hey pumpkin...

our halloween adventures to follow...

exciting stuff...

check out some exciting stuff... babies, a contest, and carvings!

i'm a several days late in posting this pic of 2 new boys on our block.
2 of my favorite peeps had their baby boys about 24hrs apart!
precious, precious...

i received a secret phone call monday explaining that briley had won the coloring contest at school and to be there wednesday for the announcement.

so i snuck in and heard the winner announced... and this girl was fired up. jumping jelly bean, passing out hugs, fired up!

proud moment for me and yes, especially for her.

was there a prize involved- yep. $25 gift card and she can't wait to spend it.

in case you haven't had enough excitement yet!

we decided that unless we were going to totally miss pumpkin carving we HAD to do it last nite.

let the carving begin... this year briley and braxton carved their own all by themselves. and joey came up with his own with a lil help from the bear.

after much anticipation... the finished products....

there's no place like...

HOME, right?
well, that's true BUT i'm thinking...
there's no place like the BEACH!!









thought i'd throw this pic in. look at the birds lined up! a bird-a-phobics worst nightmare. seems like we wasted lots of snacks this trip on these guys. not sure it's even "legal" to feed them? but, i do know you get dirty looks from some of your neighbors on the beach.

the start of the coolest sandcastle! finished product yet to come:)

briley loves her some baby jade!

our favorite climbing hut on the beach

8, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, 2, 1 ~ the ages of the little people staying in our house.

(cousin baby jade stayed down the street and could not manage to stand on the driveway for our pic.)

my favorite pic of my briley (looking so grown up and starting to act that way too) and her proud daddy! (now back to the growing up part- i'm telling you- i'm having a hard time handling it... she is really starting to act older. getting her own fashion style, glancing in the mirror more, maturing in attitude, etc ...whoa horsey! slow down sis!)

funny stuff-

we planned this trip to the beach- not knowing the entire lankford fam would end up digging their toes in the sand too!

what started out small grew to round #2 summer family vacation with the lankford crew- every day someone new would show up or leave.

crazy and very fun.

though, we always have a blast with the extended fam- it was really awesome to stay behind a bit longer as just the 5 of us.

that is the bestest thing ever!

personally, i could have stayed even longer but... reality?!

this pic shows everyone (except uncle t-dawg who headed back to college a few days earlier). make sure you look all the way down the table to the back wall...

a peek...

it's been too long...

i had to post a taste of our adventures...

from beachin'

to poolin'

to diggin'

to drivin'

here's to fun in the sun!

stay tuned...

out of the mouths of babes...

what i heard this week...

"mommy so pretty" - what a compliment from a 2 yr old and no- it isn't provoked, he just tells me randomly and i love it!

"why do you have so many flavors in your hair?" - pretty sure this isn't a compliment from my 5 yr old. oh well- can't win them all:)

2 things...

2 things...

i had a big "poser" the other day. this cowboy took some great pics for me and i believe i've got one i want to blow up and frame...

this guy is top dog in his class this week. or should i say "redbird of the week".

oh, do we think we are big stuff. because of his status this week- he needed mom to come eat lunch with him and read a story to the class.

it was a treat for me and for him! i'm so proud of this guy!

the view from my seat at the kitchen table

this is the view i have enjoyed from my kitchen window. it warms my heart each time i look at it.

there is just something so peaceful about an old, old barn.

it is a barn we literally see and pass daily.

today, that something like 100 year old, barn was no more. and me and my people weren't going to miss the bittersweet excitement.

heave ho!

j's pepaw and dad give the old gal a couple good pushes.

and she was no more.

my view has been forever changed.

and yes, i am sentimental about an old barn. probably more than anyone else there and it wasn't even my barn?!

these were the youngest witnessess.

for now i will see a pile of what was, then a bonfire of sorts, then a new red barn will sprout up in its place.

reminiscing

so,
i know you want to know my favorite childhood snack!

and yes,
i have managed to pass this along to my children (even barron).
i know,
don't be jealous, or get too excited over my "special" favorite childhood treat!


come on,
come on,
try it for yourself.
i know you will love a "pickle on a fork"!
do it right,
you can't just eat it straight from the jar-
it must be firmly stuck to the end of a fork.

oh, and by the way,
i really am not a pickle fan these days...
but offer me one anchored to a fork
and i can bet-
i won't turn you down.

funny what sticks with you from your growing up years.

i wonder who ever started the "pickle on a fork" tradition?
or maybe, just maybe, my very on mom did!?

been?

it's been 1 week since my computer meltdown. it is forever gone- as is all the stuff i didn't have saved . i recommend everyone be prepared for a crash- i wasn't- and well ... i can imagine my distress if i'd have lost all my pictures. i only lost some important documents that, well, i'll just have to manage without:(

moving on now...

since i've been gone we have been...


on a family bowling adventure.
brax kicked tail! joey came in second to his first-born son and even though brax used the bumpers it was a hard loss for joe!

getting "camo'ed" up for hunting adventures.

joey's only gone once so far but... do not fear...it wasn't his last.

and even though the weather has been less than perfect and fall has set in...

we have found a way to practice our swimming.

check out bear's goggles. they are from briley's swim- to- me puppy. i can only imagine how well he'd do if he actually had real goggles that worked.

did you know?

did you know that my computer blew up this week?
nope, not joking- sounded like an airplane taking off and then zap! that's all she wrote.

on that note- zap! went my pictures. at least those on the computer. so for now i leave you with these statistics...

To better understand the human race, imagine that all the 6.7 billion people on earth could be represented by a single "global village" of just 100 people.

If we picture this, then we can more easily comprehend the different proportions we find across the world in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender.

Here's a "global village" snapshot...

Out of 100 people:

60 would be Asian
14 would be African
12 would be European
8 would be Latin American
5 would be American or Canadian
1 would be from the South Pacific
51 would be male; 49 would be female
82 would be non-white; 18 would be white
67 would be non-Christian;33 would be Christian

We might summarize this by saying we live in a world that is non-American, non-white, and non-Christian. what??? i know, i know.. i have been living in my bubble?!

And another shocking fact... the average income in America is $38,611/person or $105 day.Now compare that to the shocking daily reality of almost half the people on earth...

40% of the world's people live on less than $2/day
15% of the world's people live on less than $1/day
4.5 % of the world's people (us USA folks) live on $105/day

just some startling statistics I came across in this book I've read and think everyone should read. Really cool stuff. Learned a lot. Get the book! Or borrow mine!

Excerpts taken from Richard Stearns "The Hole In Our Gospel".