Fall Family Fun Fest 2012

The FFFF:) is one of my favorites of our church's ministries. Not only do we get to make contact with hundreds of people in our town, but I don't have to take my kids trick-or-treating (I watch too many criminal shows for that!) & my babies still have a super fun night!

Here are a few fun shots of the night.

TGP

*I'm having some technical difficulties with my blog, hopefully I'll learn how to work it lol & get it the way I want it soon. On a more fun note...

The Great Pumpkin came!!

If we're super good, TGP comes the night before Halloween & brings us a goody or two. (Usually the thing we've been obsessing over every time we go to the store.)
John got some fun Fall books & diapers! (Lol poor John) Jax got two Ninja Turtle weapons (he already had the other two).

Jaxelangelo

Today was Jax's Fall Fest at Mother's Day Out. I chose his & John's costumes for Fall pics, but I let Jax choose his costume for school. Jax decided he needed to be a Ninja Turtle. (Michelangelo for those who care.)
I love how D has gotten Jax into the cartoons he watched when we were little. I really don't love the quality of most cartoons these days. I do love that Jax is such an individual & decides to like things he likes. (Heman, Thundercats, Ninja Turtles...) The only con is that this stuff is vintage, so if you want to get any paraphernalia it costs more, or it doesn't exist anymore.
Anyway, "Jaxelangelo" had a great day! His(my) task was to bring sandwiches for their party. He took sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls: smoked turkey w/ cheddar & provolone, & chicken salad (which was from a yummy rant...I cheated). His treats he took for his class friends were rice crispy ghosts.
What a fun day! Can't wait for our church's Fall Family Fun Fest tomorrow!!
Well, The Great Pumpkin comes tonight & I have one excited Jaxelangelo at the moment who needs a little "encouragement" to go to bed.

Fall Treats

Today, while my Mom played with the boys, I was able to get a few treats made for Sunday School tomorrow!

I made jack-o-lantern funny face cookies for Jax's SS friends.
I found the yummiest sugar cookie recipe here: http://sweetopia.net/2009/12/sugar-cookie-recipe/
& the icing recipe here: http://iambaker.net/sugar-cookie-decorating-101/
I saw this cute idea on Pinterest. You get an orange paper plate & make cookies in the shape of jack-o-lantern eyes & mouths. The kids have a fun activity & snack!

&...What says, "Fall" better than Reeses Pieces & a yummy flavored coffee??! The boys have a Reeses tube with a Starbucks gift card tied to it to give their SS teachers.
They can't wait to take their goodies tomorrow!!

Fall Fun With My Fellas

We have had a super fun week with Mimi! We ended it with a fun slumber party last night!
It was perfect since D went hunting after work & then preached at 5th Quarter after the football game last night. He got to hunt early this morning as well.
Today Mimi decorated a Halloween house with the boys & we just had a fun time. Below are pictures of our fun. Jax named the house, "Hotel Transylvania."

Today's Joy

We woke up to this sweet sign in our yard earlier.
Thank You sweet Jesus for an amazing church family. Thank You for the love they show us at all times. Thank You for our koinonia friends. We couldn't pick better people to do life with.

Appreciating Feeling Appreciated

The Dunn Mommy & boys are having a great evening! Daddy has been out getting a little hunting in. John has had a fun night swinging, eating, & napping. Jax has been about 4 different super heroes & rambunctious! I have been addressing baby shower invitations & making some goodies for Mission Friends tomorrow night.
Our dinner was just dropped off. No, we're not wealthy enough to have a dinner service, nor do we have a personal chef. Ha! We don't even have restaurants here that deliver! Sweet friends from our church made us dinner & just delivered it!
This month is Pastor's Appreciation month & we have had a meal provided by our church family every week! We also get a fun reception next Sunday night after church. The greatest thing is, we are always cared for & loved on this way. D & I often talk about how fortunate we are that God placed us at this church.
Part of why these meals, cards, & gifts mean so much to me is because my love language is gifts. Receiving a gift from someone speaks to my heart, but there's nothing I love more than GIVING!
Today, I put together some goodies for Jax's Mission Friends teachers (the other 2 gals I teach with), Fall goodies for the kids, & a pumpkin carving family activity. I can't wait to give it all away!!
The following are pictures of the goodies:
-A Reeses Pieces tube with a gift card to Starbucks
-Mission Friends goodies (cup, straw, "ghoul-aid," a free frosty coupon, fangs & candy)
-A small pumpkin with a Pumpkin Prayer activity. (Free printable here: http://www.christianpreschoolprintables.com/Pages/BibleMinibooks/BibleMinibookPumpkinPrayer.html)

Boo!

