Few Fun Pics

We have ENTIRELY TOO MUCH candy from Halloween festivities. Gavin actually enjoyed trick or treating this year. We went to several Trunk or Treats, and then to several friends' neighborhoods. We are trick or treated out. Here are a couple of pictures from this past week and tonight.

My little football player

We always have a bon fire at mom and dad's house.

The kids raked the leaves in a big pile, so we enjoyed playing around in them.

We did some trick or treating in Greer with my friend Kelly.

Artist Jason Varner carved our pumpkins. He loves doing this every year - and you gotta know that the basic pumpkin face would not be good enough. He always finds templates to use. Can you tell who this is? (The other pumpkin was Bowser from Mario Brothers.)

My two sleepy heads this afternoon.

My scary little ghost

Gavinism

Before I tell you what he said, let me set the stage: Gavin came into the bathroom one morning a couple of weeks ago while I was getting out of the shower and drying off. He's seen me naked many times, but this time was different obviously. He brought his head close to my mid-section and looked seriously and said, "Mommy, where's your winkie?" I responded, "Mommies don't have winkies. Only boys and daddies have winkies." That was the end of the conversation. So, the other morning, when Gavin was waking up, I walked into his room and found him with his hand down his pants. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "It's big. My winkie is big." I told him, "I know I know. Sometimes that happens. Take your hands off it and it'll go back down." He continued messing with it, so I said, "Gavin, leave it alone. If you mess with it too much, it might fall off." He looked concerned for a split second and then said, "Fall off? Like your winkie did?" Yes, Gavin, like my winkie did.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...These are a few of my favorite things." I love that song. These are a few of my favorite things right now:

I use this sugar scrub when I have time to really enjoy a shower and want to pamper myself. It leaves my skin so soft and moisturized. It smells fantastic. I especially love to use it right after I shave my legs. My legs stay soft for days afterward.

I stole some of this Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme from mom's house. She had 2 small jars, so I figured she could spare one. I use it before I put my make up on in the mornings. It has made a big difference in how my make up goes on.

Why spend extra money on St. Ive's Apricot Scrub when Target's Up & Up brand is just as good? I love apricot scrubs, but they've always been really harsh on my face. Target's brand is a little different than what I've used in the past. It's gentler, and smells better.

And this is another one from mom. I use Kiss My Face lotion after I wash my face at night before bed. It has a bit of a sting to it because it has alpha hydroxy in it, but it's so worth it! My face has never been so soft!

Do you have any favorites that you use to pamper yourself?

Pictures

Sheriff Woody (after bath time)

Caught in Nana's make up

Byrnes Football Game

Apple Pickin' at Stepp Farms in Hendersonville

Looking at Pumpkins at Lyda Farms

Lots to catch up on...

Even though I'm not working anymore, I still find my calendar completely filled. Doesn't quite make sense to me, but I love it. Anyway, I haven't updated in a month because whenever Gavin takes a nap, I usually work on school stuff or my Bible studies. I'm in the middle of 2 GREAT studies -

1. Return to the Garden, by Kay Arthur. It's about what God intended sexually between a husband and wife. I never realized all the verses in the Bible about it! I love how Kay Arthur really picks apart the verses to make you study them. I've learned so much.
2. Faithful, Abundant, and True; part of the Deeper Still conference, by Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore. It's a mixture of lessons about faith in Christ (lack of faith = disobedience), and believing that He is able to immeasurably more.

I highly recommend both studies if you're looking for one. They are both amazing.

My Bible study girls - I love them so much. I cherish our Friday nights together.

I walked away from the bath tub for just a few minutes, and this is what I came back to! He said he was washing and shaving his hair - with MY shaving cream (and his pretend razor)! He also said he was cleaning the tub. He had wipe down the sides of the tub with more shaving cream.

We celebrated Kelli's 36th birthday.

Jason went fishing one Saturday and came home to clean the fish. Gavin HAD to be right beside his daddy even though I tried my best to keep him inside while Jason was doing it. He watched intently. Here in this picture, while Jason is cutting the fish's head off, Gavin was saying, "Sorry fish. You'll just have to live without it." (talking about its head)

We went to our friend Caroline's birthday party. She had a "super silly" party where the kids (and parents) were supposed to dress mismatched. Here is how my child dressed. He looked like an orphan. And today, we went to another birthday party for our friend Olivia Kate. I just had to take this picture of my friend Carly sliding down the slide at the park.

The park, by the way, was really really nice. It's called Herdklotz Park (terrible name for a park, but great place). It's in Greenville, off Rutherford Road like you're going toward Pleasantburg Drive. I've never been there before, nor heard of it before today, but I will definitely be going back. It had 2 sections - a playground for smaller kids, and then one for bigger kids. It also had a paved walk area around a soccor field where kids can ride bikes/scooters and adults can walk. If you've never been there before, you should check it out.

Little Chef

Gavin and I made brownies together earlier this week.

He loved helping me pour ingredients in and stirring.

Of course he had to taste test it. My daddy has gone back to school. He got a job at Floyd's Mortuary and loves what he does. He's going back to school to get his degree in Mortuary Science so that he can actually be a licensed mortician. He's got a heavy load right now - taking 4 classes!

I'm so proud of him. I know he'll do well.

And, I've been reading Stephanie Dale's blog about bike riding. Mom went riding with Jackie a couple weeks ago and loved it. So...we (Me, mom, and Katie) are going to venture out and try it. I've had a bike for several years, but haven't ridden it much. (I think I need to practice riding it before we go to see if I remember how!) Jason went out and bought me a helmet last night. I'm not too sure about it...I look a little dorky. What do you think?

Have a good weekend!

3 Year Old Well Check

Gavin went for his 3-year-old well check. I was told that he wouldn't get any vaccinations this time around. And Gavin even asked me if he would get some. I told him no. Big mistake. When we got there, they said they would prick his finger for his hemoglobin and cholesterol. And he would also get the new booster for bacterial meningitis. That meant 2 needles that I wasn't counting on. I had to pray. My child was going to think I lied to him. Anyway, he weighed 30 pounds...FINALLY! He's in the 50th percentile. (He has weighed 25 pounds forever.) And his height was in the 25th percentile. Even though he's grown a lot this summer, he's still small for his age. But she said it's ok because his growth is steady and consistent. This was just before the nurse came in to stick his finger and give him the shot. Poor thing had no clue what was about to happen. He did really well with the finger stick. He just looked at the nurse and said, "Ow, you hurt me." And then we sat there and watched the blood fill up the tube. He didn't cry on that one. But he SCREAMED when she gave him the shot. It broke my heart. After she was done, Gavin looked at me snubbing and said, "You said I wouldn't get shot today." I almost cried.

BUT rejoice! There's nothing a popscicle from Nana's house can't fix! We had to make a special trip to her house to get a green one. And all of a sudden...everything is better.