Decorated Halloween Cookies!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I can't believe it's the last day in October!! It seems like yesterday that it was sweltering hot outside...and now the weather is dipping into the 50's at night and Thanksgiving is just three weeks away. Say what?!!

Over the weekend I made some Halloween cookie treats for the kids at church. I was excited to finally put to use some of the Halloween shaped cookie cutters that I recently purchased, and make some new designs that I had never done before. The kids had a little party on Sunday and it made my heart happy to contribute to their fun-filled morning and put together cookie bags for them!

Aren't those witch legs cute!? I got the idea from Sweet Sugarbelle. She is a creative cookie queen! I often visit her site for cookie inspiration.

I also made pumpkins, spider webs, giant candy corns...

And little "lollipops"....

Naturally, Ilah was trying to nab a cookie while I was trying to take pictures....

I made A LOT more cookies then what's pictured on this platter....

I packaged them in cellophane bags and stapled scrapbook paper {that I purchased from Hobby Lobby} over the tops to make them extra cute : )

I can't wait to get going on all the ideas that I have for Christmas cookies!!!

Ilah & Her ABC Puzzle

I have a tendency to buy toys for Ilah that are a bit ahead of her age-range {those that are a non choking hazard}. In the first nine months or so, I understood that certain toys were important for her [and any young babies] developmental and cognitive growth, while also promoting stimulation. But as Ilah got closer to turning one, I found that most of the toys within her age-range were "piddly". I never wanted our home to turn into a "plastic playground" so I was always careful in selecting which toys would be not only fun, but also educational, for Ilah.

When she turned one, some of the presents that Ilah got for her birthday, were well passed her age-range. Because I mostly shop at places like Ross, Marshalls and Homegoods {where I score great finds}, I rarely pass up a good deal when I see something for Ilah {case in point: her step-stool that I bought from Hobby Lobby; I thought she wouldn't be able to use it for another year but she started climbing on it instantly when I brought it home}. Some things I let her play with immediately and make them "surprises" when I bring them home, and other things I may show her but then put away for a later date. Second case in point....the below Melissa & Doug ABC puzzle that I bought Ilah for her 1st birthday...

Although I considered her to be too young to put together an alphabet puzzle at just 12 months old {the packaging says 3+} I bought the puzzle {at Homegoods} because I knew that "eventually" this would be a great toy/learning puzzle for Ilah for when the appropriate time rolled around. But a few weeks ago, I decided to take it down from her closet to see if she took any interest in it.

Ilah is only 21 months old, so initially I was thinking that taking down the ABC puzzle was maybe premature...but she really took to it. By the second day, she was already putting most letters in their proper place...and by the end of the week, she knew where every single letter went - and got them right on her first attempt.

Here is Ilah this morning {in her cute fleece pj's, rockin' some bed head!} putting together her ABC puzzle....

We have one smart girl! And as you can see, she's pretty proud of herself : )

Ilah, 21 Months Old

I can now relate to every parent out there who has said "time flies" as it relates to how quickly their children have grown up. My daughter is just a few months shy of turning 2 and it seems just now that she should be turning 1. I feel like it wasn't at all almost two years ago that we welcomed her into the world and into our arms...it seems like yesterday.

Ilah, you are the most amazing little girl. Some days I still refer to you as a baby but then when I see these pictures of you below, I see a beautiful, independent little girl. I am so blessed that I get to stay home with you so we can share these special days together. Your daddy wanted that for us even before you came into this world, and he works so hard to make that happen. I am so thankful that I get to be a part of every minute of your day.

What have you been up to at 21 months sweet Ilah?....

• You wear a size 5 diaper, size 2T clothes, and a size 8 shoe.

• You take one nap a day and sleep so long for your daddy and your Abuela. But for mommy...not so much. I might get an hour and a half of downtime while you nap, while they get at least three hours. Why Ilah? Why?!!! ; )

• You have gotten so tall! I really see it in these pictures.

• Most mornings you start off your day cuddling up in bed with us and watching a cartoon. We love the quality time as a family to start off all of our days.

• You are an outdoors girl all the way. You have a total meltdown when you have to come inside.

• You love discovering the world around you...every little thing. Even the leaves that blow by.

• You are incredibly smart. We started playing with your ABC puzzle board and it only took you two days before you could put every single letter in their proper place on the first try!

• You eat with a fork and a spoon so well. No messes from you! People are always recognizing how coordinated you are and how well you eat your food.

