Monthly Onesies

I picked up 13 onesies at Hobby Lobby this week. Don't get any crazy ideas!!! Daniel rifled through the bag when it was sitting on the dining table, and had a few colorful comments to make. But, seriously. Stop that! They are for a baby gift I made yesterday with my Silhouette and some heatpress vinyl.

In fact, it's my favorite baby gift, ever! A year of monthly onesies with a bonus personalized outfit...


Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Silhouette?! Well, I do. It's amazing.

Please Help!

We just received very sad news. Our friends, Nita and Bruce Ward, did lose their home in the Bastrop fire. First and foremost, please pray for them as they begin to rebuild their lives after this tragedy.

Last night, Nita was taken to the hospital with afib, most likely due to stress and lack of eating and lack of sleeping this week as they awaited news of their home. Please pray health, peace and comfort for the Wards as they grieve their home and belongings.

The home that Bruce and Nita lost was their dream home. Delfin's parents retired a few years ago and moved from Odessa to Bastrop where they built this lovely home surrounded by a gorgeous forest of trees. We have visited the Wards in Bastrop several times, and I have always left envious of the beautiful home. I'm sure they are grieving this terrible loss. But at the same time, we are praising God they are both safe.

If you are interested in helping our friends, please contribute here.

Just after church on Sunday, a few wildfires began in our area. The closest one to us was out by Monday morning and burned just 200 acres in Pflugerville, about 8 miles from us. I know, I said "just". But, if you were here to see all the smoke and smell the burning homes today, you would know that 200 burned acres is miniscule now.

A large, upscale subdivision near Daniel's workplace in Austin was on fire and he barely got out of work Sunday evening before the roads were closed. That fire is still burning but the residents were finally allowed to drive through the subdivision today and see what has burned.

When we went to dinner Sunday night in Cedar Park, we were inundated by the smoke. Watching the news a few hours later, we saw that another two subdivisions near the restaurant had been evacuated and were on fire.


The Bastrop fire, which is just now 30% contained today, is the largest fire that started Sunday. It's now burned 35,000 acres and 1,387 homes. The parents of Daniel's best friend and best man in our wedding, Bruce and Nita Ward, live in one of the first of 20 subdivisions that were evacuated Sunday night. They are still in a hotel and waiting to find out if their home survived the massive fire. The initial news does not look good for them.

Late Monday night, Daniel alerted a co-worker who would be at work through the night that the area he lived in was beginning evacuations as a new fire spread to Dripping Springs. By Tuesday morning, the co-worker was forced to find alternate routes as three different roads were closed in his usual hour-long commute home. Fortunately, his home remained safe.

By Monday night, the entire city of Austin had large wildfires almost entirely circling the city. The northeast side, where we live, is the only area that has not had a large fire burning.


Today when I took the kids to school, the smoke in the air was so thick that visibility was limited. By the time I arrived at work, my throat hurt and my eyes burned. It was as if I had been sitting at a campfire for a few hours. The school kept the kids inside all day to avoid respiratory issues. No one has complained about the situation, though. The air is filled with ash from the homes of thousands of people. Discomfort and breathing issues aside, we feel blessed to be safe during this time.

Please pray for the many, many firefighters who are in our area battling this massive fire.

Please pray for the thousands of people who have lost their homes and every possession.

Please pray for rain to end this awful drought in Texas.

Tuesday Treats - French Dip

This crockpot recipe is one of the yummiest things I've ever cooked in my crockpot. The kids devoured it. A friend of mine also made it, and she loved it. Trust me. You need to try this one.

And, it's a super bonus that it's the easiest thing you'll ever cook.


4 pounds rump roast (I used bottom round roast. You know, because it was on sale. Ha!)
1 (10.5 oz.) can beef broth
1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed French onion soup
1 (12 oz.) can or bottle beer (I used Modelo because it was the only thing in singles. I don't need a six-pack.)
French rolls
Butter

Combine the meat, broth, soup and beer in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. When ready to serve, slice, butter and toast the bread. Slice the meat for sandwiches. Ladle up the juice from the cooked meat to serve as dipping sauce.

Do you need my address or do you already know where to send the thankyou note? Believe me, you'll want to thank me for this one.

My Crackhead

A Wii bowling accident went terribly wrong at our house this morning. Cooper has a bowling routine of running as he releases the ball. It's worked out really well for him until today. He tripped mid-run and fell into the entertainment center. Well, the entertainment center won.

If you're a bit squeamish, you should probably click elsewhere.

Fortunately for my just cleaned carpets, there was very little blood. Unfortunately for Cooper, that was because he cut his head all the way to the skull. Fortunately, he's a tough kid and it didn't phase him very much. We threw some ice on it and jumped into the car to head to the ER.

The doctors numbed him up...


Then, he waited to be stitched up.


Yes, he's a tough guy!


Needless to say, we didn't make it to church as planned. But, we were all dressed up for the emergency room visit.

First Week of School

We made it through the first week of school! Fortunately, it was just three days. It's too bad every week is not just Wednesday through Friday. I think we could handle that.

This week, the most important issue was fashion. Abigail has a "new style" this year and she is taking great pains to make sure she shows her "new style" She isn't interested in anything I like. She isn't interested in looking her age. She is trying my patience.  Needless to say, shopping for school clothes was trying. We were able to compromise and come up with a few outfits, and she looked very cute. But getting to this point was not easy.
Day 1, Wednesday...


Day 2, Thursday...


Day 3, Friday...


I am already dreading the real shopping season: when it starts cooling off and she has to have a whole, new wardrobe. There are going to be lots of arguments. I just know it. It's not going to be pretty. Please pray for me.

I Had Good Intentions

I could kick myself! I stayed up late the night before school putting together first day of school gifts for the kids' teachers. I designed and printed three different sets of stationary cards.


I labeled a cute mug with my Silhouette.


I wrote sweet, endearing cards for each of the three ladies and then wrapped up the gifts so that they would be ready when we walked out the door.


Unfortunately, I slept so hard that I completely forgot the gifts. So, they were great second day of school gifts today. Oh, well.