Planet of the Apels

Friday Funnies

2009-11-13T11:01:00.003-06:00

Asher seems to be apologizing for a lot around here these days. It's always for things that he is truly sorry for. Sometimes, it's for sweet things like, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to step on your foot, Momma."

Other times it's for things like:

"I'm sorry that you have pimples back there, Momma" (referring to the tiny bumps on the back of my arm that I've loathed my entire life) "You're too pretty for that..."

Or like when McKlayne pooped in the bath tub, (for the 6th time in the last month) "I'm sorry that you pooped in the tub, Nayne. I forgive you."

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During Baking Day this week, Asher grabs the camera off the counter and starts taking pictures, while I'm busily at work mixing up some brown bread. A few minutes later he says, "I took a picture of your bottom, Momma. It's a cute one."

Friday Funnies

2009-11-06T12:57:00.009-06:00

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Last Saturday night I was talking to my brother, Jordan, on the phone. I was asking him if he'd spend the night so that we could leave to go run (we had an 11 miler to do...we're training for the Austin marathon) the next morning while Asher and McKlayne were still sleeping. While talking to him, I said, "You can just take Asher's bed." (as in to sleep in...we put Asher in another portable bed in McKlayne's room.)

When I got off the phone, Asher was very upset...and he told me, "No, I don't want Jo to take my bed away. I won't have anywhere to sleep. How will I sleep without a bed? I want him to leave my bed here in my room."

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Proof that living in this town has brain-washed our child:

While we're driving around the mall parking lot, Asher points up towards this sign, and says,

"Look, Mommy, that mouse is saying Gig' em, Aggies!"

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We were jumping on the trampoline earlier this week, I double-bounced Asher and sent him flying, which knocked him down pretty hard. As I went over to help him up, he told me in a serious voice, "Hey, you better settle down, Mister!"

He left a boy and came back a MAN...

2009-11-04T22:39:00.007-06:00

...Asher, that is. (Kirby is crying while I write this post.)

ASHER AND HIS SHOVEL

I had always thought about how fun it would be to take my son(s) camping someday. So when our new friends Joe and Isaac said they were going, Asher and I jumped at the chance. I had wondered when Asher was going to be old enough to sleep outside for a night. Isaac is almost a year younger than Asher. So I thought if they were willing to try it, we were definitely going.

For our first experimental camping trip, Joe and I decided that keeping it relatively close to home would be preferred. We ended up going to Hilltop Lakes just outside of Normangee. I wouldn't say that they were the nicest campgrounds that I've ever seen, but they were definitely adequate for the men. (And the community is pretty interesting with an airstrip, golf course, motel, restaurant, and small lakes.) I would recommend it.

We got there in the evening with enough time to let the boys run off some energy while we got a fire going for dinner. Here is Asher's fire. If you've read some of our recent posts, he has cultivated quite the imagination. While we were prepping the campfire, he kept asking me to come see his fire as he would throw sticks into this hole.

ASHER'S FIRE

Asher was a natural camper. When we would go on walks, I expected my "I don't like my hands dirty" boy to stick close and on the main trail. No way. He would just walk straight through the woods making his own trail. If he'd had a machete and backpack, I would never have seen him again. I honestly couldn't keep up as it was. The holes/trails he could fit through were about a quarter of the size that I could. And I found my self sprinting around a different way to head him off or pushing through all the brush.

Asher and Isaac played well. All they needed were a couple of shovels and the great outdoors and they were totally content. Asher repeatedly told me throughout the trip, "Daddy. Isaac is my friend."

As the Apels were in charge of the meals for the trip, I quickly realized how much I equate camping with eating junk food — smores, powdered donuts, etc. I think the healthiest thing we ate were the nitrate-free hot dogs. (Sorry, Terry-men. I'm pretty sure we'll rethink this next time.)

Isaac was a champ at tent-sleeping. Joe put him down and we never heard from him until the next morning. Asher was a little harder to convince. But I think it was a little more due to the excitement of a new adventure than being afraid or uncomfortable. (If we tell him that he's going to Seaworld or somewhere exciting the night before the trip, we can hear him talking in his room extremely late that night. We've all been there.)

JOE AND ISAAC

DADDY AND ASHER

We had a really great time camping and spending time with Joe and Isaac. We will definitely be doing this again. Who's coming with us?

Freezer Cooking Day

2009-11-03T06:30:00.009-06:00

For the last 6 months, I've been designating (about) every other Monday as my "Baking Day." I'll bake enough muffins, quick breads or cereal bars to put in the freezer that will last us around 2-3 weeks. (recipes at the bottom of this post...since I'm always up for trying new recipes) This has been really helpful to me for snacks or a hurried breakfast (if we're trying to get out the door quickly for some reason) or even just a lazy-day breakfast when I don't want to scrub the eggs off my (used-to-be) non-stick pan. (This is absolutely the WORST part of making breakfast to me...does anybody else hate this?)

Anyway, Asher loves to help with this, while McKlayne pretty much just likes to taste-test.

Our church has a HUGE fellowship meal after our service on Sunday evenings...which is something that I LOVE but most Sundays it has stressed me out, trying to make a meal, plus a side dish or dessert, and get everyone dressed, ready, bags packed and out the door in time. So, about a month ago, my wise husband told me that he'd like for me to find a way to make Sundays more restful.

My solution?

Several weeks ago, Crystal, from MoneySavingMom inspired me to have a freezer cooking day...she is also who inspired me to have my very first baking day 6 months ago...and I am sharing this, in hopes, that maybe it will inspire you to make meal preparation easier on days that are busy or difficult!

