Little Elm Fall Festival

I really like the fall and it's nice that the weather is cooling off again. It's crazy how cold it was when we first moved from Houston to DFW; there was even some snow. Our neighborhood is going to be the funnest throughout all the holidays--i'm excited for Christmas already. But Fall has it's own unique feel to it, that creates fun family memories. My favorite was when we first moved to Houston (clear lake area) after John got out of the Navy. The kids were 1 and 2 and I made them their Wall-E costumes and won contests. We went to a lot of festivals, and even though we were in a small apartment, we really enjoyed our together-ness in that time. I don't know what it is, but maybe just gratitude that John wasn't in the military, we had a lot of fun doing free things, since he didn't make as much money at the time. It was a really fun age to see L & O interact. Without further adieu, here are a few mandatory nostalgic pictures from 2011:

Last year they were Mario and Belle, and we didn't do as many festivals--2012:

I think this year Lucas wants to be spiderman, and Olivia wants to be a lot of girly things...at one time I thought I'd make a costume for her to be Coraline (and I'd be the 'other mother') but seeing as I am huge and ready to pop with this baby, I am not sure I have the energy to do that. Maybe next year. 

  We have gone to a few festivals though. Here is one we went to in Little Elm yesterday:

 This is so adorable, yet so scary...Lucas was ready and willing to go on this kiddy coaster (went in a little oval with bumps) but apparently his seatbelt strap came unbuckled and he kept trying to tell us but couldn't...so he was terrified during the ride and I am so glad he didn't bounce out of that seat---it's ironic because while in line I asked him if he was ready for a big kid ride like this, and he said yes..I told him to hold on to the bar in his cart the whole time, and this little bratty older kid behind him said, "this is a baby ride! You should put your arms up in the air! I ride it all the time!" and I was kind of bitchy and said, "I don't care if you ride it. It's his first time and I want him to hold on to the bar." Lucas listened to me thankfully (as you can see in this awkward picture lol.

 This was probably the best attraction and funnest for the amount of tickets. They let them slide a few times :)

 Makin faces

 Couldn't make a shot for a prize :(

 We couldn't either, but this vendor gave away little plush toys anyway :)

 We had some good barbecue hot dogs and lemonade and headed home.

We hope to attend a few more festivals this season, but I also hope Frankie comes sooner rather than later...my body is ready! The house is ready! I keep on cramping and I know he's head down...I don't think he's waiting til Nov 6th! We'll see what progress has been made at my next appt on Oct 8th. :)

Catholic Pro-Life Banquet in Fort Worth

Tim & Teresa, John's cousin. They give so much to the cause!

Last night we went to the 2013 Pro-Life Banquet to raise money for pregnancy counseling centers, post-abortive healing retreats, and youth for life ministry work. We had been looking forward to it ever since Teresa and Tim mentioned it months ago. We decided to split the cost of a full table for 10 and invite friends and family. It was hosted at the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth. Very nice venue with a delicious meal and inspiring speakers/video. This year's featured speaker, was Tim Tebow's mother Pam. She spoke very enthusiastically and honestly about the pro-life fight, giving many "God stories" as she called them, to inspire us all to continue in the fight for the defenseless. To unconditionally love those who may not be able to reciprocate; namely the unborn, and special needs children. It was a great event and reassuring to see so many people give to such a great cause...not just their money (although over $115k was raised!) but their efforts and time. We all had a good time :)

 Here we are checking in. The gal on the left is from Teresa's church youth group--she used my mom's ticket as she had to work last minute.

 Boom. Yeah, it was hard to find something to fit...I hope Frankie comes soon...my body can't take much more.

 Teresa put this beautiful display together, but more importantly sidewalk counsels at clinics regularly saving lives and women from painful regrets and shame, and also chaperones at many youth for life events. What a great role model!

 Here's Susan in the Antonio Melani dress I made her get---isn't it cute? And she's alright too :) Next weekend Susan will be participating in the Hike for Life to raise even more money for crisis pregnancy counseling centers. She has raised $400 of her $625 goal...if you would like to help out (any amount is greatly appreciated!) here is the link--you have until friday night October 4th: http://www.ministrysync.com/event/website/?m=1523081

 How cute :)

Here is our beautiful table, with our special "Johnson & Hodge Family" card :)

 

 Pecan crusted chicken with a sweet sauce and very thinly sliced smokey potatoes & veggies.

