Dallas or Bust!

I cannot believe there is an airline ticket confirmation e-mail in my inbox. It's too good to be true! I have booked a flight to Dallas for the weekend in January (22-25). This makes me SO SO SO happy!! We moved from Dallas to Indiana in July 2008. I have only been back once (in August 2008) to get the house packed up. My heart has been longing to visit my dear, sweet friends in Dallas for quite some time. I have grieved the loss of proximity as multiple friends have had babies. (I long to kiss those sweet baby cheeks!) It is a 15 hour drive or an expensive plane ticket to get me from here to there... and I had no idea when I might be able to visit again.

Today, I saw that Southwest Airlines was having a fare sale. I still did not think it would be affordable for me to book a flight... but my heart's longing drove me to look at the airline's website anyway. I was blown away when I realized that I could fly from a major airport (a 3 hour drive from here) to Dallas for only $50 each way. My total trip with taxes & fees is only $123!!! Wow! I'm SO blessed! My wonderful husband knows how badly I've been wanting to go and he quickly agreed to purchase the plane tickets for me for Christmas (which is a BIG deal in our current budget) and to allow me a full weekend away from him & the boys (which is an even BIGGER deal with 3 active boys!). I'm pretty sure this is the best present ever!!

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

Thank you, Lord!!

This is for Julie

My friend, Julie, commented on how cold it looked here in my previous post. This pic is from last Saturday morning at the football game. My mom & I were bundled up with sweatshirts, winter coats & gloves and had frozen toes by the end of the game. When we went to the pumpkin patch in the afternoon, it had warmed up significantly. Sometimes I miss Texas, but I really love a chilly football game and a chilly hay ride. It feels like fall to me! :)

Fall Fun with Mom & Dad

My mom & dad came to visit for the weekend! While they were still driving here, we attended a university soccer game for Scout Night (free admission for the kids - yippee!). Saturday morning started out with Cub Scout Engineering Day for Franklin and a flag football game for Truman. Then, we headed to the pumpkin patch in the afternoon and topped off the evening with a double date. My parents took us out to a super fancy dinner and dessert as a belated birthday gift - thanks, Mom & Dad. Today, we went to the early church service, had brunch and spent the afternoon playing cards before my parents headed for home. It was a full weekend - full of activities, fun and spending quality time with those we love!

Truman's "flag" football game - occasionally there are some tackles! lol (#7)

2nd from left (#7)
Random pic of the gorgeous fall tree in front of our house...

Mom & I on the hay ride...

Dad in the pumpkin patch...
Franklin with the pumpkin he picked out & insisted on spending allowance money on!
Tommie beating the boys at the hay maze (by leaping over the bales!)...

It was extremely muddy - it feels like it has been raining for weeks & the pumpkin farm showed big signs of it. When we were looking for a parking spot, we got stuck in deep mud & everyone had to get out to help push the car!
My three sons...

They got a bit muddy & it showed - the whole backs of their pants & shirts were splattered with it!
Harrison, Tommie, Truman & Dad on the hay ride...
We ate at a German Steakhouse for dinner, then went to an Irish Pub for dessert/drinks.

Mom & Dad at the Pub...

Tommie & I at the Pub.

Max's new friend

When we were unpacking the winter coats & gloves, we found this stuffed dog that used to be Franklin's. Max usually loves to chew up stuffed animals and we were going to throw away the dog anyway, so we gave it to Max. Instead of tearing it up, he has been cuddling with it. So cute!

Tommie's Birthday (Oct. 7th)

Happy Birthday to my favorite husband! I hope we share many more years of birthday celebrations together!!

This year, I felt bad about how Tommie's birthday worked out. Truman had football practice on Tommie's birthday, so we decided not to go out to eat (as is our tradition). After school, I took the boys to sell Cub Scout popcorn, because it was the only nice day that we had been home to sell. Well... selling took longer than expected and when Tommie & Truman arrived at football practice, there were only 5 kids there, so they cancelled it. So, we ate a late (very late) dinner and an apple crisp prepared by the boys & myself. It seemed like such a puny celebration for a man who does so much for our family. The following evening, we had planned to go to the fall festival but it rained... so we went out to celebrate Tommie's birthday instead. Even though neither celebration was fantastic, he got two - and that has to count for something!! :)

The scrumptious apple crisp...

The birthday guy with a guy gift - Guitar Hero!

We ate at The Log Inn - the oldest restaurant in Indiana. It's about 30 minutes from home. Abraham Lincoln ate there when he was campaigning for the Presidency. This was our third attempt to eat there!! It is closed on Sundays & Mondays (which we learned the hard way) and is VERY busy - meaning you can't just walk up and get seated quickly (which we learned the hard way also). So, we called ahead for a reservation and finally got our chance to eat there! They serve ham, roast beef or chicken family style with free refills of veggies, mashed potatoes & rolls. YUM!

I hope that this was a birthday to remember for Tommie & that he knows how much we love him and how much he means to us!

Cub Scout Fall Campout

Last weekend, we attended the fall campout for Cub Scouts. We camped at Lincoln State Park again this year. The weather was FREEZING cold, but we endured the chill and had a great time anyway! The boys always have fun running around in the woods with their friends, participating in crafts & games, hiking and doing campfire skits & songs. This year, all three boys participated since they are all scouts (which makes it hard to get photos of all 3!). Next time, we'll pack extra blankets, mittens and hats to stay warm!

(click to enlarge)

Happy 10th Birthday, Franklin!

We threw a birthday party for Franklin at Gattitown this evening. He is turning 10, so he was allowed to invite 10 of his friends. Only 4 were able to attend (other than his brothers), but they had a great time anyway! They ate from the pizza buffet, ate Lego cake, opened presents and played in the arcade. The cool part about Gattitown is that it is similar to Chuck E Cheese, except it has bigger kid games - like bumper cars and bowling! The boys all had so much fun & went home with goodie bags of their own. Franklin went to bed a very happy boy. I hope he has good memories, because it will be 3 years until his next party! :)

All of the boys (3 from his 3rd grade class, 1 from church, plus 2 brothers):

Lego birthday cake (each "brick" was a separate piece made from fondant - wow!):

The birthday boy - I can't believe he's TEN YEARS OLD!!!

Bumper cars - the big highlight of the evening: