment is beyond priceless. It is life-giving... truly. 

***  Just a side note... I was driving Jace to school about an hour later, still tearing up at the thought of what had just happened, and I  told Jace I was so happy because I just helped Riley ask Jesus to live in her heart!  He crossed his arms and said "Why didn't you help me too?"  Then I explained that I would love nothing more when it is the right time for him.... but he cut me off to say "That's okay mommy, I already did last night, at the Aggie basketball game, while Riley was at Chuck E Cheese."  LOL!!!! I love it!!! :)

Coffee Filter Wreath

Check it out!!!  I had so much fun doing this, and it only took like 2 hours!  Plus, you get the instant gratification of actually FINISHING something you started, which is hard to come by in my book! :)

An entire wreath made out of coffee filters!  I didn't even use hot glue- mainly because my hands have been through a lot of trauma lately.  First, I was trying to slice whoppers candies in half, and my thumb got the bad end of the deal.  Then, my pinky fell victim to the cheese grater... but thats another story.

I used push pins, a styrofoam wreath, and about 200 coffee filters! And the second it is socially acceptable to decorate for Christmas, I am going to put some little ornaments or Christmas sparkle in there!! :)  Oh, and I guess I need to find a place to hang it, other than my kitchen floor.

Here is the tutorial I used as a guideline:

http://www.thenester.com/2010/11/making-a-coffee-filter-wreath-and-tree-and-things-of-that-nature.html

The Story of Jonah

This is one of the most precious, and INCREDIBLE videos I have ever seen!! I promise you will be blessed by watching! :)



The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

My Sweet Baby Girl

I've been dumped.

Yep.  You heard right.

My sweet, precious, ALMOST 10 month old daughter is now appalled at the mere sight of my boob.

And I'm not gonna lie, it hurts.

Everyone knows it goes without saying that you always want to be the "Dumper" and not the "Dumpee" in a relationship.  Well, Kendall dumped me.

She will be 10 months on sunday, and for the past 2 weeks I have slowly been weaning her from nursing.  I was determined NOT to stop cold turkey with her like I did with Riley and Jace.  Crazy, right?!  Anywho, for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to nipple biting, I was pretty much over it.  BUT, I wanted to do it on MY terms, not hers!! In my perfect world I wanted to nurse her once in the morning and once at night. No more, no less.

No go.

Seriously, its the funniest thing I have ever seen!!  Now I do this all the time just to watch her! :)  She wakes up in the morning and I go get her out of bed.  We smile and talk for about 10 seconds, then she acts like she hasn't eaten in a week and the fun is over. So I sit in the rocker and methodically tug my shirt down over my sagging breast.  She sits there, stares at it VERY up close and personal, she might even reach out and poke at it- then, in one brief instance, is as if she is MORTIFIED that I am even SUGGESTING this and she screams out "ugggggghhhhhhhh"!!!!!!


HYSTERICAL!!!!!

An Ode to My Little Man

Oh, how I love thee, let me count the ways... 

I love the way you run and play with complete reckless abandon,

And I love the way you give me kisses and you don't care who is watching.

You are always first to share your treasures, hoping to make someone smile.

And that trademark grin you flash me daily can refresh me in an instant.

Your joy and zest for life are incredible to watch,

And I thank the Lord above that I can call you my own.

There are no words to express how incredibly precious you are, 

You are my son, my one and only, and I love you to the moon and back.  And then some more.  

DEWBERRY FARMS

ROADTRIP!!!

I took all the kiddos to the coolest place yesterday!!!  It was Columbus Day so Riley had off from school (obviously, its a MAJOR day as far as holidays go)... and one of my friends got a bunch of moms together to go to this farm. It was a little over an hour away and totally worth it!!  They took major naps afterwards!! :)

We were a gang.

There were seriously like 12 moms... lets say with an average of 2.5 kids... thats about 100 kids or so!!!!  All I know is I was getting a little weary of headcounting at the end of this thing. :)

We Newton's ride in style...

And this is a group shot of SOME of the kids... we were pretty impressed we got them all to look at the camera even close to the same time!

Kendall, meet pumpkin.  Pumpkin, meet Kendall.

This place was really impressive... let me tell you...

The fist words out of Riley's mouth were,


"It's like a dream!"

Yes, I am picturing Little House on the Prairie right now too.

Complete with a monster slide made out of rolling pin thingys... (my child was the only one smart enough to go down it on her tummy) this kept their attention for quite a while.

There was a bucking horse that cost $3 to make it buck so we just sat on it instead.

The kids LOVED jumping on these hay bales!  They were stacked pretty tall  and the kids stood on them while people tried to throw big inflatable balls at you... typing this now I am questioning its safety???  Hmmm.

Then you've got your classic log roll...