 Pam Tebow was a great speaker and inspired us all. I only hope John and I can be as good of parents as she and her husband are to their many kids, and as generous as they have been in all their missions, especially the orphanages that saved so many lives in the Philippines.

These 2 are pretty special as well; this is Giovanni Capriglione from the Texas House of Representatives (district 98), and Texas Senate hopeful Konni Burton (going up against pee-bag lady Wendy Davis..)

 I am so glad to see such strong pro-lifers in politics.

Tball Gear

Lucas got some new tball gear; we bought him some baseball pants, a practice tee, and a bat that was the right weight for him. He has done very well with them! Here he is practicing with daddy:

Our plants are also sprouting--squash, carrots and cilantro:

And here he was at yesterday's game before the rain came in (they had to cancel team pictures, which is good because they still haven't received his new blue uniform...

Here's a short clip of him hitting the ball...sorry i only had my phone and can't rotate the clip:

Cookin

These pictures are from about a week ago, when I tried 2 more easy recipes from Jenny Jones cooking website. I really liked these cinnamon rolls, although we did have to let them rise for an hour and a half---but it was cool to see how big they got! I am sure they are a lot healthier than store bought, and use less sugar. (and of course I used almond milk and low fat margarine..helps a little!)

    The macaroni was alright, but it's hard to really get a creamy consistency. I shredded a lot of sharp cheddar which was good but it didn't totally melt with the milk/flour mixture--I was going to bake it (not part of her recipe) with some parmesan cheese but decided against it since the kids probably wouldn't have eaten it then. They did like it and so did John.

  Oh and I made these stuffed mushrooms when John barbecued the other night. I didn't have bell peppers so I decided to try a new recipe with cream cheese. I liked them, but I think we all agreed the breadcrumbs and bell peppers are a better filling.

 

Here's John using his new charcoal grill :)

Sponsor Susan!

Hike for Life - McKinney
Raises money for local crisis pregnancy centers, to keep babies alive!
October 5th 2013--donate please :)

Nicodemus' & Peenuhlope's Waterfall

My free rock fountain/filter decor thing I made :)

Since the frogs need fresh water so often, we decided to buy the smallest filter we could find. This terrafauna filter is kinda tall, but it works. The minimum amount of water you need to cover the filter intake is 2 inches, which is about all I can give these frogs since they are not great swimmers. It wasn't staying level and Peenuhlope would jump on it, and the cover was so lightweight it would fall off. So instead of buying some expensive decorative filter that was too big for their waterbowl, I went to the local sand & stone yard and asked for some slate rock pieces. They let me and the kids pick out some good ones and they even broke up bigger pieces for me. I filled a bucked with 15 lbs, and they let me have it free!

  I took them home and we washed the sand off. I then took a hammer to them and tried to get the pieces in the right shape to lay on top of each other for a fountain. I used bathroom caulk as glue yesterday, and even glued a few pieces to the top cover. It was hard to shape the whole wall right, because it had to be narrow enough to fit in their odd shaped water bowl, but I also couldn't glue it directly to the filter since it will need to be cleaned etc. I made it fit and I think it looks cool, especially considering it was free. The only issue is keeping the filter straight to make the waterfall with only 2 inches.

 Nico exploring the rocks just now.

    I took them home and we washed the sand off. I then took a hammer to them and tried to get the pieces in the right shape to lay on top of each other for a fountain. I used bathroom caulk as glue yesterday, and even glued a few pieces to the top cover. It was hard to shape the whole wall right, because it had to be narrow enough to fit in their odd shaped water bowl, but I also couldn't glue it directly to the filter since it will need to be cleaned etc. I made it fit and I think it looks cool, especially considering it was free. The only issue is keeping the filter straight to make the waterfall with only 2 inches.

   When we first bought it a few nights ago, I put it in by itself and held it up with the driftwood piece we have---the frogs both loved it! I mean, I think they did---they jumped on it and stayed near it croaking ALL NIGHT. It was peaceful though. She is one hard frog to tame though. Nico has always been so calm, but she is jumpy and scared of your hands. So removing them to install my fountain was kind of difficult and messy.

  Here is a video from the first night i put in the filter, without the stones--Nico shows me his gratitude (this was just after he shed his skin too)--and then the end is what it looks like today with the stone fountain I built:

And here are my extremely well-adjusted happy kids with today's butterfly craft..can you tell they are homeschooled haha. No really, it's just that they take butterflies very seriously. We watched the cycle of the butterfly video today. Cool stuff.