• You are always saying "hi" and "bye" to people that you just meet, and offer them whatever might be in your hand at the moment - one day it was mommy's debit card! Ha! You are not shy at all.! You are such a sweet girl, and you love to share.

• Ilah, you can be quite the show off! Ha! When someone new comes around, you zip through the house showing them everything that you can do!

• You can now walk up and down the stairs all on your own. Say what?! Aren't you still too young for that?! See what I mean....you are showing us every day how much of a big girl you are!

• You are always ready to take off running!

• You "fake sneeze" when you see mommy and daddy do it. Hilarious!

• You love to color. This week you officially colored on something other than paper. The table runner on the dining room table has a lot of orange in it now!

• You are such a big helper. If you spill something, you reach up for a paper towel and go and clean it up. You close the door behind us when we come inside. You like to help push the vacuum and the mop. You help mommy "fold" the laundry. And you help mommy pick up your toys at the end of the day. Let's just hope that you like to clean your room when the time comes!

• You have no fear. You stand at the top of the stairs and leap off the top step and into our arms. You jump straight across the bed and get such a big thrill out of it! You are one brave little girl!

• You love when daddy and I give you piggy back rides!

• You LOVE being chased around the house!! You wear us out!!!!

• You love playing with daddy's ipad to hear ABC's, draw, and listen to stories.

• You love playing dress up. You will get creative with the things you see around you and turn it into a hat, a skirt, a necklace, etc. You crack us up!

• You listen to directions and you are very obedient. But when you don't like something, you can give us quite the look!.....

• You had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the first time this month...and you loved it!

• You love french fries. Who doesn't!? : )

• You are such a good little mommy to your baby dolls : )

• This week we will be taking you to church for their Halloween nighttime of fun, and we know you are going to love it! We love doing special things with you!!

Ilah, you continue to bring overflowing happiness to our lives. I still stare at you, like I did when you were a wee baby, not believing that you are actually mine/ours and that I get to have the joy of raising you. You are the best gift that I have ever received in my whole life {next to God giving me your daddy}. We love you more than words can say!!!

Women's Retreat Recap! {And A New Outlook On Friendship}

This little space on the web holds so much of my heart. When I go back to read through past posts {which I do} I'm reminded not only of the beautiful things as it relates to my family, but I'm also reminded of the things that God has done in my personal life and how much my life has been greatly enhanced over the past year since we became planted in our current church home {I wrote a little bit about that journey here; you can find more under my "Christianity" link}.

The word "fulfillment" is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of what this church has given me. Entering into this family was something that happened at a much needed time in my {our} life. Among other wonderful things that have transpired since first visiting one year ago this month, is the friendships that we have formed. We truly feel that we are doing life with people arm and arm.

I've never been one to have a close circle of many girlfriends. I just didn't see it positively working for those around me and it was clear why...all of those "friends" [at one time or another] became competitive, gossipy, catty, jealous and judgmental of one another. The friendships didn't seem pure. So why be in them? I have always chosen my friendships carefully - and now that I am giving it thought, I observe people for a bit before moving forward in getting to know them more. Which means...I am naturally inclined to be guarded at first and keep people at bay before bringing them close. I'm not sure this is the best method to follow but it has meant that my friendships usually evolve over time, rather than being instantaneous, and that's the pace that I have been most comfortable with.

Since becoming a wife and a mother, I really yearned for quality women to come into my life. Admittingly, I silently hoped for it, instead of outwardly praying for it. I knew that God knew the desires of my heart and so I just "waited". And waited, and waited and waited. And then I realized I should probably be intentional about praying for my desire to come to fruition. It was around this time that we joined our current church home...and my prayer came to pass.

My assumption about how hard it would be to form real relationships with the women within my church {because I was so jaded from past experiences at my former church} was dismissed within a short time - and I could feel my walls coming down. They were intentional in a genuine, disarming way, about wanting to get to know me....and what had been a fault of mine, in that I can spend quite a bit of time dissecting people in my head, found that I was now accepting people for who they were - just as they were accepting me for who I am. In my new friendships, I have learned a great lesson. And wow, what fulfilling friendships they have become.

I didn't plan on making all of the above a preface to the photos of our AMAZING Women's Retreat - but perhaps it was intended that I wrote all of that as maybe there's someone who will read this and can relate. All of the women that I was surrounded by this past weekend hold a place in my heart. Some of us may have deeper levels of friendships because of the length of time in which we have known someone, or shared commonalities means that time spent together happens more often than with others, but in that circle of women, you know that any one of them will be there for you, without hesitation, for any reason at all.