Read up on how to package and freeze meals properly here. (This had been what kept me from attempting something like this in the past, but this lady gives great, easy-to-follow instructions!)

**Secret Ingredient to a successful Baking Day: If you have kids (and you live in a college town), get yourself a cute college girl, who wants to learn how to cook but can also step in to help with babies when needed.**

Madeline (my cute college girl)

Then, get all of your ingredients for each meal, along with the recipes (even if you have it memorized because when you have several different meals going at a time and if you're trying to double/triple recipes-it just gets CRAZY!) and group them (along with the pans or bags that you're freezing them in) together like so:

Then get to work...leaving your once clean kitchen, very messy...and rejoice as you think about all the hours that you're about to redeem since you're getting that kitchen REALLY messy ONE time rather than FOURTEEN!

In about 6-7 hours, we made 14 meals (not all pictured here):

-3 meals of Spaghetti Bake

-2 pans of Lasagna

-3 pans of King Ranch Chicken
-2 meals of Baked Ziti
-2 meals of Angie's Fideo
-1 meal of Sloppy Joe's (meat mixture)
-1 chicken pot pie

This has worked SO well for our family that I will probably do this every month. In two weeks, we've already eaten 4 of these meals, I'd designated 4 of these meals as New Life (our church) meals (2 of these down and 2 to go) and two families from our church have needed meals and I took them each one of these. So we've only got 4 left...but it's been such a blessing to be able to run to the freezer in the morning (or at about 4:00 in the afternoon in desperation) and pull out one of these ready-made meals. A stress free wife/Mommy=a MUCH less cranky and irritable wife/Mommy.

What I will do differently next time:

-Ask a friend or two if I can borrow at least one (maybe two) extra large pot(s) and several large bowls for mixing so that I can have several things going at once...this will speed up the process.

-Possibly brown the turkey/beef/sausage and boil the chicken the night before.

-Figure out a new way to cook the Baked Ziti. The noodles in the spaghetti and the lasagna (though, those were not cooked before I froze them) tasted fine! But, the penne pasta in the Ziti was a little too mushy. Suggestions? Would you barely cook them next time, since they'll freeze, thaw, and be cooked in the oven again?

-Experiment with different recipes to see how they freeze.

And if you only browse my blog to see my cute kids and you don't care what I have to say, I don't want to disappoint:

Asher grabs "his" apron every time we bake.

Guess what? As I was typing this post, I realized that Crystal is having a Two Day Freezer Cooking/Baking Day...starting today!

And if you have any tips or recipes that you know freeze well, PLEASE share! I'd love to hear!

Oh, yes, the recipes that I promised from Baking Days. I usually choose a couple from these depending on what ingredients I have:

Banana Bread (my sister gave me this recipe...I love this because it uses minimal ingredients, is simple and delicious!)

3/4 c. unsweet applesauce
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. grated carrots (optional)
1 c. mashed bananas (about 3)
*I sometimes I'll add choc. chips. (Just eyeball it.)

Preheat to 350. Spray 9 x 5 loaf pan w/ cooking spray.
In one bowl combine applesauce, sugar, and eggs; beat until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, soda, powder, and cinnamon. Add to batter and blend well.
Fold carrots and bananas (and choc. chips) into batter.
Pour batter into pan(s).Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean.

Brown Bread (This is what my Baking Day will consist of today...I plan on making MANY loaves..this is my kids all time favorite snack/breakfast bread...this recipe is an old family favorite.)

With my recipe, I bake them in a can in the oven. Just save an old, tall (family size) soup can or spaghetti sauce can and a big fat shorter can like what a can of whole tomatoes would come in. Two of either (or I use one of each) size will be enough for the recipe:
-Boil 1 and 1/2 cups water, put in 1 and 3/4 cups raisins, once it boils, remove from burner and let stand for 15 minutes. Put 2 teaspoons of baking soda in raisin mix.

-Beat together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 egg. Then add raisin and water mixture. Add 3 cups flour.
-Pour batter into greased cans and stand them up in your oven. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Stonyfield Farm Strawberry Muffins (from the Stonyfield Farm yogurt carton)

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 2 eggs 1 cup Stoynfield lowfat plain yogurt (I've used vanilla yogurt and omitted the tsp. of vanilla and did not taste the difference) 1/4 cup butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup chopped strawberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 12 muffin tin or line it with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar andbaking soda. In another bowl, stir together eggs, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla until blended. Toss the strawberries with the flour mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the flour is just moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Yields 12 muffins. Jason's Deli's Gingerbread Muffins (Asher loves these!) I just googled it and tried this recipe one day...these are pretty close to the real thing! Cereal Bars I googled these, too, and got this recipe.

Remember this?

2009-11-02T16:12:00.003-06:00

McKlayne would like me to note...

that she is not the only one who wakes up with beadhead in this house...

Yup. That's going to be a doozy to tame.

(And. Yes. He is long overdue for a haircut, too.)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T00:22:00.010-05:00

We love Halloween. See how much fun we had?

One little...

Two little...

Cute little indian...

Boy.

The Eagle that he was so proud of.

Precious.

First stop: Jin & Jisook's

How.

The Ash's

Aunt Ash.

Second stop: MammyOu's & Dane's

She caught on to trick-or-treating quite quickly...and L.O.V.E.D. it! She would walk all the way up to the door toting her bucket and either lift it up to the treater or set the bucket down at their feet and then just look up at them as if to say, "Now, it's your turn."

She had SO MUCH candy that she could barely carry her bucket. But, she did. And would not let it go.

Asher loved running from house to house.

