I heart Aldi's...

YEARS ago (before the 'joys' of shopping with kids) when Jake and I bought our first house in OKC we lived very close to this grocery store called Aldi's...I had heard it was super cheap so I thought I would give it a try one shopping trip...it didn't go so well...no one had explained to me how it all worked.  I walked up to the store and tried to pull a cart out, but I couldn't because they were chained together! WHAT!? how the heck was i going to get a cart!  Finally someone walked up with a cart, let me have theirs and explained to me about how you needed a quarter to get a cart but as soon as your done, if you hook the cart back up then you get the quarter back....ooooooooo K...whatever. So I continued on with the shopping trip.  I was very confused, I wondered why the there was NO one there, why the aisles were so wide, and why the store was so simple that there was only 3 aisles to the whole store!? (did i mention this was before having kids...since then I have learned how AMAZING those facts are about Aldi's is).  I had a huge list of all sort of items, food, toiletries, cleaning products, etc ..and sure I found most of them there(all 'off' brands I had never heard of)...but I was frustrated by the fact that I still had to run to walmart across the street afterward for the items that were not available at Aldi's...and kinda had decided that the trip was a waste and that I would not be coming back...and that was even before I got to check out and realized that they ONLY took cash (that was before our 'cash only' days...and they actually now DO take debit cards) AND that I had to BUY my own bags! (that was also pre environmental days when the only people bringing their own shopping bags were the crazy hippies;) Lets just say I didn't go back to do my shopping there...and in turn became a Target-obsessed grocery shopper, and have been buying my 'archer farms' brand food (and an occasional cute tank top or shoes) for years.  Well, a few months ago Jake and I decided that it was time to re-work our budget and the two places we agreed needed cut back was grocery and eating out.  I had never been a couponer (although I am getting into it now!!) so my only thought was to try out Aldis again...I remembered all the 'rules' so I was prepared and ready!!  The first thing I noticed was the double seats in the shopping carts!!!  You can not find those anywhere! I also noticed that my fairly large shopping trip was done in a matter of minutes and hardly any stress (which is a normal thing shopping in a LARGE super market with a 1 and 3 year old).  I was super impressed that the milk was hormone free and they had a number of select certified organic products!  The produce selection was AMAZING (although no organic) and although everything is 'off brand' we have found everything (but their yogurt...we were NOT fans)  is very comparable!  Even after such a great experience ..I still had to run to target for a few things (I just cant bring myself to step away from our Target organic meats, yo-baby yogurt, etc)...so i really wanted to know if I actually was saving any money and if it was worth going to 2 places.....SOOOOO for everyone's convenience (and of course for my reference) I made up a pretend grocery list (with normal things we buy) and went up and down the aisles of both stores and wrote down all the prices! I was so pleased to see that I WAS saving money at Aldis!  So, with no further adeu...

Item                               Aldi's/Target(all target 'off brand' items)
wheat thins                    1.29/2.54
veggie straws                 1.69/2.99
graham crackers            1.49/2.99
4-pack orange cups       1.59/1.84
cinnamon crunch          1.99/2.99
gallon of milk               2.39/2.69
dozen eggs                    1.39/1.69
24-pack water bottles   2.29/2.99
carton of strawberries    1.79/2.59
bananas                        .44 a lb/.52 a lb
bag of red potatoes        2.99/4.49
carton of red grapes     2.79(0.99per lb)/4.99
box of eggos                1.29/2.99
popcorn(6 bags)          1.49/2.99
sugar                           2.29/2.69
brown sugar                1.39/1.49
baking soda                .49/.69
baking powder           .99/1.59
cream cheese(8oz block) .99/1.99
butter                           1.99(on sale)/2.49
bag of baby carrots      1.19/1.79
iceburg lettuce              .99/1.24
loaf of wheat bread     1.39/1.99
laughing cow babybell 2.99/3.49
'    ' spreadable cheese  2.49/3.59
frozen peas (16oz)      .99/1.14
ice cream                    2.69/3.29
apple juice                 1.49/2.44

Total bill difference    47.27/69.20
(without taxes)

it was worth it...

Yesterday (Saturday) morning we woke the girls up at 5:30am to go the the Plano Balloon festival they have this time each year.  Jake went last year as a volunteer for the boys and girls club...but this was the girls and I's first time.  It was pitch dark when we got there yet the parking lot was PACKED full this is such a big deal that hundreds of people will show up at 6am on a Saturday morning!  The 'Glow' started at 6:30 where all the hot air balloons light up their fire in the dark...it was just beautiful! Although Jake and I were pretty disappointed that there were only 2 balloons out for the 'glow'...Jake said last year for the night time 'glow' there were over 20 balloons out...that would have looked just amazing, oh well.  As soon as the sun came up dozens of trucks started pulling up onto the field and setting up their balloons for the 8:00am take off.  It was just increadable to watch dozens of balloons getting set up and taking off into the air.  We also got to hang out with the Elders (who provided yummy Shiplys donuts!).  After the big take off a few balloons stayed on the ground and they opened the field up for everyone to go check the balloons up close! it was so wild!! they are HUGE and just beautiful!  Then they had tons of bounce houses for the kiddos to play on and even Violet was brave enough to go on them!  It was such a fun morning!

officially 'that family'...

