Hilarity!

Yesterday Aubri was putting on her shoes before church and was having a little bit of difficulty getting the buckle done. She looked up at me with doe eyes and said simply, "Mama, sometimes it's tricky being a big girl, right?" I smiled back at her....my mind flashing forward to all that this precious angel may see and experience in her lifetime....and said, "baby, you just don't even know how true that statement is."

the Suessical

First off, tell me this. have you ever seen anything cuter than this?I pulled up to the car line at school on a sunny Monday afternoon (after another hugely successful shopping trip in Springfield). My intention was to pick up my babies, take them home, feed them a snack, help them with their homework, feed them dinner, care for my hubby (who had a horrible cold), and get Kaleb ready for his first grade program and get him to the school by 6:30. No small feat for sure.

And only milliseconds after my kids got in the car I get an announcement from the eldest child of the Hollis brood. Even before I hear the click of his seat belt he declares that he needs a red tie for the program.
Let me clarify. He did not need a red tie. He wanted one. He DESPERATELY wanted one. I mean, he acted as if his next breath was literally dependent on me coming through with a red tie.
Being the supermom that I am I decided to grant my sweet son's wish. I had about 2 hours and only one store (walmart) to find one. I was pretty sure that walmart would be a huge disappointment so I instead searched through the scraps in my fabric basket.
I found some red and white striped fabric and googled "child's tie tutorial."
I quickly learned that you actually need quite a bit of fabric to make a necktie. And I only had a scrap. I then googled how to make a bow tie. After receiving approval from my boy I set to work. It was surprisingly easy. And Kaleb was utterly thrilled! When I was fixing his hair he asked me if I thought he would be the most handsome boy on stage. I said, "baby, I don't think....I know." he smiled and off we went.
It was a wonderful program. They sang and danced so wonderfully. Kaleb participated just as he was supposed to...no break dancing....wandering around...or other unexplained weirdness. He even remembered the line he was assigned. Yes, he said it very rapidly and it was difficult to understand, but he was wonderful nonetheless. I could not have been more proud. Oh, and I was right by the way.....he certainly was the most handsome one on stage.

the one in which I make you jealous

Last night was girls' night out. And not just any girls' night out...but my favorite kind of girls' night out. Shopping. And not just any kind of shopping...but deal-spotting, coupon-clipping, saving-more-than-you-spend shopping. And not just...okay....never mind...I am sure you get it by now. Let me just give you a brief rundown of my loot.

Target: (oh how I love thee....and miss thee.....please Lord, bring a Target to Bolivar)

5 Holiday candles

2 renuzit cones

Glad trash bags

2 puddings

3 TGIFriday Skillet meals

Cottonelle TP

Cottonelle flushable wipes

2 Wheat Thins Stix

1 Wheat thins

1 Chickin in a Bisket Crackers (a total fave of mine from childhood)

a child sized afro wig (hey...it was $2 on clearance and don't lie...Kaleb will look awesome in it!)

a pair of black dress pants for Kaleb

country crock butter

2 oscar meyer lunchmeats

3 chicken noodle soups

3 boxes dryer sheets

3 feminine products (I will spare you the details!!!)

lightbulbs

2 paperjam guitars (the boys are getting them for Christmas...shh...don't tell!)

Simply Lemonade

2 Market Pantry apple juices

3 Reach floss

2 travel sized Tide detergents

My total before coupons: $160

My total after coupons: $91 and $20 target gift card

Dillons: (my love affair with you grows stronger with each passing day!)

10 Carnation evaporated milk

8 Propel fitness water

6 Honest Tea

Nestle break and bake cookies (seems wrong to put that right under the ORGANIC tea!)

Danimals yogurt

Activia yogurt

3 24-count advil

Ronzoni pasta

8 Annies Maccaroni and cheese

6 Chunky Campbells soups

strawberries

pomegranate

wheat bread

2 shoulder roasts

rotisserie chicken

2 hot pocket side shots

4 Green Giant steemer veggies

Heinz ketchup

joint juice

Idahoan instant potatoes

pepsi max

twix (to treat myself for such awesome savings on the drive home!)

My total before coupons: $74

My total after coupons: $31

Now go ahead and pick your jaw up off the floor and head on over to www.hip2save.com or www.frugalfritzie.com to learn how to do it for yourself. It's so much fun!