I took hundreds of photos over the weekend but as to not overload you with a bunch of pictures of people you don't even know, I'll keep them to a minimum ; )

Thursday afternoon, Sunny {our Pastor's wife} and I carpooled up to Big Canoe together. I sent her a text earlier that morning forewarning her that when she arrived it would look like I was moving out of my home! Ha! I was in charge of "atmosphere" so I took A LOT of stuff!

The homes were as beautiful as they looked in the photos. After we dropped our stuff in our rooms, we immediately got hard at work, making food and prepping everything to look beautiful for when the other women arrived...

After welcoming the women and everyone settling in with some food and delicious desserts, we played pictionary before our evening session - and let me tell you...it was hilarious!!...

We had a session Friday morning, and as with every session, we do a fun ice-breaker game beforehand. This one was a staring competition. Oh man....it was GREAT!! On the left is our Worship Leader, Salie, who started singing to Mariam {on the right} hoping to get her to blink and break her stare! It didn't work. Mariam has four kids and has that "mother's look" that none of her children, or anyone else, can break! Lol!....

Our morning session was wonderful and we were reminded that we all share the commonality of having God's name tatoo'd on our hearts. After the session, everyone had a few hours of free time to do leisurely activities if they so chose. Most people went hiking. At 1:30 p.m. we all gathered back together for a light lunch that consisted of a mini salad bar!...

Our evening session started with another fun ice-breaker of who could blow the biggest bubble. It was COMEDY!....

We played some fun group games for a few hours and then it was onto dinner! {Yes, we ate a lot!}. This time we took to the grill!....




Some women stayed indoors to make mashed potatoes and other side dishes....

Here's a pic of me and my roomie, Laura Jane! A young lady with a big heart! She is in our church's school of ministry program. I have sooo loved getting to know her!!....

And here is me and Dawn! Dawn and her husband are an intricate part of our church. They have five children but are so actively involved - huge servants with big hearts! We just love them!! We sit next to them every Sunday : ) ....

Me and my girlfriend Rhonda!!!! Rhonda, I love you!!!!! Whether we're at the movies, out to lunch or dinner, or just sitting next to each other, we have a great time! I can't get enough of this girl! She has a hilarious husband and they have two little boys, one of which is Ilah's exact age : )...

After dinner on Friday night, we had a great evening session, and then it was time to set up the hot chocolate bar and get ready for our "Friday Night Flannel Fashion Show". Oh.my.goodness. It was HYSTERICAL. But I'm keeping those photos private ; )

Saturday was our departure day. After breakfast we had an INCREDIBLE morning session....but not before doing another fun ice-breaker game. Do you see the cookies being passed around?...

They were for this game....

Try to get the cookie from your eye into your mouth!....

Our Saturday morning session was powerful. Our other sessions focused on girlfriends, and loving one another, but now it was time to focus on ourselves. Every woman received a piece of paper to write down her dreams on....five things that you are believing God for. We were encouraged to dream big because after-all, we have a BIG God! While I was writing down my dreams, I got so emotional...to the point where I was sobbing and just couldn't control it. I just felt the spirit of God so strong as I was writing out what I was believing Him for and His presence overtook me. I felt though, that that was coming. I rarely cry and when I do, especially in a setting in which intentional prayer is taking place, it's as if my tears are carrying me from one place to another in the spiritual world. When I looked up, I discovered that I wasn't alone in my tears. There were several other woman who were being touched by God in the same way. After our dreams were written out, we turned to the person to our right and privately prayed out-loud {but quietly} over her dreams. Oh wow. It was amazing. AMAZING. Such a bonding moment too. After that we then wrote down five things that we wanted to release and give to God. We then placed that piece of paper inside of a tiny envelope and attached them to balloons....

And together, we released them....

Out on the deck, surrounded by the beautiful nature that God created, our Pastor concluded our weekend together...

Set up in the living room, was a cork board with envelopes pinned on it. One of the things that we did throughout our stay, was leave little inspiring notes to each other, letting everyone know a beautiful quality that we see in them. At the end of the retreat, every woman took home an envelope with their name on it and was reminded of how beautiful and valuable they are!...

This weekend a few things happened: God poured into us, and we poured into each other. And friendships were taken to a new level.

I enjoyed assisting with the planning of this retreat, and baking delicious desserts to be enjoyed throughout the weekend....but what I mostly loved was the way in which I felt a part of these women's lives, and truly feeling that they are a part of mine. The notes that I received were so touching. So, so, so touching. I am immensely thankful for the sisterhood that I have come into.