okaaaay.

let me first apologize in advance to my mother for sharing this less than flattering story. i promise, its for the greater good and will allow more than one person a chuckle.

my mom was in town for a couple of days this week, and we were out running errands one afternoon.
my dad and i are what some would call, crazy drivers. my dad says we drive offensively, as opposed to defensively. hey, i've got things to do.
so i was driving like i always do, and my mom would occasionally cringe and grab the nearest handle/armrest/whatever she could get ahold of. let me pause here to interject that my mom has kind of a sensitive stomach. stress, anxiety, mine and my dads driving; these things can freak her digestive system out a bit.
at one point, this is how it went down....
mom: i'm going to have diarrhea for two days.
colby: i like diarrhea.
mom: you like it?
colby: mm-hm.
mom: okaaaay.
colby: it just slides right out.
me: ah, so you dont have to work as hard.
colby: right.
molly: i like it, too.

as usual when i post these little conversations, i have no words.
i'll just end it at that.

project 365, week 11

GASP! i missed a picture this week! i kind of hate myself for it, but i know its not the end of the world. i can make it up later with extras. :-)

i guess considering the weird schedule we've been keeping with allens recovery and other things going on around here, its permissible. 

sunday

in the last few weeks we've befriended a family that lives up the road from us, because they come to our cul-de-sac to ride their bikes. their daughter is a year younger than molly, and their son is almost 3. sunday afternoon they explored the creek and that big scary cement hole. they would yell into it and then run away before any monsters could come out after them.

monday

allen graduated to a cane. here hes practicing with the physical therapist.

tuesday
allen got his staples out. as you can see, it wasnt a pleasant experience. molly let him squeeze her finger. having the staples out really helped his range of motion, though.

wednesday
no picture. :-(

thursday
i, along with a friend of mine, am leading worship at our churches upcoming womens retreat, and they needed a picture for the brochure. since im always the one behind the camera, i had to take a quick selfie to send to the church secretary. ive been living in my pj's for 2 weeks, so i slapped on some lip gloss and a scarf to perk myself up a bit.

friday
im kind of a history nerd, but only when it concerns places I've actually been to, or will be going to. i went to Israel almost 3 years ago, and one of the coolest places we toured was Masada. i just finished The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, which is a historical fiction novel about Masada and the last stand of the Jews after the Romans massacred them and tore down the 2nd temple. im a bit obsessed, and even went so far as to check out a book from the library about the archealogical dig from the mid 60's. whether you like history or not, the dovekeepers is a great read.

saturday
our friends and mentors, the welches, took us to dinner at a new and eclectic restaurant here in town called jack allens. we had queso with green chile pork and guacamole in it. my entree was a pumpkin seed pesto marinated chicken breast stuffed with artichokes and mushrooms, topped with a goat cheese drizzle. dessert was this chocolate dome of heaven you see below. some kind of mousse thing, soaked with a little rum or baileys, or maybe both. heck, i dont know. it was awesome, and thats all that matters. i will eat there again, i assure you.

i didnt get any pictures, but we also had one of the three candidates for the youth pastor postition at our church here thursday thru saturday morning, and he stayed at our house. my mom is coming for a couple of days at the beginning of the week; then thursday night another candidate for the position, along with his wife, will be coming and staying thru sunday. all that along with allen still being in recovery mode, makes for a full week ahead.

if nothing else, its forcing me to keep my house clean!!

link up below!

be blessed!!

project 365, week 10

sorry i'm getting this up later than usual. its been a full week, even though we've barely left the house. normally our week is full of meet-ups, errands, friends, church, etc. this week, however, its been full of physical therapy, wrapping and icing allens knee, physical therapy, home health nurse visits, physical therapy...you get the picture. 

if you ask his P.T., allen is progressing wonderfully, and is ahead of the game in his recovery. if you ask him, he would've liked to be back in the swing of things a week ago! :-) we've all got a bit of cabin fever, but we're seeing a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

not terribly exciting comparatively, but heres the week...

sunday

being home-bound brings the perler beads out. the kids have been creating with these for the better part of the week. they've taken over the kitchen table.

monday
i was grateful to have allens mom here for the week of his surgery, and the few days following his arrival home. she was a great buffer for the kids, letting them read to her, playing games, etc, so i could be the nurse.

