I found some photos from last month that I forgot to post.
With the strange weather around here it's hard to figure out when summer has ended and when fall has started.
It's warm enough to run around in the sprinklers,
but leaves are falling all over the ground.
So, is it summer or fall?
Hmm? I wonder what these boys think?
There are a few purses around here, but I really, only, use about two of them. I use this one quite often because it's pretty versatile and goes with a lot of things that I wear. I call it my neutral purse.
The other purse I use often is this turquoise purse. I love turquoise and even if it doesn't match what I'm wearing I still carry it around. It's just a fun and cute purse. Don't you agree? Did I mention that both of these purses are actually camera bags? Yes, that means that I literally carry my camera around almost everywhere I go. Since these bags are pretty roomie they would also be a great diaper bag substitute. I said good-bye to my diaper bag a long time ago and now I just use one of these two purses, though I'm itching for a new purse.
This is normally what you would find in my purse if you got a little peek.
Everything fits perfectly inside. That little empty spot is for my camera, but it's not in there because I'm using it to photograph the purse, but you knew that.
Here's everything in my brown purse. What I love is that since it's a camera bag there are dividers and I can keep everything organized in their own little seciton. This is what also makes it the perfect diaper bag.
There you have it: all the things I carry in my purse. Now what's in your purse. I'd love to see.
Last week I stopped in at the thrift store next to our church just before our Lenten dinner. I found the two solid blue bowls and completed my Horizon Blue set. There was a tiny little chip in the big bowl, so when I got up to the counter to pay I asked if they could give me a little discount. The salesman gave it to me for half off. I ended up piecing this set together for $13. Now that's exciting. I just love the color. It's so bright and cheery.
We had spring rolls for dinner. It's one of my favorite appetizers and so easy to make. Give it a try. Here are the directions.
Over the weekend the thrift stores were all having a 50% off sale. The children enjoy hunting Pyrex if they're in the right mood. There wasn't much on the shelves, but we did get out the house for a bit and I got my Starbucks along with free oatmeal.
Every Sunday morning I stop for coffee before church. The baristas know my order and my voice when I drive through. I forgot to add cream to my order one morning and they reminded me. They take such good care of me.
Rebecca has been working fervently to complete the Catechism Memory Program that my Lutheran Stud created for our church. The difficult part of this program is having to remember the previous level along with the current level that they are working on. Rebecca has completed level six and her award was this really cool crucifix.
I've joined up with some amazing Lutheran ladies to study a little theology. Since none of us live anywhere near each other we've decided to have an online book club. I could not have asked for a better group of ladies with which to be connected. Not only does their intelligence blow me away, they are pretty darn funny too. We're reading C.S. Lewis for next month. I can't wait to see what kind of discussion we'll have then. "Ror."
My friend Edie posted some amazing recipes for salad dressings. You must make them. While I didn't use her recipe for this salad, her recipes did trigger my need for a good salad. You should try this Cape Cod Picnic Salad that my friend Kellee made for me when I visited her awhile back.
There weather has been unusually warm the last couple of days. I decided, and I don't know why, to go running. I ran two miles and just about died when I was finished. I also got lost in my own neighborhood. Nice, right? Next time I'll stay on the trail and not try to come up with any shortcuts, if there is a next time. 
I saw a coupon for kids-eat-free at Chilis this week. Since we don't eat out much we decided to go. I always forget to call ahead. I should know better because no restaurant ever has seating for our family. Tables always have to be moved around. The children enjoyed coloring their menus along with their bottomless drinks of juice, which they never get at home. It was a great evening out on a weeknight.
In my quest to get rid of the plastic storage containers in our home I started collecting vintage Pyrex. I think I've mentioned that here before. Anyway friends and even my mom have started looking for pieces for me and I couldn't be happier. I check out the local thrift stores regularly in the hopes of finding some great deals. They're perfect for entertaining. We had company over last week and made burrito bowls. Everyone got to make their own bowls and put whatever they wanted in them. It was perfect! The leftovers can go straight into the fridge. What I also love is when I heat leftovers I can just stick the whole thing in the microwave lid and all.
The next day we had people over to watch the Broncos game. While that was an incredibly horrible game for us we did have some pretty fabulous food. It was appetizer and chili night!
If you love buffalo wings you definitely need to make this bleu cheese buffalo chicken dip. You will love it!
This spinach artichoke dip always gets rave reveiews too. Sometimes I'll even eat for lunch. 
The mini taco cups are perfect for a football game. I was able to use leftovers from the night before to make these.
Chips and salsa are pretty much a staple around here. I canned a ton of salsa this summer and I hope I can make it to the next summer, but I think we'll cut it close. That's how much I love my salsa. So there you have it; a small sampling of my latest obession. If you have some Pyrex laying around that you want to get rid of feel free to bring it to me. I'll definitely put it to good use. I've even begun collecting dishes too.