Even the girliest girl has raw and unfiltered moments. And I feel blessed to have witnessed one of those moments.

The other morning Aubri crawled in bed with me to cuddle while Rayden was taking the boys to school. When he got home he came back to our room and started trying to make Aubri laugh by pretending to sleep and snore really loudly. She would giggle hysterically and then give him a kiss to "wake him up." It was very humorous to watch. Then....the hilarious factor went through the roof. After another kiss for her daddy and some more giggles she paused and called out...."when I was laughing a tooter sneaked out." I could not be more in love with that sweet little lady.

One step closer...

One day this last week I was thinking about the mom that I once thought I would be. When I was a little girl I wanted two things....to be a teacher and to be a mommy. I wanted to be the king of mom who went on every field trip, who planned fun outings, had creative parties, and in general just made life magical. I was feeling very "below average" in the mom department. Now this isn't the first time I have felt...well, lets just say "less than adequate" as a mother. When those feelings crop up in me I normally get kinda pouty and my insecurity renders me immobile. But, this time I stood myself up straight and decided to usher a bit of magic into my family's afternoon. So, while Aubri was asleep and the boys were at school I went to work. When the boys got home from school they found this...

and as they swung open the front door....
smiles spread across their faces as they saw the living room....
and the dining room....
and then they followed the web of string into the kitchen...
until they found the end...
what a great, not to mention magical, way to discover your afternoon snack.

Halloween 2010

We had a great Halloween night. We ate dinner....got all dressed up....went trick-or-treating at my mom's residential care facility....stopped by the Kirksey's house to play....went home and went to bed. After the kiddos were tucked in all snug as a bug I headed over to Woody-Gott (a dorm on SBU's campus) to judge their Halloween costume contest. It was a lot of fun. It made me feel really old. I mean, it feels like a heartbeat ago that I was that carefree college gal frolicking in the dorm lobby and making googly eyes at all sorts of potential "Mr. Rights." But alas, it was over 10 years ago. Time most certainly flies. One day you are sitting in your dorm room stressing over term papers and girlie drama....and the next you are behind the lens photographing the most beautiful four people you have ever laid eyes on...

a spooktacular event

we decided to have a Halloween party this year. It just made sense....we love dressing up, we love being creative with food and decorations, and we love hanging out with friends. So....the first annual Hollis Spooktacular Halloween party was born. It was loads of fun.

Rayden and I dressed up as the Flinstones. Nathan was Luigi and Aubri was a cheerleader. Kaleb started the evening in a spectacular....er....should I say Spooktacular....homemade robot costume, but it was a bit cumbersome so he switched to a pumpkin costume my grandma gave us. oh yeah....and he wasn't crazy about having his picture taken.

The Bass family came in Star Wars garb.
Ted and Shana were Salt and Pepper. Scarlett was a butterfly, Soren was a duck, and Jocelyn was a sweet little bear.
Bob Ross came and painted a lovely "happy little tree."
Alan and Mary were there too....Jarrett and Heather had the most creative (and hysterical) costume of the night! And there little man Gavin was a knight in shining armor.
The Jenkins family.....and even Dallas wore a costume. I guess my threat of making him stay out on the porch if he didn't dress up worked.
Kevin and Danielle came as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Super cute!
We had so much fun and decided that we need to do more theme parties all throughout the year. The next one on the list will be a murder mystery party set in the 1950's. We can't wait. After that I intend to search www.oneprettything.com for more theme ideas (thanks Katie, you have me completely addicted to that website). Family fun at it's finest!

my "job"

Being a stay at home mom is simply fabulous! I am so blessed that we are able to sustain our family on just Rayden's income. All the sacrifices we have made financially are SO very worth it. Last week was proof to me that I have the best job in the world.....simply being "mom." And not just "mom" but I have upped the anty and changed my status to "very involved mom of elementary school kids." I chaperoned my very first field trip last week. Nathan and I went with the entire kindergarten to the Fieth Family Pumpkin patch. There was LOTS to do...

we went to a corn maze.....actually we got lost in a corn maze....then stumbled upon the exit
we had a picnic lunch
we played in a box of corn kernels
we took pictures
we took a barrel train ride
we swung on a giant tree swing
we took even more pictures
we picked pumpkins
We had an absolute blast!

honest prayers

I love to listen to my kids pray. Aubri thanks God for everything that is currently in her line of sight. Kaleb rarely offers to pray, but when he does it is sweet and raw and wonderful. Nathan is the one in our family who prays with the most vigor....the most passion....the most like a charismatic evangelist. I can just visualize him standing on a stage with his arms raised, eyes closed, pacing back and forth..."and LAWD... we praise ya today LAWD Jesus." Here are some sweet....and brutally honest....prayers my kids have prayed recently.