tuesday
rex came to pick mom up tuesday morning. we enjoyed her visit!

wednesday
kristen (the one who prays over molly each year for those of you that have been following me for awhile) got engaged last weekend, and called to ask colby and molly to be her flower girl and ring-bearer. i knew what was coming so i had my camera ready to catch the kids reactions. colby was beside himself. kristens brother shayne got married a few months ago, and allen officiated his wedding. we are so excited and honored to be involved in both of their big events!

thursday
this is what colby brought home from art wednesday evening, and i needed a picture for the day. hes learned some really cool techniques this semester.

friday
we cozied up friday evening and watched The Bible (series on the history channel) that we DVR'd sunday night. this event required hot chocolate.

saturday
lazy pajama day. i love peeking into one or the other of the kids' rooms and seeing them create and pretend together.

this week will be alot more of the same, but allen will make the transition to a cane (hes been using a walker), and he gets the staples out on tuesday. 

link up if you have photos to share!

be blessed!

project 365, week 9

alright ya'll, i'm missing some of you that normally link up!
last week we only had 3 people link up, plus myself. dont worry about missing days, just share what you have.
my pictures this week are all pretty similar, but the majority of my week was spent at the hospital with allen, who had knee replacement surgery on tuesday. hes home now and recovering well. my mother in law is here until tuesday, and has been helpful in keeping the kids happy so i can play nurse.

sunday
a couple on the youth ministry team is expecting a baby in april, and their class of 11th graders threw them a surprise shower sunday after church. i love the balloon baby.

monday
molly learned to stitch in one of her co-op classes last week, so i bought some scrap fabric for her at hobby lobby so she could make a little blanket for her babies.

tuesday
this is allen right after they got him checked in and hooked up to all the i.v.'s and other paraphernalia at the hospital. so glad his mom was able to come for the week.

wednesday
molly was so happy to see daddy on wednesday when he was good and awake. they saw him when he came out of recovery, but he was still pretty doped up.

thursday

molly took a spill off her bike this evening and busted her lip. i know it hurt her pretty bad (and scared me!) but good grief shes cute, even with a fat lip. she kept saying, "mommy, my lips are crooked!"

friday
so happy to have daddy home! the kids cuddled up next to him as he did some of his therapy when he got home friday afternoon. he has to put his leg in this machine for two hours a day for about a week. it helps him get his range of motion back.

saturday

we borrowed a recliner from a family at our church, so allen would have somewhere to sit and comfortably elevate his leg. i had to rearrange the living room a bit, but he has a good little set-up.

you may call me nurse amy until further notice. fortunately, thats what i was going to school for before i got sick in college and had to withdraw, and one of these days i'll go back and get my degree. in the meantime (or at least for the next little bit), i'll be practicing on my willing husband.

have a blessed week!!

project 365, week 8

delicious food photos and descriptions ahead. do not continue if youre hungry. please stop and have a sandwich.

ok. just thought i should warn you. almost half my pictures this week are of food. i'm trying to get my family back to eating whole, healthy foods when possible, and to stop "grabbing something while we're out" so much. i tried some new things this week, and they all turned out so well, that i captured them on camera. bon appetite.

sunday

we went to some friends house for dinner and games. the kids decided it would be more fun to turn the lights off and tell ghost stories, complete with flashlight under chin.

monday
i made a cornmeal breaded, pan fried tilapia and served it over greens. the dressing was the juice of two limes, a tblsp of dijon, and a quarter cup (i think) of canola oil. oh. my. word. it was SO good. i accidentally asked for twice as much fish as i needed at the market, but we ate every bite! even the kids had seconds!

tuesday
for breakfast this week ive been alternating between a green smoothie, and this bowl of loveliness. yogurt, quinoa, blackberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds, mint leaves, and honey. no measuring; just throw it together. yum!!

wednesday
mollys hair is getting long enough that i have to wrap it for a bit to help it dry. shes so cute. :-)

thursday
we made a trip to a bakery in austin this week to get some fresh bread with no preservatives. i bought a loaf of spinach provolone bread as a special treat. i used it to make grilled cheese sandwiches a couple of times. i have got to figure out how to make it. delicious!!!