And would say, "I'm a pirate indian!" or "I'm a ninja indian!" whenever he would see another child dressed up as a pirate or ninja and so on...

American Gothic throws a mad party.

Cute Black-Eyed-Peas.

Has-Been Hulk & The REAL Dr.'s Wife

The Flintstones.

Friday Funnies and more...

2009-10-30T09:07:00.016-05:00

One afternoon, Asher had asked me to pull his desk out from the wall, into the middle of his room so that he could play it like a piano. (It's been so fun to pretend with him lately as he's beginning to use his imagination.)

A little while later I heard:

A: "No, no McKlayne! Get off the stage! McKlayne, NOOOOOOO!"

M: "What is going on in here?"

A: "I was playing the piano on my stage, and Mr. Aaron was right there playing guitar, and McKlayne came up on the stage and knocked over that lady* that was singing on the microphone."

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See this Great Dane? Looks harmless, doesn't he?

A couple weeks ago, we visited my mom and one morning I woke up to some terribly alarming screaming.** I ran down stairs to see Asher clinging to my mom's leg and trembling as he begged Fezzik, "Don't eat me. Please don't eat me, Fezzik."

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*Later that night as I tucked Asher in to bed, I asked him who "that lady" was that McKlayne knocked down.

"Umm...it was T-Bear's Mommy and McKlayne made her sad."

**When we go visit my mom, it's mostly like a vacation for me. I get to sleep in while Asher is up an hour earlier than normal because he's so excited that we're at Mimi's. (Thanks, Mom!)

We've missed the last couple Friday Funnies, because we've either been out of town visiting my mom and sister or because we were at a fun Fall Party at our friend's ranch.

Here are pictures from both:

Cami, Brynn, Asher, McKlayne and Chase

Double Trouble.

Blankie Buddies.

Camdyn trying to escape.

All 7 of the cousins.

Now, they're all still.

More...

Poor Reid is still smiling, trying to get a good pic.

Mimi

From SeaWorld:

Yikes-ugly pumpkin!

Asher was finally tall enough to ride the Shamu Express-that was his favorite since it was a "real roller coaster." We rode it three times!

His favorite show is still the Clyde and Seamore show, and his favorite part is when Uncle Max, the walrus "exercises":

The Fall Party was so much fun! I could stay out at the ranch forever. Melissa had all kinds of neat things planned for us: pumpkin paintings, leaf rubs, decorating cookies, and if all that wasn't enough she made us a yummy lunch and sent us home with goody bags!

Painting pumpkins.

Asher was very serious the whole time he painted.

Hayden.

Ashton was very proud of his pumpkin.

And McKlayne was content with just cheetos.

Megan and cute Sawyer.

How cute is he?

Jisook painting her pumpkin for Jin.

More of serious Asher...

Look at Hayden's painting.

The tots.

Us with Melissa and Isaac. We love them.

Between five families, we had14 kids: 12 boys and 2 girls...What do you get with all those boys?

Some curiosity.

A little mischief.

Competition.

Lots of cuteness.

So much fun.

Popcorn for Breakfast

2009-10-29T09:55:00.003-05:00

When the kids wake up at 8 and Mommy is still working on the church newsletter...

Daddy is in charge. And this is what it looks like:

When I asked Asher what he thought of Daddy being in charge and providing a popcorn breakfast, he said, "It's a treat!"

Indeed, it is.

Such a treat having you as the Daddy in this house.

We love you.

Proof of Non-Junkfood Couponing

2009-10-20T14:38:00.004-05:00

I went to Target for a few items today...

and left with everything that you see in the picture above for...

76 cents!

7 boxes of Kashi cereal (Charlie will eat this for the next 2-3 months)

5 boxes of Kashi cereal bars...between Asher and McKlayne these high-fructose corn syrup-FREE bars will be gone in no time!

1 box of shout color catchers

1 bottle of Zout

2 dish towels to make another dress for McKlayne b/c her's shrunk (so be careful washing them!)

ALL FOR FREE

This small (unplanned) trip to Target would more than reimburse you for what you would pay to come to a coupon class. I was in Target for the last 3 items on that list and "happened upon" this fabulous sale combined with Target coupon peelie's on the cereal boxes and the Vocalpoint mailer cereal coupons. (If you've been to any of our coupon classes, you should know what I'm talking about.)

See. This is why I never leave home without my coupon box. Kashi paid for the other items that I was already going to buy from Target. I did buy a pack of gum because I would have felt really silly leaving with 5 bags of groceries without paying Target anything...so that's where part of that 76 cents went...towards a pack of gum.

Want to come to a class? We're trying to plan another local one soon! And, we're teaching one in the Dallas area on Nov. 21!

Apel of My Eye

2009-10-15T16:06:00.005-05:00

I love this woman. I love sharing with her. Life. Moments. Milkshakes.

This is a picture from our wedding day (I would say night as it was after 11pm here, but that just makes it awkward). Yep. We went to Whataburger. We were starving. (ADVICE: Either make it a point to eat at your wedding and ignore some guests OR just eat after the reception.)

We were so hungry that we decided that it would be satisfying and probably even a little cool to go into Whataburger in wedding dress and tux and get some world famous breakfast taquitos. And it was. The cashier, a little caught off guard, even gave us our meal for free after confirming that we had actually just gotten married. (ADVICE: If you do decide to just eat after the reception, go in full wedding attire to your favorate spot and see what happens... could be free and you'll get a lot of looks!)