Kaleb (on the night he became a Christian) "Dear Jesus. Please forgive me for my sins. Please don't let my mommy and daddy yell at me ever again. And please come live in my heart. Amen."

Nathan (tonight before bed) "Dear God. I love you Lord. Please help Kaleb and I have fun at PE. I love PE. And I love my mommy and all the people in the world except the strangers. I love you Lord. Amen."

Faith like a child. Isn't it grand?

A convicting message

Have you heard of this guy Francis Chan? He's written this book called "Crazy Love" and he has also been a speaker at the Passion conferences in years past. Well...I don't know who this guy thinks he is (wink wink) but I, for one, don't like him. He had the nerve....no....the audacity to preach a horribly convicting message about knowing God's will. (in case you can't tell I am bathing that entire last sentence in sarcasm....I am actually amazingly grateful for his message).

He started talking about how he had spent time alone with God to study the book of Colossians. He read that Paul was an apostle because of God's "will". He talked about how God's "will" is His "desire." Paul was an apostle because God wanted him to be. Francis (I like to pretend that he and I are on a first name basis) then reads the 9th verse of the first book of Colossians.

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding"

That you would have a knowledge of His desire for you. Paul had been asking God to give this church the understanding of what God wanted them to do....and to be. He never stopped praying that this church would be able to know what God wants.

Francis (you know....my good buddy) then poses a question. A slap-you-in-the-face kinda question. An ouch-that kinda hurt question. He says this...

Do you really even want to know God's will?

I mean, duh, of course you would answer yes, right? But he goes on to ask things like: Would you really want to know what God in heaven would do with your body if he had complete control over it....to send it wherever he wanted it to, to make it say whatever he wanted it to say? Would you really want to know his desire regarding what time he wants you to wake up in the morning? Or is there a side of you that doesn't want to know....that just wants to "do this thing" and sprinkle in a little bit of God and do some good stuff for Him and love people when it's convenient?

I had to admit to myself as I listened to this message that there was a small part of me that related to what he was saying. I've got a pretty good system worked out in my family....it's not perfect, but we're making it. We've got routine, we've got organization, we've got patterns. But, as I listened to my sweet, dear, friend shoot daggers my way from the book of Truth, and as I thought about the stories of believers in the New Testament, I began to wonder if routine....structure....and pattern is perhaps a safe...and even ungodly......way to live. Now I am not knocking routine in it's entirety....I am just beginning to think that God must hold the authority in my life to throw ANY routine, ANY pattern, ANY habit, ANY meting, ANYTHING out the window (even run it over with a car and smash it to smithereenes if he wants).

I have come to the conclusion that my life if too safe. I mean, really, what great and challenging thing am I engaged in for the Kingdom's sake. Am I completely engaged in training my kids in how to recognize God's voice? Am I willing to open up my home even when it's not all the way clean? Am I too embarrassed or nervous to approach that stranger in Walmart to ask them if they know my Jesus? If I were to be brutally honest with myself (and you....since I am blogging about this) I would have to say no....not always.

I don't want to get to the end of my life and say, "well.....I made it." I want to get to the pearly gates huffing and puffing.....hair all wind whipped......teary eyed.....hands on my knees cause I can't catch my breath saying "whoa....what a ride!"

Unfortunately I am nowhere close to that life today. But, the good news for me (and for you if you are finding yourself in the same boat) is that His mercies are new every morning. No more facebook statuses that read: "in a funk today" or "back to the daily grind." I wanna write: "you will never guess the encounter I had with the Lord today!" or "Guess what God did?" Or better still, I want to be so engaged that I don't have time to update a status at all.

Friends, it is time for me to begin living. And I hope it isn't too presumptuous of me to say that I think it's time for you to do the same. Let's find out what the desire of our God is....and then lets strap in for the adventure of a lifetime!

on a total side note....you should find this message (I think it's on Itunes) and give it a listen. Mr. Chan is much better at this than I am. It was from the Passion '07 conference. You will NOT be sorry you tuned in.

we're still here

It's officially been over 2 months since I last blogged. Were you worried about us? Probably not. I didn't think so. Most of you know that we've just been crazy busy...and if I must admit it, I have been a bit lazy in my free time. I'll give you a quick run down of what's been going on and then I'll take more time later to give more details on each occurrence (including pictures....that's what we all really like best, right?!?)