friday
molly learned to ride her bike this week!!! she was SO proud of herself, and we were proud of her!!!

saturday
complete and total house cleaning. anytime the chairs get moved off the kitchen floor into the living room, the kids ask to make a fort. the spent all morning in there playing.

this week should be interesting. allens having knee-replacement surgery on tuesday at 1:30. we've had offers of help from friends and family, so i know we'll be taken care of, and my sweet mother-in-law is coming to stay for a week to help out. he'll be in the hospital for a few days, and then recuperating indefinitely. prayers are appreciated!!
have a blessed week!!!

project365, week 7

we did pretty well with our school schedule this week, all things considered. we went to a childrens museum with some friends on tuesday, so the kids agreed to do double school on monday, and my parents came for a couple days, which is always a nice treat. 

here are the pictures.

sunday

the fence we share with one of our neighbors keeps blowing down in one spot, and their dog comes into our yard. colbys allergic to dogs and cats, so we dont have cuddly pets, but when we looked out our backdoor and see her cute-ugly face staring in at us, we had to go out and play with her for just a little bit. did i mention her name is sexy? i cant tell you how funny it is to hear both of my kids yelling "come here, sexy! over here, sexy!"

monday
we did a few science experiments monday afternoon. one bowl is hot, the other is cold, and the one in the middle is room temp. if you hold one hand each in the hot and cold at the same time for about 3 minutes, then plunge them together into the room temp water, your brain cant tell what temp the water is. it was a pretty neat experiment.

tuesday
david, colby, and molly playing dress up in the "nana's attic" section at the childrens museum.

wednesday
i labeled, chopped, prepped, and bagged food for about 7 hours on wednesday. the result? 18 fresh, homemade crock-pot meals, ready to be thawed and cooked. most of the meals feed 6-8 people, so there'll be leftovers for lunches, too.

thursday
happy valentines! we had heart-shaped pizza, and made our own chocolate-covered fruit. this was our second year in a row to do that. it may be a tradition.

friday
my mom and dad brought me a priefert backwoods bloodline shirt. its a hunting show on the sportsman channel. the three priefert brothers on the show are my cousins. the priefert ranch is where we went for thanksgiving, if any of you remember grandma on the rope swing. :-)

saturday
the flood plane/rain drainage area out next to our house is always a fun place to explore and play on a pretty day.

everyone have a great week!!! thanks for stopping by!

link up below if you have pictures to share.....

project 365, week 6

our week was a little different coming off disciple now. i think we may have had our spring break this week, and will just power thru school the week everyone else has off here in another month or so.

we're had weird weather this week too. it was 84 degrees and beautiful on thursday. yesterday it was quite that warm, but still a great day for being outdoors. today its 55 degrees, and just drizzly enough to keep you indoors. hopefully the pretty weather will return. we loved being outside this week!

sunday

some of the DNOW small group leaders hung around sunday and took naps at our house before driving back to their respective college towns. we ended up going out to dinner and ice cream after. the guy at Amy's Ice Cream let us get behind the counter when we asked him to take our picture, under the condition that we each wear a hat.

monday
i went to houston to get the kids from mimi and papa, where they spent DNOW weekend. i stayed the night, though, so that we could go to the zoo on tuesday.

tuesday
i was trying to get  the kids to pose for a "sweet" picture. this is the best they could do.

wednesday
we sold jake the snake. we're done with pets until the kids can take care of them themselves. we got him out to play one last time.

thursday
after a trip to the library, we went to the big park here in our city to ride scooters. what a beautiful day!!

friday

after co-op we went to a nearby park with some friends. another great day to be outside.

saturday

molly and i had a baby shower to go to, so i took colby to the lamberts house to hang out with adler, tate, and uncle zach (allens out of town, and aunt april was going to the shower as well). when i got there, this is how i found colby and adler. adler just turned 5 and looks up to colby so much, and colby loves being that example to adler. we told them they're only allowed to sit like this for a little bit longer. then its just awkward. 

i posted a lot of pictures from our zoo trip a couple days ago. i got some fantastic close-ups of some of the animals, if youre interested in that kind of thing.  

have a great week!!

thanks for linking up!