I'm so excited for this week! My parents are back from New York & my Mom has LOTS of fun adventures planned for us this week!
I'll leave you with two super cute skeletons that are sweeter than any candy you'll eat this month! ;)

Giving Them Over

A couple of blog posts ago I talked about the love I have for my hubs & boys & I mentioned giving them over to God. I'll first tell you what I meant by that, but I also want to mention that I'm still learning what that means.
Right after Jax was born, I don't know if it was the hormones, or instincts, or what, but I became quite the Mama Bear! Keep in mind that Jax was my first baby & I really didn't have a lot of baby experience prior to having him. I was 4 when my brother was born & I didn't really babysit a lot. Dustie had much more experience. The first couple of nights after we went home from the hospital were insane! Jax's days & nights were mixed up, we jumped anytime he made a noise, we were living at a pace that there was no way we could keep up.
On the second or third night home, I had a good one-on-one with God & finally gave my baby over to Him. While I was pregnant, this was something my Mammaw had told me I would have to do, but I didn't understand until that moment with the Lord. I had a wonderful talk with Him & basically came to the realization that I needed His help. I told God that I knew He created my baby & loved him even more than I could fathom & I knew He was in charge. (That was a big deal for this Type-A control freak!) I finally realized that God was in charge of my child's beginning & end. It didn't matter if I never slept & kept watch over my child day & night. God was in charge. WHEW! What a relief! This is what I meant by "giving them over to God," basically just acknowledging before God that He's in control.
Now, for the next part of this, let me say, this is not an easy feat for this control freak. This process of giving my people over to God is something I have to constantly do & be aware of & make sure I don't try to take back my control. That's what I mean when I say that I'm still learning what this means.
A couple of weekends ago, I went to a conference on Idolatry & I'm just starting a Bible Study on it. (Kelly Minter's-No Other Gods) (I'm sure there will be many more blogs posts on this topic as I learn!)
At the conference, we learned how prevalent modern day idols are & how most of them can be good things that we erroneously make into an idol. I think family members can so easily be made into an idol by anyone, but especially new mothers.
I was recently talking with a friend about this topic. She has tried for years (& I mean years) to become pregnant. She has finally become pregnant & we're coming up on the final trimester of her pregnancy. (Insert happy dance!!) This has been a burden of prayer on my heart from the time I knew of her story. I just wanted for God to give her the desires of her heart! She told me that she was listening to the radio the other day & they said something that really struck a chord with her. They said, "Don't let the answer to the prayer become more important than the One who answered the prayer." She said she just stopped & apologized to God & acknowledged Him as the "prayer answer-er" & she gave Him the glory. I just have to celebrate the advantage she has in her spiritual life by acknowledging & addressing that even before her baby is born! It is too easy to turn great things into idols.
As Christians, our lives should revolve around Christ. We shouldn't make our lives where Christ has to find a place to fit in between mealtimes & bath times, or ball games & pageants but instead, Christ should be THE reason we do anything. The same goes for those that don't have children yet. Don't make your spouse your idol. This can easily be an issue with newlyweds. Please know, I'm just sharing my heart. I'm talking about what Christ revealed to me, not what He revealed to me about someone else. In layman's terms-"check yoself." Be sure that your children & husband aren't the end-all/be-all of your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict you in this & allow Him to change you. Believe me, there is much relief in giving God what's His.
I can't wait to dig-in to my Bible Study & share more!

"May I always worship the Creator, not the created."

So Romantical :)