---I sent both my boys to school this year. (hard swallow). They have done great. Nathan teared up the first two days (and if truth be told, so did I). No surprise, Nathan is the start student....earning the most "lassos" (rewards for good behavior) in his class so far. And Kaleb has done extremely well....his behavior and ability to focus is greatly improved. And they are both turning into fabulous readers.

---I turned 30. I don't really want to talk about it. Well....maybe I will...just later.

---Aubri turned 3. Everyone says that time flies faster with each passing year. I just want to state for the record that I think that royally stinks. I personally love the time we are in right now and I hate how quickly the moments are flying away. If you don't mind I think I will just live in a fantasy land where I can pretend that my kids will forever remain little and cuddly. Please don't burst my bubble...it's a fantastic bubble, if I do say so myself.

---We went to Six Flags with the Whaley family in early September. There is just no way to describe to you how much I miss these people. I tell you what....Bolivar is one of my favorite places I've ever lived (second to Wentzville) but if the Whaleys, Hayes, Hollands, and Lees would just move their little hineys here Bolivar would jump into the lead for sure. I guess I'll just need to increase the prayer power a bit.

---Church has been.....well.....interesting. I don't want to say much more than that because I know some things need to remain private and there will be many who read this (that may be an exaggeration since I am pretty sure there are all of 5 of you out there in cyberland who read this) who would know too much if I wrote it all. Let's just boil it down to this....Rayden has begun to talk about what the Bible says about Church government. And saying that it has caused an uproar would be an understatement. The good news is that there are people all over the country praying for God to spiritually, emotionally, and physically protect us....and God has done just that. And we stand strong knowing that the Truth always wins! (on a side note....we are now running about 250 in services....that's up 100 since we got here!)

---My mom got pregnant. HA! Did I get your attention? Just kidding.....sort of. My mom has become delusional again. She now thinks she is pregnant. Which, fyi, is a medically impossibility due to a little thing we call a hysterectomy. (sorry if I seem flippant about it....I most certainly am not....it's just the sort of thing where if you don't laugh about it you're sure to cry). We're increasing her medication and crossing our fingers until February (when her medicare finally kicks in)

---I have started running. Hey....stop laughing....that's not very nice. I was kidding about my mom, but this is for real. After you pick your jaw up off the floor (don't be embarrassed, mine still drops each night when I finish) I will tell you the shocking story. My friend Rhianna (a sweet messenger from the Lord to me) came over one day a while back. She said that the Lord was prompting her to stop by and let me know she was praying for me. It was right when I needed some encouragement. Rhianna.....if you are one of the 5 people reading this =) I want you to know how immensely grateful I am that you came over that day. It was a game-changer for me....it helped me to LOVE it here and it was a reminder to me from the Lord that He had already paved our way here and that He would give us wonderfully godly people to journey with us. Thank you for being obedient to the Lord....it made a difference in my life. Anyway....tangent over. While she was here she told me about this thing called "couch to 5K" I worked hard at forgetting I had ever heard about it for about 5 weeks. But, after receiving a second report of borderline cholesterol I decided that it was time to work harder at honoring God with my body. I went out the first time and it requires you to jog for 60 seconds and then walk for 90. You do that cycle 9 times. To be honest...I wasn't sure I was gonna make it (I have NEVER run a mile without stopping in my ENTIRE life). But, I have surprised myself. I have stuck with it. I have not quit. I have not cheated. I am done with the first 2 weeks. I WILL finish this.

---Rayden has started refereeing football. Each Monday night he refs a JV football game in the Springfield/Bolivar area. We are looking forward to paying off our van early and/or funding Christmas with some of that extra money.

---I have started volunteering at the Alpha House (a crisis pregnancy center here in town). It's so amazing. I am mentoring 3 women and I am loving every second of it. And I oddly feel more connected to my mom when I am there. She was so passionate about life/pregnancy/centers against abortion and she spent countless hours volunteering her time at places similar to this. I know that she would be proud.