Fortunately for us, God sovereignly brought Kirby's uncle to the same Whataburger wielding a couple cousins and A CAMERA. I feel like we sort of ruined the magic for boys, though. I mean we had just left minutes ago, running through sparklers, driving a highly decorated Escalade, off to Honeymoonland only to be sited at the local Whataburger. I'm sure it was like seeing the man formerly known as Mickey Mouse, mouse head detached, taking a smoke break at the Happiest Place on Earth.

But these are some of my favorite pics from that day. These are some of my favorite moments in life. The ordinary. There are so many exciting times and special days in our life, but at the end of it all, I love my wife. I love my kids. I love my family. I love my church. I love the God who gave us all of these perfect gifts.

To enjoy.

To share.

Friday Funnies

2009-10-09T06:44:00.008-05:00

Asher has been awfully bossy round these parts, lately. So much so that we call him Mister Bossy Man....a title that he loves. He proudly walks around saying, "I'm Mister Bossssssssy Maaaaaaaan" as if that's his superhero name. McKlayne has started getting swats on her hand for fit-throwing and Asher is constantly on her, "No, ma'am! We don't act like that." Then to me, "Momma, you need to give her a spanking. She's acting ugly. Tell her, 'No Ma'am.' "

Well...that was just background...onto the Friday Funnies.

McKlayne had to get a shot on Monday. Before we left the house I told Asher to pick out some books and pack a few supplies so that he could color, as I explained to him that we wouldn't be playing with Dr. Rusty's toys because a lot of kids have been sick...since...you know...it's flu season...and that the toys might be "yucky." When we got to the office and walked into our room, McKlayne started walking toward the basket of toys.

A: "No, McKlayne. We can't play with Dr. Rusty's toys. They feel sick today. Maybe we can play with them next time, when they feel better."

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While buckling McKlayne into her carseat, I hear a moaning behind me. Asher was standing in the front yard.

M: What's wrong?

A: more moaning....

M: Are you okay? (I was thinking...maybe he's standing in a pile of ants....so I turned around in a panic..)

A: The wind...(he continues to whine as the wind blows his hair...he tucks his head down with his arms over his head)

M: Doesn't it feel so nice? I love this wind!

A: No, the wind...it's trying to steal my pretty blonde hair!

M: (trying not to laugh) Why would it do that?

A: Because the wind likes my blonde hair and wants to trade. It's trying to steal my pretty blonde hair!

Apparently all the swooning over his "pretty blonde hair" has gone to his head!

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And, I'll leave you with this pic:

This Pottery Barn Kids magazine has been his requested potty reading material this week. Seriously. EVERY time he's sat down on the potty this week, he's asked for it. That's my boy. I'm trying to convince Charlie that it's just all the Halloween costumes that he likes to peruse.

Little Punkin...

2009-10-08T22:22:00.005-05:00

Hurry! Go make one of these from the dishtowels in the Target Dollar Spot...such a festive, easy little dress.

(It's getting harder and harder to take pics of her these days...she won't stay still and is not quite the camera ham that her brother was and still is...is that because my second child hasn't seen as much as the camera?)

I've made all 3 of my nieces and my neighbor's little girl one....they took me like 10-15 minutes each to make...so easy! (Hope that Stella gets to wear hers before October is over :)

Houston Coupon Class

2009-10-07T08:13:00.002-05:00

Heather and I have taught two local coupon classes...and this weekend we're going to Houston to teach one! We have a few spots left if you'd like to come and learn how to save hundreds off of your grocery bill each month. So, if you live in the Houston area and have a Kroger nearby and are interested, go here.

Go check out what Heather got this week....she feeds 5 boys each week plus a ton of other people and spends way less than what she used to.

Think couponing is for junk food only eaters? Go read this post.

Hope to see some of you there!

Friday Funnies

2009-10-02T07:14:00.004-05:00

Charlie's Edition of Asher's Friday Funnies:

Disclaimer: we really don't want to offend anyone with the following material, we mean to express this in the most innocent, non-hateful way:

Proof that we need to be more careful about the conversations we have around Asher since he is absorbing everything he hears:

A couple was coming to look at our house, which is for sale by owner, and before they came we realized that they were Jewish, due to the yarmulke the guy was wearing. This spurred numerous questions about the Jewish culture past, present and future in our home for about an hour before they came...mainly all these questions were from Kirby.

"I've heard Jews are rich, is that true?"

"Are those who are Jews today, the same peope who were the Israelites from the Bible?"

"Will all the Jews be saved? Or how does this work, if God protects the Jews, who are his chosen people, but still reject Jesus as their King?"

And there were several more.

Asher loves to watch out the windows for people who are coming over to our house. A few minutes before they arrived, we told him that people were coming to look at our house, and he headed straight for his post. After a few seconds of waiting, he said, "When are they coming?" "In just a few minutes," we said. He then said, "Momma, when they get here, do we need to get them some juice?"

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As Asher and I were playing in the yard the other day, Asher says, "I see Mary." "Dada, look. Is that Mary?" I couldn't think of any Marys that we knew and was a little confused I looked up to see a middle eastern woman from our neighborhood walking down our street with a head scarf.

Friday Funnies

2009-09-25T08:26:00.008-05:00

I have been meaning to start this for a while now. But, like most things I plan to do, this has taken weeks to months to actually materialize. It is my hope to collect conversations (or pieces of conversations) from these two tiny people who are always making us laugh by posting funny or sweet comments the kids make each week on Friday's.

For the most part, until McKlayne can contribute, these will be from Asher.