For Christmas some members in our congregation gave us farm eggs for Christmas from their own chickens. We go through an outrageous amount of eggs in our home, making me wish we had our own chickens.
We decided to have little taste test to see which eggs we liked best.
Rebecca was our chef.
She loves cooking eggs for breakfast and she does quite good job.
Two plates. Two different kinds of eggs.
Here we go. Can you tell which is which?
While the younger children couldn't taste much of a difference I would say that all of us older folk could. The farm eggs just barely edged out the store bought eggs. Now I'm trying to plot a way for us to get some chickens. :)
Kel and I went on a little adventure. Can you tell where we went by looking at the background?
It's a huge place. I had to take a picture so we wouldn't forget where we parked.
I also invited Heather and Tracy along. As we all hung out and walked around IKEA we realized that the Lutheran world is incredibly small. We all know a lot of the same people, however Tracy, Kellee, and Heather had never met one another. We had such a crazy fun time! Tracy had never been to IKEA and Heather pretty much lives there. :)
The children's area was wonderful.
My girls were kept busy while we shopped. It was great. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done.
It doesn't matter when you go to IKEA I'm pretty sure that the lines are always like this.
I have Christmas presents for this little girl right in front of her in this cart. Do you think she'll remember what I bought?
After we checked out we parted ways with Tracy. We had some wheelin' and dealin' to do.
Yes, we were trading vintage Pyrex in the back of Heather's trunk. Then we had some more fun when Heather decided to lock her children in the car. She called her husband and then realized that her little girl could reach and unlock the door. When she unlocked the car door the alarm started going off. Heather had no idea where she left the key to her vehicle. I was really trying hard not to laugh, but knowing her little girls were just fine I have to say that the whole situation was quite comical. We found the key in the back corner of her trunk which could not be opened since the alarm was sounding. I ended up climbing over her little girl into the back of the trunk to retrieve the key. My gymnastics experince sure came in handy. 
The main reason Heather locked her girls in the car was so we could do this. We had to get a photo in front of the IKEA sign, right?
Then we called a stranger over and he was kind enough to photograph all of us! We all had so much fun that I can definitely see some more get togethers in our future. I've already got some more ideas up my sleeve. I love our small Lutheran world.
A lot's been going on around here lately that I haven't blogged about. It feels like the devil is working overtime. Cancer seems be spreading like wild fire. I thought our church had been hit particular hard, but what's really on my heart lately is this little guy. He's our adorable little nephew, Lawrence. He's the perfect mix of his mom and dad. The last time we got to see him was back in January when we were in Seattle for my dad's retirement party. It was Lawrence's first big trip out of Yakima. This weekend we found out that he has cancer. Yes, cancer. At just 2 years old this little boy is fighting for his life. As I write this he is in surgery to remove a tumor along with his left kidney. The prognosis is wonderful, so we're hopeful that all will turn out well. He'll still have to have chemotherapy for 6-9 months. I'm sure that will take a toll on his body and immune system. Please keep this little guy in your prayers.
We were fortuante enough to be in Yakima to celebrate Lawrence's birthday. You might remember that post way back here. This all brings back memories of when Jonathan was in the hospital. There was nothing we could do, but sit and wait and pray. Though I'm sure the outcome here is will be completely different it's still hard to just sit and wait and pray. If you've a got a minute please pray. Thank you. 
I used to love shopping when I was young and single without children. It seemed like I had all the money in the world to spend. Well things are different now and it's not a bad thing. If only I knew then what I know now. I've become a bit of a tight wad these days. Having a large family one needs to budget well, and knowing that, most likely, I will have all 6 children with me while I shop I plan very carefully. Since we've started using an envelope system we've really been able to watch our spending. I have to admit that I'm a sucker for coupons. Coupons get me everytime. Gretchen wrote about Target moms and when she did it got me thinking. I'm a Target mom. I shop sale ads. When I see ads like this I check my coupon stash for sale items and load up on things that we need anyway, although diapers may be coming to an end rather quickly. (The babies only wear diapers at night now.) When products come with a gift card I usually save them up.
While at Target I quickly comb through the clearance racks. I won't buy anything that's not on clearance. The shoes and dress were each $6.48. I had so many gift cards saved up that I ended up paying just pennies for them. I actually ended up getting a few more tops and paid just $ .48 for everything. The scarf was made with old t-shirts. You can find that tutorial here. That's what I wore to church Sunday.
I have to say this dress is quite versatile and comfortable. After church I did some work in the garden. These boots were truly a godsend because the garden had just been watered and everything was muddy. If I had kept my sandals on they would have been a disaster. Now I'm reading to get my boot scootin' boogie on as well! Target just seems to have it all.