---Kaleb asked Jesus into his heart! This is clearly the most exciting news of all. I will write the whole story later, but let's just say that it was one of the greatest joys of my life to hear his sweet words to his Savior and see the smile on his face when he heard me tell him that now he was a Christian. It was A-stinkin-MAZING!

well...consider yourself updated. I am sure I forgot things. I'll keep catching up. And I promise to do better and never get this behind again (you can't see it, but I am raising my right hand and looking very serious). I hope you all are well too (all 5 of you!!) Please let me know who you are...I would love to know who I am connected to. Love all of you!

What have you been up to this week?

This week has been an unusual one. Rayden went to Falls Creek with the youth group from our church AND his parents were gone on their 40th wedding anniversary trip to Boston. So, me and the kids were home alone this week. I intended to get all sorts of house projects done....and....well....that just didn't happen. Here's what happened instead...

-the boys fought
-Nathan messed with a piece of metal sticking out of our house causing our crawl space to flood about a foot deep which required us to lose water for a day and hire a plumber to come out and fix it on a holiday (more on this is a separate post)
-Aubri whined
-Kaleb played in his last baseball game (which was delayed 40 minutes because of thunder)...he lost....resulting in devastation of a 6 year old who didn't win the "world series"
- Tilly peed and pooped all over the house
-it rained....nay....poured over and over again (hence Tilly peeing and pooping IN the house because she refused to go out in the rain)
-we drove to Rolla to have lunch with my dad and brother and then brought my brother back to spent the week with us
-the boys fought
-we went to Bass Pro and had Moon pies and looked at fish, turtles, and alligators
-we ate at Nakato (I deserved a treat I think)
-we went to CVS to try and get free Sobe Lifewaters, but they were sold out...boo!
-the boys acted like little crazy people
-we played the best game of hide and go seek....the prize went to Aubri for hiding in the dryer
-we went to Play4Fun....best 13 dollars I spent all week....the kids bounced and ran and sweated for 2 hours....praise the Lord for a great naptime that day
-we missed Rayden like CRAZY!
-I worked on a secret project....I'll tell you all about it later
-Jake and I put together two puzzles (one was 300 pieces and one was 1000 pieces)
-I worked on cleaning out the garage (my goal was to finish, but I am no where near that)
-we took 3 boxes of stuff to good will
-Aubri threw fits
-the boys fought
-we took sonic ice cream to my mom and watched a music performance with her at her assisted living facility
-the kids played in mud with Tilly....resulting in the dogs first bath (oh...I should not fail to mention that they did this about 10 minutes before we were to leave for Rolla)
-we wished the week would go by faster so that daddy would come home
-we went to the library
-I finished reading "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey
-and did I mention that the boys fought?

It was a full week....and it's almost over. Praise the Lord! Rayden is on his way home now from camp. T minus 5 hours and counting. Oh how I love that man. Oh how I need him to hurry home....I'm not sure how much longer I can make it!

Memphis visitors

We were so blessed to have our friends, the Hollands, come and visit us for Father's Day weekend. We packed in as much fun as possible while we were together. After a hearty breakfast on Friday we headed over to the Silo Ridge swimming pool for some fun in the sun.

Then, after a nap for my kiddos we packed up the car and went to play putt putt in Springfield. It was hot, but the kids loved it. Okay, okay....the adults liked it too.

And no trip to Springfield could be complete without a trip to Nakato. I think Karen and Nick understand now why we love that place so much!

Before leaving Springfield that night we needed to hit Starbucks to feed Nick's addiction! HA! It was my kids first time there and they got Strawberries and Cream.....they loved it. It may actually be a good thing that Bolivar doesn't have a Starbucks....my kids would be begging to go back more than our wallets would like.

On Saturday, the men played in a golf tournament at Silo Ridge. As soon as they left the rest of us went to work on some very elaborate Father's day plans. We decorated the back yard, made both peanut butter pie (Nick's favorite) and Cherry pie (Rayden's favorite), and ran to Walmart to get some water guns and a kid pool. We had a wonderful afternoon outside playing in the water and relaxing. Even the thunderstorm that rolled in didn't stop us from grilled steak and chicken for a Father's Day feast.

On Sunday, Nick led worship at our church...it was awesome! Oh how I wish they would just pick up and move here! Then we drove to Panera, ate lunch, gave big hugs, and said goodbye. I hope it's not too long before we get to do it all again!