Several funny conversations that I can recall over the last couple months:

I made my niece, Brynn, a pillowcase dress for her birthday in July. Asher was my model since they're pretty much the same size. Throughout the project I would try it on him to see what needed to be taken in, etc. The final time I tried it on him, he looked down at himself, took in a deep breath and said, "Oh, Momma, I'm an angel!!" while twirling around in circles. Now, anytime that McKlayne or I am wearing a skirt or dress he tells us that we look like angels. He is really the angel.

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Since Heather has completely freaked me out of feeding my kids hot dogs, every time Asher asks to eat a hot dog, (other than at Jason's Deli, since ALL the meat there is nitrate free) I tell him, "No, hot dogs will make you sick." One morning I made pigs in a blanket. When Asher climbed up into his chair and saw what was on his plate, he looked at me, his nose wrinkled in total disgust, "Momma, will this hot dog make me sick?"

M: "No, those are different from the other hot dogs."

A: Very relieved, "Oh, good. Will it make me better?"

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About a month or so ago, I had been having a bad day. I was irritable at the kids. Charlie. Everyone. It was a tense day in the Apel home. I was especially irritable at Asher. I had been impatient with him and my tone towards him had been ugly. I had to stop several times throughout the day to apologize to him for "speaking to him in an ugly way." Even after all that, I still hadn't learned. Right before dinner, I was short with Charlie when he asked me a question. Being the wise man that he is, Charlie asked me to pray before dinner (knowing that I needed to examine my heart before I could offer a prayer of thanks to God.) So I started, "Lord, I'm sorry that I've just been ugly to everyone today..." then I hear this tiny little, "Meeeeeeeee!!" I look at Asher and he has one of his hands up in the air as high as he could reach, while his head was still bowed reverently, eyes shut tight. I guess he thought God needed some help in figuring out who I had been ugly to that day. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point...I think I did both.

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A couple weeks ago, I was in the bathroom getting ready.

A: "Whatcha doing, Momma?"

M: "Fixing my hair."

A: "Oh, it's broken?"

A few of her favorite things...

2009-08-31T23:32:00.024-05:00

McKlayne loves...okay, maybe it's more accurate to say that she's pretty much obsessed...with the new purse I made her two days ago. She will not go anywhere without it...outside, her highchair, church, to sleep, (though, this is where I draw the line) the library...nowhere...even when I try to sneak her off without it, she'll catch me, moan and dive toward it.

At Life Group last week, McKlayne started carrying around Riley's purse...and would get VERY upset if anyone tried to take it from her. Since she didn't have a purse or bag of her own, I figured it was time we fixed that.

One of the sweet college girls that frequents our house wanted to having a sewing date last weekend. She worked on a book bag while I worked on the same thing about 1/4 the size of hers for McKlayne.

Here's the entire photo shoot we took today with her new obsession:

What does she carry in her purse, you ask? Her blankie, paci and an occasional play cell phone or set of keys. It cracks me up that she knows to put them in there.

I "heart" this pocket on the front. It's my favorite detail of the purse, but I especially love how her chubby little hands dilligently try to put her paci in that front pocket, but can't quite manage to do it by themselves yet.

I also love how she prissily poises her wrists up in the air...reminds me of my college roommate, Kristen.

Whew. Pooped after all that prancing around for the pictures.

This is so that I don't forget those squishy, chubby rolls or chunky arms that I love to squeeze. They too quickly left your brother, despite how I begged for them to stay. Oh, how I will miss them once they're gone!

What else does she love?

Him.

Actually she adores him. But who wouldn't love someone who greeted you with, "Hi, Pretty!" the moment that he saw you every morning? Or how about, "Hey, Nayney! How was your nap? Did you have a good nap, sweet girl?" each time I retrieve her from her crib. I love how his inflection matches mine when he repeats things that I frequently say. (I often hear my echoed phrases throughout this house. Sometimes they're sweet and sometimes I cringe as I'm reminded of how much he's observing and soaking up everything he sees...eager to imitate. This role of motherhood regularly reminds me of the gospel-my sinfulness, the grace I've received and how much retraining I still need!)

How silly it was of me when I initially felt sad for Asher when I first found out I was pregnant with her! I felt guilty that he'd soon be replaced as "my baby". Why do we doubt God's sovereignty sometimes? He would not be the same sweet boy without her. Nor would she be the same prissy princess that we love so much, without him.

Sitting in chairs. There's hardly a Nayney-sized chair that she'll pass up without trying it out. She thinks she's so big and you can tell how proud she is each time she ever so carefully climbs into one.

Straws. She prefers straws over sippy cups because she learned how to drink from my Sonic Lime waters LONG ago. I guess you could call her a straw snob.

She looks like one here.

Her shopping cart. Both my children love this birthday gift that Honey gave her. Both of them will push it up and down the hall, loading it with groceries, dolls, animals or blocks.

Her Fun Flow Sink from Grumpy and Grammy. This is another thing that Asher and her could play with for HOURS! They usually need a bath immediately afterward since our front yard is dirt right now, but it's one of the only things they can do for a long time outside since it's just so hot!

Shoes. I loved these Riley Roos that my mom got her from MamaBargains. They're canvas and leather... so comfy and they go with everything. McKlayne would like some more, please, Mimi.

My sister got her a pair of Mary Jane Crocs for her birthday that are PRECIOUS. They are brown and match mine. She walks over to the shoebox under our bench and retrieves them when I tell her that she needs shoes before she can go outside.

Most days before I have a chance to put her shoes on, she'll go pick out a pair from the shoebox and bring them to me. What have I done? She already loves purses and shoes. Sorry, Honey...you have some expensive habits to train out of us...I mean...her.

Utensils. Yes, yet another thing to reinforce how quickly she's growing.