This was a cute "Rubber Duck Contest" where you see who can push the water through the pipe the fastest to make their duck spill out into the big pond small water trough.

Riley and her sweet friend found a little frog in the water!

This was called "Fort Dohickey", you know, because of all the dohicky's... :)

And this my friends, this is the way to do it!  Note to self... always travel with older kids (other than your own), then they do all the hard manual labor AND THEY LIKE IT! I had to let the take turns pulling my kids in the wagon!! :)

Riley jumped and swung off of the rope and into the hay!  Yee-haw!

You know you've always wanted to swing around on big red balls!!

Hahaha... I'm too funny.

 A little cow train that kicked up A LOT of dirt! :)

And while my big kids were enjoying ALL of these attractions and more, my sweet Kendall Brooke only needed a plastic water bottle to keep her happy.  Do you think this means she'll be low maintenance?  Doubting it. :)

And just like that, all good dreams come to an end. :)

Good-bye farm, HELLO NAP TIME!

My Girlies

Do you see this face??  I love it.

And this one,.... yep, I love it too.

I love my girlies.  Like, I really really love them. :)

I always hoped I would have a daughter to share things with, to laugh and cry with, and of course to SHOP with!  There is such an amazing bond that I share with my mom, and I pray that my girls and I will share the same thing.   I am BEYOND blessed to have them in my life, and I know there is so much fun that awaits us!

Goooooooo BOBCATS!

Or as Jace and cousin Cameron would say...
 
    "The bobcats are gonna bob YOU!"


Yes, they made that up themselves. :)

Jordan and his brother, Josh are co-coaching a flag football team of 4 and 5 year olds.... so basically they are just babysitting a bunch of kids in uniforms for an hour. :)  BUT, the Bobcats had their first game this past weekend and they did GREAT!!

Most of the kids on the team are the same size.... there is just one who is a liiiiiiiiittle taller than the rest of them.

I was so proud of Jace (although, at halftime he did come sit in my lap and tell me to take off his flag because he was dundies)!

I LOVE this next pic... Cameron was running HARD and FAST with the ball, but just one thing was wrong (I tried to make it extra big to see)...

Look at the coaches fingers.... :):)  wrong way buddy!! :):):)  GO HOME!  RUN HOME!!  He is so dang cute!!! :)

I think all in all it was a successful saturday!  Both teams won, of course (I think I will report that same score every time for the next 9 weeks).

And I had to put a pic of the MOST supportive fans ever... Grandad and Gran! :)  If there is a game, they are there.... PERIOD! :)

Stay tuned for further news from the Bobcats! ):

Prettily Pinching Pennies

Honestly, I would not win any awards from the coupon pros, BUT, from what I DO know, I have really saved A LOT of money with my good 'ole q-pns. :)  Some of you have asked me to share my strategies so I thought it might be good to blog about everything.

The #1 thing you MUST remember is..... SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE!!! :)  LOL!!!  Walking into the grocery store and Target with a big coupon binder is not exactly "smooth"... BUT, saving big bucks IS (that's what I tell myself at least).

What I've discovered is the more organized you can be, the easier it is in the long run.  I have my trusty binder divided into multiple sections using baseball card holders (ex. personal/ household/ breakfast/ baby/ canned goods) so it makes for much quicker access to everything.

Here are the list of sites I use to print coupons from:

www.coupons.com
www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com
www.thekrazycouponlady.com
www.totallytarget.com
www.target.com

I also get the Houston Chronicle on sunday and clip from there.  You can use The Eagle, but the Chronicle has more coupons.

On the krazycouponlady's site, she has a title at the top called "Print Coupons".  It is alphabetically ordered and is awesome!  She has a lot of coupons listed that are on the actual manufacturer's site, or facebook, ect...  It cuts a lot of dirty work out on my part.

Also, I site I subscribed to in the beginning of my journey was thegrocerygame.com.  You do have to pay a monthly fee, but you get the first 6 or 8 weeks free, so definitely give it a try and see if you like it.  She matches up all the grocery sales PER STORE with available coupons... definitely a great resource.

I do most of my shopping at Target and Kroger. This makes me sad, because I LOVE HEB, but since Kroger doubles and triples their coupons, it actually costs less!

Here is a Target tip:  You can use a manufacturers coupon AND a target coupon on a single item!  It's actually pretty cool because a lot of times you can get something for free, or close to it.  So make sure to check the target coupons pretty regularly (the totallytarget site helps do this pretty easily).

And...

IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY!!!!

I have no idea how often Kroger does this (I am guessing 3-4 times a year), but right now, through tuesday they are doubling all coupons from .40-$1!  This is HUGE!!  Like I posted on facebook, I bought $177 worth of groceries and paid $51!  And I just went again today and bought $28 worth and paid $4! So, here is what you need to do.

