White Christmas

Our Christmas was just wonderful. The kiddos were SO. STINKIN. EXCITED. that it just bathed everyone with excitement and anticipation!

Sleepy-eyed excitement on Christmas morn!

Ella Beth l-o-v-e-d everything she got. Over and over throughout the day we heard her say, "Oh! My wish came true!" as she opened her gifts. :)

Some of Landon's gifts (a bulldozer and a dump truck) were as big as he is!

Landon's "new" smile. :)

Another one of Ella Beth's wishes coming true...

A fully furnished doll house!

Landon thinks he's a BIG boy now on his new bicycle!

Opening more presents Christmas evening at Aunt Karla's house.

If your little one received a pillow pet for Christmas I am sure these were the same faces you saw when he or she opened it!!!

Ella Beth screamed, "This is the BEST. DAY. EVER. Oh, my favorite wish came true!" (She's not the least bit dramatic. ;))

And, to top it all off...it was a White Christmas. What a special day indeed!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

This week we invited our neighbors over for a Happy Birthday Jesus party. We had a wonderful time celebrating the true reason for the season with everyone. The kiddos even sat down for the SWEETEST kids' Christmas story EVER!

The book is God Gave Us Christmas, by Lisa Tawn Bergren (who also wrote God Gave Us You, which you are probably familiar with). It is simply lays out how God is everywhere, and He gave us Christmas because of His great love for us. A must!

Time for cupcakes!

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Thank you for loving us ALL so much that you came just for us.

Multitudes on Mondays

I found this beautiful button with its even more beautiful story.



It is the story of a young girl who experiences a horrible tragedy. She questions God - where is He? How can He be good when there is so much bad? Questions, if we are honest, we have all asked.

Yet, she has a list of one thousand gifts that her Heavenly Father has bestowed to her.

And, on this Multitudes on Monday, I will share a few of my own:

*belly laughs from children

*medicine to make the coughs quiet and help the children (and parents!) sleep

*warm clothes to wear in extremely cold temperatures

*nutritious food to eat when so many in this world have none

*the sparkle of our Christmas tree - white AND colored lights all on one tree!

*the feeling of being a hero...I say "only" to Ella Beth, but she says there is no other

*the love of a God who will pursue me no matter how far I run

*the meaning of Christmas - our Savior who promises us eternity

Now, what are your Multitudes this Monday?

Kicked-up T-shirts

I bought some inexpensive long sleeved t-shirts at Target, and I decided to kick them up a notch (thank you, Emeril).

First, I used my handy and amazing Cricut (thank you, Mama) to cut my templates out of cardstock. Of course, you could always free hand your templates, but I'm type-A remember?!?!

I found some great fabric at Hobby Lobby and traced the templates.

I cut the templates out. A little tricky, but that wasn't the worst step.

That would be cutting out and applying the fabric adhesive. You do have to be precise because the adhesive will spread beyond the fabric...and you don't want that. Of course, almost all of my patterns had lots of curves so this was the hardest step most annoying step step that required the most patience. :)

Once you apply the fabric to the shirt, iron on to adhere the adhesive. Is that redundant?!?

And, wa-la, the end results are pretty darn cute!


Ella Beth's favorite - she's so proud to be 4!

My favorite.

I really like this butterfly template AND the colors in this fabric.

I can't believe Landon will be wearing this shirt in just 2 short months. Sigh.

If you're interested in me making any, let me know! And, if you have a little one's birthday coming up, don't be surprised to find one of these as a present from the Castleberrys. ;)

Out of the mouth of babes

Funny things that I want to remember - kids say the funniest (and most embarrassing) things!

We asked Landon the other day where he wanted to eat. We could tell that his little brain was working hard to remember the name of the place he wanted to eat. He thought and thought and finally with much pride he said b-HOP! (He meant iHOP. Of course, now we all refer to iHOP as bHOP because it was just so funny! :))
--
Landon and Scott were in the living room on Sunday, and Landon said, "Daddy, I wanna watch hit-ball." Scott didn't know what he was referring to at first, but Landon just kept saying over and over, "Hit-ball, Daddy. Hit-ball." Scott finally turned on the TV, and a football game was on. Landon started jumping up and down yelling, "Those boys playin' hit-ball! I like that hit-ball, Daddy. I'm gonna hit (tackle) you!" (It was so stinkin' cute! And, yes, those boys are hittin' each other. :))
--
A while ago, we went out to eat at O' Charley's for dinner with my mom. A waitress walked by while we were waiting for our food, and Ella Beth stated very matter-of-factly, "Mommy, that lady has a big bottom. It's a REALLY big bottom." We all about died!!! Luckily that lady was not our waitress because we were pretty sure she over heard. Yikes! Of course, the next conversation went like this...

(Me): "Ella Beth, that wasn't nice to say. We don't talk about other people."

(EB): "But, Mommy, I wasn't trying to be mean. I was just saying that her bottom was big because it really is."

(M): "Well, sometimes it's better not to say things even if they are true because we might hurt someone's feelings."

(EB): "Oh, OK. But, it really is big."

(M): "This conversation is over!!!"

Lately, God has been revealing to me a need that many don't talk about. A need that is Biblical, but many times breezed over because it doesn't fit in a box - it's not easily described, and culture surely wants no part in it.

The Holy Spirit.

I was given a book just a few days ago that I am already finding to be such a gift to me as a mother - I put it down only when Scott reminds me of how tired I am and how early the kiddos will rise. Tender Mercy for a Mother's Soul (Angela Thomas) is a precious read. And, I don't say "precious" in the oh-so-cute-and-sweet-way. I say "precious" as it is a book that I will read again and again, and one day pass along to Ella Beth.

Angela Thomas says that the most important job we have as mothers is to care for our souls. To fill our inner longing with the presence of our Savior. When we are becoming full of Christ, how can that not pour over into our role as a mother?

John Ortberg (author of The Me I Want to Be) asks, "What is the state of your soul?" Are you easily irritated? Are you grumpy? Do you lighten the room when you enter, or cast a cloud?

Galatians 5:22-23 "The fruit of the Spirit (Christ living in me) is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, and SELF-CONTROL. Against such things there is no law."

Would my children and my husband say that the fruit of the Spirit is coming out of me, or would they say that the fruit of Amber is coming out? Just thinking about their response brings me to my knees.

We as mothers need to care for our souls. We need to care for them deeply. There is no greater need in our lives than intimacy with our Savior. And there is simply no way that the Holy Spirit can flow from us if our souls are not full of Him.

I used to beat myself up for not having successful "quiet times" with God. Either I would put it off, or I would wake up early and begin my study only to have one (or both!) of my kiddos decide that they would wake up early too. I felt like such a failure. I wanted to spend time with God because I knew the importance...my soul was longing for Him...but it was getting complicated.

Or, should I say, I was making it complicated?

The Bible teaches that we are to spend time in the Word, spend time praying to God, and spend our lives living for Him. However, no where does the Bible say that all of that requires a 30 minute daily devotion. What?!?! Did you gasp like I did the first time I heard someone say those freeing words to me?

I went on a mom's retreat a couple of weeks ago (www.birdsonawiremoms.com) where Karen Stubbs encouraged all of us to simply spend time with God. No time limits, no "rules." One thing I have been doing for a few months now is to meditate on one verse in Scripture for a week at a time. I pray it out loud until my heart claims it as Truth. I have been trying to apply a specific verse in Scripture to my life for a week. For almost a month back in September, my verses were Galatians 5:22-23. Let's just say that it took a while (a month) to apply those two short verses to my life. I had a lot of work to do. ;)

But for the last week, my verse has been Isaiah 40:11, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."

What a blessing to know that our Heavenly Father, Creator of all, holds us close to His heart. And, you know what I noticed in this verse close to the end of my week? It says that he GENTLY leads those that have young. How often I am so hard on myself - I feel like I'm failing as a mom (too impatient, too busy). But our Savior isn't beating us up. He is gently leading us to Him.

And that, that makes my soul full.

HEAVEN in your mouth

Y'ALL!!!!! This has got to be one of the most delicious recipes on the face of the planet! Oh My Word, it is so good!

(all pics taken with iPhone...sorry they're not great!)

CARAMEL APPLE DIP -

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan combine sugars, syrup and butter.


My lovely assistant. Who is appearing regularly in my kitchen these days. :)


Cook over medIum heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil, about 5 – 6 minutes.Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

Stir in whipping cream.

Pour into a jar and store in refrigerator. It will thicken when cold.

ENJOY! YUMMY!!!

Happy Halloween

This was the first year we carved our pumpkins. It was icky and slightly gross (or so the kiddos told me!), but it was worth it. :)

Mickey -

Minnie -


Our lil' pumpkins.


Landon was Cookie Monster this year. He was one cutie pie!


Ella Beth was - who else - Cinderella!


Annual family shot. And yes, my hair is that dark. And no, it wasn't just for Halloween. It's the "new" me. I've accepted that I will never again be blond like the rest of my family. My babies took it all out of me, and now I'm just the brunette of the fam. ;)


Part of the crew...ultra sweet to ultra scary.


Landon was TERRIFIED of the werewolf. Here, Ella Beth is trying to protect him, but Landon is about to make a run for it.


And he did. Because half a second after this picture was snapped that scary werewolf stretched out his hand and touched Landon. I have never seen such terror on a little kid's face. It brought tears to my eyes to see him so scared. :( He was in Daddy's arms for quite a while after that incident.


Here's Ella Beth giving Landon a pep-talk before we were on our way to go trick-or-treating. She is such a little mama with a very big heart.


Quick shot with my baby girl.


Everyone who dressed up. RTG!


A nice kitty greeted Ella Beth and Landon at the very last stop. A great ending to a fun (and slightly emotional) Halloween.

Yumminess

What is it about this time of year that brings out the Betty Crocker in me? I mean, I love to bake all year round; but give this girl some cool weather, and the oven doesn't seem to ever turn off!

I am getting better about having little helpers in the kitchen with me. It's no secret that I am a neat-freak-perfectionist. It's a curse. Really it is. But, I am learning that if I prepare myself (i.e. give myself a good pep-talk and remind myself that there is a tasty reward in the end) I am OK with the mess that finds its way ALL OVER my kitchen. Most of the time. OK, I'm still working on it! But I am getting better. See...

Look at that smile. We did have fun!


Proud of her cookies.


Proud of his cookies, too.


Waiting is always the hardest part in life, isn't it?


Mouth watering yumminess!


I can't believe I didn't snap a pic of the kiddos actually eating their cookies. But I didn't. My nerves were shot from looking around the kitchen. ;) I'll make sure to snap one next time. Next time. Oh, how soon will I brave that?!?!