And these last pictures are for Natalie...did you ever think she'd be big enough to wear this? I didn't.

Can't wait to see you this weekend, Nat!

Look who's walking...

2009-08-01T23:07:00.004-05:00

McKlayne just started walking today!

She's been taking a couple steps here and there the last few days, but today it "clicked".

Here's a video:

(You can hear big brother in the backround...who's actually on the potty...saying, "I'm ready to walk" and "Good boy, Nayne." ALWAYS has to bevinvovled, that boy!)

Sweet Girls!

2009-07-03T16:08:00.009-05:00

To my sweet girls:

Nayne, Klayney-bop, Princess, Sister,

I'm sorry if you're a little confused about what your real name is. There are just so many things that we love about you. It doesn't seem like it's been a year already, but it's seems like you've been here the whole time. You have grown up so much. I love how much you love Asher. How you look for him when you wake up. How you squeal when you see him. And how you try to do everything that he does. You are so sweet, yet so sassy. You can definitely hold your own and have earned your Princess title. We pray that you grow to be a strong, yet gentle, pure woman of God. That you delight yourself in Jesus and love people so deeply. We see this at work already.

Happy Birthday, Sweet McKlayne!

Princess, Momma, Sweetheart,

Four years! It's been crazy. Crazy fun. Crazy fast. Crazy tough. Crazy good. I'm so thankful for a friend like you. No one knows me like you. And I've told you how that's the biggest blessing to me. I love that we're so different. You challenge me so much. I know that I wouldn't be the same man without you and you without me. God is so sovereign and merciful and good to these two wretches. I praise Him that He working so hard on us and brings so much peace in the midst of the craziness. I'm so glad I get to go through all of this with you. None compare. Thank you for loving me, serving me and pouring yourself out for our family. I love you, Princess.

Happy Anniversay, Kirby!

Missed us so much that you're blue?

2009-05-20T21:02:00.013-05:00

As always, we have lots of good excuses for being gone.

We've been learning our colors. (Asher pretty much already knew his colors, but Heather had told me some fun things that she used to do with her boys, so having different color days really helped him perfect them.) For each "color" day, we ate, drank, wore, crafted with and played with all things "blue", "red" or whatever color day it was.

These are from red day:

This was also the first time McKlayne had spaghetti...it was a fun, messy night for all of us!

(Don't be fooled...these pics were taken on March 18...I'm only 3 months behind in editing pics and blogging...as Asher would say, "No big deal.")

Proof that Asher already knew his colors before this whole things started: the morning of the first color day (which was red) I was so excited to show Asher his red pancakes.

me: Asher, what color are these pancakes?

Asher: Umm...pink! (he was really impressed)

me: My mouth wide open, annoyed that my son was so smart.

Charlie: (saving the day) Well, you're riiiiiiight...but this is red day and pink is a shade of red. Cool pancakes, huh?

The little smartie pants with his pink pancakes and milk.

Blue Day...this was the most fun of all.

We painted ourselves blue and went to eat at Blue Baker to celebrate Blue Day!
(You get free food depending on how "blue" you are.)

Asher loved looking at his blue-self.

Some of our sweet friends met us there.

The Apel girls...minus one...but that will be another post...umm...soon! Promise.
(I'm not pregnant...I just gained a sister-in-law.)

Our Sweet Em...she's one of the precious college girls (and babysitters among other things...) that's always at our house. Asher loves her.

We also potty trained the big guy at the end of April! 3 days. That's all it took. I was prepared for a whole week worth of staying in the house, constantly next to my two year old pal. Nope. The 3 Day Potty Training REALLY works, people! I was a skeptic.

My sis used this method on Brynn. I thought maybe since she was a GIRL it worked for her, but wouldn't work for my Asherboy. I was wrong. He had 9 accidents the first day, 5 the second day and 2 on the third. For the second two days he was just holding himself or dancing around like crazy, holding it in. But by 7 p.m. the night of the third day, he was telling us he had to go...I think he went about 4 times between 7 and 9 that night and was super proud when he went poop in the potty.

When he does have to "go"...like really go...he tells us (while pointing), "Go out there! Shut the door!" (I'd like to add that I don't know where he learned this...because I sure don't get any privacy when I have to "go".)

And he likes to read while he "goes".

We've also been busy working on the house...Charlie sprayed the brick.

Then a group of precious college students came out for Big Event and painted all the white trim on our house! We adore them. They saved us many weekends of having to do this just the two of us. Remember what it used to look like? It's really come a LONG way...inside and out!

You don't have to have any socioeconomic need or disability...we used to think you did until last year when we noticed that like 10 houses (several of which were young families like us) in our neighborhood had groups come out. It's basically just a big community workday were 10,000+ students get together with groups of friends or their student organizations and go serve in the community for about 4 hours. The last several years Big Event has actually needed MORE jobs! So, remember to sign up next Jan/Feb at BigEvent.tamu.edu if you live in B/CS. You'll get free work done on your home and be able to build relationships with college students.

And, I'll leave you with this of our sweet little kiss-blower:

Are you thinking, "Does this kid ALWAYS have a clip in her hair?" Pretty much...otherwise she can't see. When she wakes up most mornings and I haven't clipped her hair back right away...I often hear this, "Uh-oh, Naney Bop...need a bow?" Her big bro is always watching out for her.

Out of the mouths of babes...

2009-05-01T14:30:00.002-05:00

Psalm 8:1&2:

O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

above the heavens.

You have taught children and infants

to tell of your strength,

silencing your enemies

and all who oppose you.