In the previous post I mentioned how Dustie was the man I was made for. I don't want to leave my 2 readers :) hanging for too long, so I'll tell our little love story.
I guess I should begin with a very basic version of my testimony because God truly is the foundation of our relationship.
I grew up in a Christian home, so it wasn't much of a surprise when I was ready to ask Jesus into my heart at the age of seven. Looking back, God's hand is evident everywhere in my life from protecting me, to giving me the biggest dose of conviction ever! My Junior year in high school I knew God was calling me to ministry, but He didn't reveal any specifics. A couple of guys that were in my youth group surrendered to the call of youth ministry & a girl to foreign missions. I didn't know what I was called to, but I knew I was called. God waited a few years to reveal it to me.
I met Dustie Dunn Sophomore Year in high school & wasn't his biggest fan at first. :) He took my gum & stole my homework & that was the extent of our relationship.
That summer, I found out that D worked for the Karate school where my brother took Karate. It's funny, my Mom would always come home talking about how she liked Dustie Dunn (even if she thought he was dumb b/c he copied my homework) & how she thought he was a catch! I always laughed her off & told her she was crazy.
The next year, we had Spanish II together & actually started to become pretty good friends. We later found out that we were both going to go to Louisiana College. This was a big "God thing" because, unlike myself who knew since the age of 10 (b/c that's where my Mom went) I would go to LC, D had never heard of LC. His Youth Pastor submitted his name for a scholarship for students going into the ministry & Dustie interviewed & won a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to the school. (My parents weren't that lucky!) We were excited to already know someone at our future school. [I even remember the fleeting thought that D might be the boy I was gonna marry.]
Freshman year in college we became closer & closer friends. We were such good friends, that both guys I dated throughout mine in D's friendship mentioned that maybe I should date D. (Lol whoops!) I think most of our friends saw that we should be together, but we were clueless for a while.
When we went back to LC for Sophomore Year, D told a mutual friend of ours that he was probably going to ask me out, then he found out I was dating someone at that time. Not too long after school started, he started dating a girl. Things were ending with the guy I was dating. I knew I wasn't going to marry him, so we broke up.
At that point in my life, I had not been single for about 3 years & I decided that I needed to have a little time alone. I started a Bible Study/Book entitled Lady in Waiting. It was about what to do while waiting to find the man of God you're going to marry. While doing that Bible Study, God revealed to me that I was going to marry my friend Dustie Dunn! The funny thing was, at this point, he was dating a girl who was actually a friend of mine (I couldn't even hate her dern it!). I thought it was so crazy, yet I was so sure, that God told me who I would marry. I told one friend of mine & wrote it in my journal at the time so I would be able to have some kind of proof that I knew ahead of time.
Since revealing that to me, God sure did take some time to build my character. D continued to date my friend on-&-off for a couple of months. (Didn't he know he was wasting his time?! haha)
It wasn't until after our Christmas/Semester break that we started spending more time together & going out. Finally, after doing this for a few weeks, I decided I had to TELL Dustie that I liked him. [He said he didn't know if I liked him, or if I was just being nice. (lol, wonder if he still thinks I'm so nice!)] So, I did, & we dated for about 9 months.
One night, we had planned to go out, so I was waiting for D to call & tell me he was at the Girls' Apartments to pick me up. (Guys couldn't go into the girls' dorms & vice versa.) While I was waiting, my friend came to my door with an envelope with a note & a key in it. It was from D. The note said to go to his mailbox & check it. From there, he sent me to a park that we liked to go to w/ some friends, then Taco Bell (my fave place to eat lol), Finally, I got a note that said for me to go to our church. (The place D was youth pastor...30 mins away!) To be honest, I just thought this was a sweet date with a fun scavenger hunt & I was actually annoyed I'd have to drive that far. I was ready to see my man! I got to the church, went in the door & the hallway was lined with lit candles.
From this point on, it was like an out-of-body experience. The candles led me down the hallway into the sanctuary. Once in the sanctuary, I saw that D put all my love letters & little gifts I'd given him on the altar table. (We had a long distance relationship the summer between Soph. & Jr. year (2 hours apart)-D worked at school & I went home to Shreveport to do a summer internship. He got a LOT of mail from me.)
D walked into the sanctuary, up the aisle & met me at the altar. He got down on one knee & asked me to be his wife.
[Later, when he told the church, he said that the altar was where he made all his important decisions in life: where he made his salvation public , he answered his call into ministry & where he asked me to marry him. (He's the best...I know :))]
Obviously, I said yes! :)
We were engaged for 7 months before we got married. Early on during those 7 months, I had an epiphany (more like a total "duh" moment). God finally revealed my calling! I was called to be a Preacher's Wife!
When I say Dustie was the man I was made for, I mean, I truly feel that our relationship was ordained by God.
I'm so thankful for my husband, the life we live together, & the calling I was chosen for.

The Greatest of These

Lately, I have been utterly captivated with the love that the Father has for me.
As a wife, I discovered a love that can only be found when you agree to love & be with the person you were created for. [More on my romantic love story another time :)]
As a parent, my soul has developed a love for my two little boys that is so deep & strong, there's no way it comes from this world. Before I was pregnant with John, I couldn't comprehend being able to love another child of mine. I felt as if every single ounce of love in my heart was used up on my husband & Jax. Dustie & I even asked friends who had their second baby right before we did, "How do you love more than one?" They didn't know & couldn't put it into words & here I am in the same predicament.
All I can muster is that the love we have for our children is completely from God. I feel that God gave us our spouses & children to help us discover the love that He has for us.
John has now been a part of our family for over a year (3.5 months in our arms & not my belly) & I'm back to having every ounce of my love consumed by the three men in my life. I can't remember not loving them all.
During the process of giving these people over to God [another topic I'll talk about another time], I am reminded of God's love for His children. More importantly, I'm reminded of God's love for me.
I'm a dummy y'all. I mess up all the time & my God loves me even more than this incomprehensible love I have for my men.
We just finished studying Abraham in Mission Friends & Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac is such a sobering picture of the Father's love for us! He gave his Son! (John 3:16) The Son HE loves with his entire being, because He loved me that much too (John 15:9) & wanted to pay for all the mistakes I've made & will make (Romans 5:8) so that I will never have to be without Him.
Talk about a love I cannot fathom...

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God...

If you do not know this incredible love that God created you to know, let's talk.