Check out all the coupons that are .75 and $1 (ESPECIALLY the $1 ones) and print the ones you need. You can get a TON of free stuff!  I had a $1/1 Colgate toothpaste and it was selling for $1.99.... so I got it free after they doubled my $1 coupon!  Some things to make sure and print are the toothpaste ones, the energizer batteries (I think they were .50), the dannon and danimals yogurt ones, the keebler cookies, wheat thins..... all of this was basically free.

Soooooo, in conclusion (remember in speech how you had to use this phrasing to signify to the listener you were 'bout dundees?) :), this is pretty much all I know! If you have any questions, ask away... but like I said, I am a intermediate level couponer AT BEST!   It takes me about an hour a week to check out all the deals on-line and cut and clip the coupons I find.  I end up just doing a little every day.

I will warn you, it is kind of addicting... it becomes a game you want to play... AND WIN!! :)

Hope this helps!! :):)

All Eyes on YOU

I made these this week for Riley's Kindergarten class, to help them get in the fall spirit.

Jordan said they look like turkeys!  COME ON!!!! They are OWLS!!! :):)  RIGHT????  Happy weekend!!

My Little KINDERGARTENER!!

I have been dreading this day for quite some time... and now it is here....!!  My very first baby is going to school from 7:55 am to 2:55 pm every day of the week, and I don't like it one bit!! BUT... she does.  She was so excited about going, it kind of hurt my feelings! :) 

It still seems like yesterday when she took her baths in the sink.  I might try it again tonight just because I miss it... :(

Then she grew a little bigger and our hearts did too... sweet little thing...

I remember taking this picture... I remember everything about it!  I was cooking a gourmet dinner, spaghetti, and Jordan was fixing to get home from work.  She put this hat on and looked so darn cute, so I ran and got my camera.  SOooooo glad I did! :)

And now, she is just BIG.  Like, I can barely hold her.  BUT, she will always be my baby girl... no matter what grade she is in!

 Honestly, this really is a HUGE life change for all of us, and especially my little Riley.  She had a great first day on monday and came home to tell me the funniest things...

1)"Mommy, you don't ever need to pack my lunch again.  You see, in the cafeteria, they have this little room, and you can go in to it and there is PIZZA, HOTDOGS, CHEESEBURGERS, CHICKEN TENDERS... WHATEVER YOU WANT!  You just put it on your plate and go sit down!"  (Hopefully you can feel the excitement in her voice, she was pumped up!! :)

2) "There is this little boy in my class that said something REEEEEALLY ugly today.  Like, so ugly I can't even tell you what it is."  

"He said that this other little kid took his pencil, and he was going to KILL him.  Then, that kid said he was going to KILL the other kid!"

lovely.  I am thinking Brazos Christian isn't too far away now... :)

3)  "I have made LOTS of new friends!  Like, everyone that I asked if they would be my friend said YES!  I really like this girl named Justice... she has like 20 million clips in her hair.  I told her that I liked them, but she said she already knew that."

LOLOLOL!

4) "There are sure a lot of RULES in Kindergarten!  Actually, there are rules EVERYWHERE!  In the cafeteria, in the gym, in art, music, and at recess!  Nothing but RULES!"

Those were just some highlights of the various things she has said.  She is doing great, but this morning she started crying on her way out the door. :(  She said she cried yesterday too, but she tried really hard to keep them in her eyes and not let the teacher see. :(:( 

 BREAK MY HEART IN TO A MILLION PIECES PLEASE!!!

WE LOVE YOU RILEY AND ARE SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE!!

Horseshoe Bay 2010

Every year we take a trip to the same 'ole lake house.... it's getting pretty old. 

I mean, how much of this do we have to put up with???

We just sit around all day watching the kiddos swim in the pool (starting at about 8 am) ...

And jump off the diving board showing off their SUPER cool tricks!

Or we watch them play on the private little beach while we soak up some rays...  uhhhh, such a pain!!!

So we get to use the owner's amazing boat to mess around the lake in.... 

And oh yeah, they got 2 new jet ski's (one of which goes 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds) that we could ride whenever our little hearts desired.  Big deal.

And the ice cream parlor/game room complete with pac-man, pinball machines, moon patrol, ect... is pretty cool when you want to come in and get a break from the heat.

Really, when it comes down to it, it's all pretty dull and boring around here...

But the absolute WORST part is when it hits about 5 o'clock and they start making MARGARITAS to sip on while sitting pool side and watching the lake activity!

Trust me... it's HORRIBLE and you want NO PART IN IT!!! 

They literally drag us there, kicking and screaming, every year....  OR maybe it's that they have to DRAG US AWAY!!! We LOVE our annual lake trip and are so incredibly BLESSED to be able to do this for the past 21 years!!!!  

Here's to 21 MORE unforgettable ones to come!! :)