Last night after tucking Asher into bed late after HOPE Group we heard him singing this...

"Be lifted higher, be lifted higher, be lifted higher..."* (each "higher" his voice got higher.)

...alternating with this...

"We're singing for the glory of the Risen King! Jesus, shine your light and let the whole world see!"*

over and over...

until we finally walked in his room and knelt beside his bed to worship with him.

*These words come from two Apel family favorites that we sing often around here:

Stronger

and

Mighty to Save

both by Hillsong.

Asher recommends that you buy them and put them on your ipod.

5 Years Ago

2009-04-06T13:25:00.004-05:00

Five years ago today, I asked Kirby to go out on a (double) date with me (and two other people...obviously). This is not a picture of that day or that date. Just the closest one I could find to that time in my limited resources.

Anyways...
After seeing and talking with her at Island Party that weekend, it takes me almost three days and plenty of encouragement from friends to get the guts to make a phone call that went a little something like this:

K: (Hmm. I've never seen this number before.) Hello?

C: Kirby?

K: Yes?

C: Hey! It's Charlie.

K: Hiii, Charrliee...(Charlie who?)

C: Hey, I was wondering, if maybe sometime, that you and Cate might like to go out on a double-date with Ryan (Thompson) and me? You know...you being my date and Cate being Ryan's. (This was obvious. Ryan and Cate had been dating. Doof...real smooth and can you just taste the confidence...a real man!)

K: Sure, that be great! (WHOOOO HOOOO! I GET TO GO ON A DOUBLE-DATE WITH CATE!!!! I should really find out who Charlie is.)

C: Well, I will talk with Ryan and we'll get back to you on a date and what we're doing. OK?

K: OK...that sounds great.

C: OK, well...I guess I'll talk to you later. (Get off the phone before she changes her mind.)

K: OK, bye!

C: Bye! (My heart is beating too fast...I'm going to puke.)

And that was it. Cate cheated for Kirby and invited me over for some pre-date studying a few days before our scheduled date. And as they read and took notes (business school type studying), I hammered stuff together for one of my projects on their front porch (architecture school type studying). Again, real smooth.

I can't tell you how thankful I am that those days are over — for so many reasons. I do like reminiscing about how 'in love' or infatuated we were with each other. However, I much prefer this deeper love (which still includes quite a bit, if not more, infatuation) that has developed and matured through our relationships with Jesus and the trials and immense blessings that we have been through together over the years.

Another reason is that Kirby and I have learned so much in the past five years about dating and relationships that we would have done this so differently knowing what we know now. We love sharing what we have learned with our younger siblings and family members and with the college students that attend our Hope Group. The college students are probably the ones who have taught us the most, or, at least, given us hard questions that we've had to seek biblical answers for. And we're so thankful for the mentoring relationships that we've had with Aaron and Heather and others in our church. The Hendricks tend to help us with the answers to the bulk of these questions. They are so much further along in both dating research and their marriage.

So...our advice?

Love Jesus first.

Be involved in your church.

Have mentor/discipleship relationships (this is older than you, farther along that you, same-sex people that you see doing things very right) in place during 'dating' that both challenge you to holiness and accountability and protect you in the same manner.

Happy Day-Charlie-Asked-Kirby-Out-for-Their-First-Date Day!

Sweet, sweet Asherboy...

2009-03-21T00:03:00.009-05:00

We're at the point where we can actually carry on a conversation with Asher! Everyday, I realize just how big he's getting. My sister has always told me "this age" was always her favorite stage with Reid.

I'm pretty sure I agree.

He has been saying the funniest things lately and I need to write these down so I'll never forget.

Here are just a few instances that have happened in the last week:

Ever since Sunday afternoon, he's been asking me to go retreive one of his horses that he left in the car after church. I've unintentionally made several broken promises...thinking that I'd walk right out and get it in and the next thing I know a phone is ringing or dinner is boiling over the stove. So, FINALLY, Wednesday afternoon...Asher walks out in the livingroom, with a horse in hand and says, "I'll just go get it Mom..." as he begins to unlock the front door...my poor sweetboy...had been ever so patient with me. (Did you read what he called me? MOM! MOM!? How sad is that...I hope this phase ends quickly and I return to being referred to as Mama or even Mommy. He just thinks he's SO big calling me that three letter word!)

Asher can count to eight...well, he counts to six... skips seven...and then eight. When reading or playing with blocks or toys we'll often practice his counting. Well, do you wanna know what he counted the other day? (My "pimples"-as he so innocently refers to them!) "One pimple, two pimple, three pimples..." AWESOME. If it'd been any other fingers ever so sweetly touching each blemish, I would have slapped them. For some reason, he's just captiavated by them. PERFECT. Can't wait for the day that he points out someone else's pimples...WHAT will I say then?

My favorite things he is saying these days (which I hope to get a video to post with these soon) are "Oopsy Daisy" when he drops something or "No big deal..." if he spills something or can't quite complete a desired task. So precious in his little bitty voice!

Asher loves to help me "mix & make" (cook.)

Probably because he often gets to taste whatever it is...

He also loves to color...outside or inside.

Here he is coloring at Great-Grandma Apel's. (I think this was she had just been testing him on his chalk colors...the little smartypants...after she finished he pointed to her hair and said, "White!" She got a kick out of it...sweet Grandma!)

He's very serious about playing guitar. Aaron Hendrick (our worship leader and good friend) is one of his most favorite people. Anytime Asher is in the service with us during the worship music, he'll stare at Aaron (the whole time) and strum his chest right along with him. He loves Thursday night Hope Group because JP is sweet enough to let him play with him while he plays worship music for all of us. And he LOVES to "lead us" with his guitar during Family Worship! He knows most of the words to Jesus, Name Above All Names, The Doxology, and My Chains are Gone.

Here he is jamming out....lefthanded. He's lefthanded (like his dad) ONLY when it comes to guitar.

He loves playing outside. He spends MUCH time exploring...digging...climbing...jumping...driving his new truck:

I love that sweet little comedian, artist, muscian, wild man. I can't wait to see how the Lord is going to use his gifts for His Kingdom.

Who does she think she is?!

2009-03-11T15:59:00.013-05:00

In just a short 8 weeks, McKlayne has gone from:

sitting up

to

planks

to

crawling

to

waving

to

pulling up.

I am so not okay with this. My baby doesn't seem like much of a baby anymore.

And she definitely doesn't look like much of a baby with all this crazy hair.

We never know what we're going to see when she wakes up in the morning.

What 8 month olds do you know that can have their hair frenchbraided?

My sister showed me this blog, so we've been trying different do's! Look through all the labels on the left. They're so cute!

This one's for you, Blaire!

Seriously, you have to sign up!

2009-02-28T23:29:00.009-06:00

Okay, you guys may have already read about this Swagbucks thing when I posted about it a back in November and brushed it off...but don't!

I have already bought a $50 GAP giftcard and a $50 Southwest giftcard! I've earned $100 in giftcards just for using Swagbucks as my search engine rather than google...and it's powered by google!

BUT...to earn a ton of Swagbucks...I've earned a total of about 900 so far...you need to either post a referring link on your blog or send out an email to your friends and family to have the sign up under your referral. Please use my referral to sign up yourself, and then have your friends sign up under you. (I won't be getting any of their swagbucks...the chain stops at the first level of referrals.)

So, Heather, if you did this...with like all of your HUNDREDS of readers a day, you could seriously be giving away $50 giftcards for Christmas presents next year to your WHOLE family. No joke! You really wouldn't have to be doing ANY Christmas shopping with any of your own money, if you signed up for this. Once you post this on your blog, I want to know how many swagbucks you've earned in a month!

Here is our previous post:

So, there is a really cool site that you can earn gift certificates and actual prizes from your favorite stores.

Here is a re-post from the site we learned about it:

Not sure what Swagbucks is? Well, it is an online search engine, powered by Google and Ask.

But, instead of just pulling your search results back like Google or Yahoo, you have the potential to earn Swagbucks with each search. And, quite frequently I win. At least once a day, and sometimes more.

Now, I honestly can tell you, I only use Swagbucks when I am doing a search online anyway. I never use Yahoo or Google anymore, because Swagbucks gives me a chance to win while I search. I have it saved as my Homepage, so this is the first screen that comes up everytime I log onto the web.

I DON'T sit there and try to randomly search to earn extra poins...because it really doesn't work. In fact, here is the exact wording from their site.

Tip #8

Doing a TON of searches, or clicking on sponsored links, will not help you win!When searching the web, the best way to win Swag Bucks (and the only method we endorse) is to use the engine for genuine search and discovery. Our technology is designed to award users who search naturally — simply utilize our engine the way you would with other search providers.

Anway, back to how it works. Once you accumulate enough ( approx. around 50 ) you can cash in for prized. There are gift certificates, merchandise, etc.

Currently, when you win, we have all been geting 1 to 5 Swagbucks.

But, now....they have announced on their blog that they will be issuing some Mega Bucks soon. This means, you can now potentially win 10, 20, 50 and 100 Swagbucks...woo, hoo! They plan to launch the Mega Bucks this week, although I am not positive of the date. You can click here to read their announcement.

Now, that gets me excited!

In addition, when you get your free gift, if you take a picture of yourself with it and submit it to Swagbucks, they will also issue an extra 1 Swagbuck for your account. So, I plan to do this, too. Click here for all the details.

Finally, if you use Swagbucks, make sure to tell all your friends..email them your links, etc. If they sign up thru your referral, you win everytime they win. Up to 100 Swagbucks! As you can imagine, your Swagbucks will accumulate much faster.

SOURCE: moneysavingmethods.blogspot.com

So we want our Swagbucks to accumulate faster, too. So we don't care if you use this or not. HOWEVER, if you are going to try it out, please click one of the links in this post or on the side of our blog so we can 'refer' you.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Kirby!

2009-01-23T06:12:00.004-06:00

Today is my amazing wife's birthday. She's 25. She believes that your body shuts down after 25. I love her.

Kirby, no matter how dramatic life gets (jeans come to mind), I love the passion that comes along with your drama. You are passionate about Jesus...

about your husband...

about your son...

about your daughter...

about our families...

about your friends...

about discipling our home...

about Her Hands and discipling other women...

about saving us money...

about Round Top...

about SO many things. You put your whole self into everything you do and every person in your life. You convict me so often by your generosity, by the thoughtfulness of every gift and how you KNOW the people in your life. I'm learning from you.

I don't know how you manage to do all the things that you do in a normal day. After having the kids for a few hours or a day, I know what a feat it is when I come home to clean house or if anything else is done outside of you three surviving. It is so important to me that you are at home and you do it with such humility, grace and eagerness.

You're the best friend a person could have. And I know they'll be many who'll echo that on this post as well. You're an amazing helper and so good to your needy husband. I love confiding in you and depending on you. I love reading with you, jean-shopping with you, Wizard-of-Ozzing with you, Round Topping with you and doing all of life with you.

Don't even get me started on how beautiful you are! None compare, Kirby.

I love you. Happy Birthday!