So this summer we were taking 2 VERY long road trips in May one was 7 hours and one was 16 hours!  It got us thinking about the fact that because we want 3 kiddos we knew soooome day will will have to jump on the 'mini van' wagon so why not go ahead and get one before our road trips (other wise we would have to rent a van because Heather would be travailing with us and Heather affectionately called our car the 'clown car'....yeah it was REALLY small).  So in March we put our car on craigs list, months went by and we had NO interest!  So jakes dad rented a car for all of us and we moved on with our trips.  We got home and jake kept it on craigs list on and off, but since no one ever called on it, i completely forgot we were even 'trying' to sell it!  Then the night before labor day a lady emailed jake wanting to see it!!  Jake spent 3 hours the next morning cleaning it up for her while i scowered the internet for vans...but she NEVER showed!!  Then just a few days later another man called and came to see it...he loved it...but didn't offer us a very good price so we turned him down (we weren't even REALLY trying to sell the car anyway;)  then that night another family came to see it!!  SO weird right!! 6 months on and off craigs list with no interest then 3 people in one week!!  Anyway, they loved it and made us a great offer so jake met him at his bank the next day (yesterday) and BOOM my car was sold!! Well thankfully I have always kept a 'cars' savings account through ING and had been saving for this 'someday' van for quite a while (that's obviously savings that is on top off the money we would get from our payed off car)... so of course my late afternoon was searching all over auto trader and Craigs list...i found 3 i seemed to like, 2 at one place in south Dallas and one RIGHT down the road at David McDavid Honda (a HUGE dealership here in the area). So around 4:30 yesterday afternoon we head down, though Dallas traffic to see these 2 vans that were in our price range that were AWFUL!! grr i was pretty discouraged and by this point it was getting late.  But we go see the one at the dealership and it was AMAZING!!!  we probably played the 'game' all wrong...even piper during the test drive was saying "Mommy my like it! can we take it home!?".  So after the test drive and the back and forth game to get the 'right price', and the explaining to about 8 people 'no, we do not want to finance, thank you' (ugggg i HATE it!) and one LARGE personal check later...we are officially a mini van family!!!

i told jake...now all we have to do is fill it up;)

he loves us, oh how he loves us....

All i have to say about Sunday is ....BLESSED!!! thank you father for being so faithful!
we have 3 more weeks covering our series on 'seeds'...how God is up to something radically and shamelessly....small...


www.friscofieldschurch.com

milestone catchup....

~about a week ago Violet started this crazy super-baby style push-up...she is so strong, she would completely lift her entire body off the ground...everyone who saw it was amazed:)...it wasn't long after that she started actually getting up on all 4's and rocking!!! just shy of turning 5 months old! Having babies that are pretty much attached to me until they become mobile and get a taste of a bit of freedom...unlike most people, i LOVE it when they start crawling/walking...its defiantly a milestone i very much look forward too (weaning, starting food, leaving me for pre-school...not so much:)...

~if we are friends on facebook....i obsessively try to get advice on how to handle my high maintenance sleeper (piper ann seaton)...so much so that it has been overlooked that Violet is an AMAZING sleeper! And since she sleeps in her own bed (bassinet) much better then her sister ever did (as in she ACTUALLY does;) we decided to pack up the co-sleeper...and set up the crib!!!! We had to re-arrange our room a bit to fit it, but i actually think we like it better now:) She is sound asleep right now in her very first big-girl bed:) Eventually we really want Piper and Violet to share rooms...but we are not in any rush. I think she likes it:)...

~a little over a month ago we were at our new library looking over the movies... my eye caught a movie that a friend of mine had mentioned..."Potty Power!" we were not ready to dive into hard core potty training yet... but i thought we should check it out. When we got home i pulled her potty chair out to the living room (just in case she felt motivated;) and popped in the dvd...within minutes she was ripping off her diaper saying that she had "Potty Power!!!" and went pee on the potty! And I'm not kidding...since that moment she has had underwear on for every waking moment!!!! Potty training has been the easiest "hard" parenting achievement we have gone though!! All my readers (and future 13 year old piper) will be happy to know that i do not have a photo of this:)...

our little Viley is 3 months old!!

wow! 3 months! officially a baby, not a newborn anymore :( In the last 3 months you have met tons of family and friends...been to lots of library programs and playdates (in Oklahoma & Texas!), been diagnosed with reflux (and now doing SO much better, mommy hardly ever has to give you your medicine anymore!)... received TONS of kisses from a certain big sister of yours...had your first little cold...spend longer then a baby should have to at an audiologist just to be told your can hear perfect!...you are now starting to fit in 3 month clothes! which i guess means your starting to pack on the pounds!...you finally started wearing cloth diapers...you moved to TEXAS(yeah thats a big one)....you have been swimming A LOT, that happens when you have a very busy sister and a super nice pool at your new house :)...you started giggling this week which is so beautiful to me....you rolled over from your back to your belly yesterday!...you still LOVE to be swaddled, and pretty much have to be swaddled to sleep in your co-sleeper...you only nurse when your hungry and want the paci when your tired... you start off great sleeping in your bed the first part of the night (which gives mommy a nice break) but pretty much ends up in our bed by your first waking...you have been on a small trip to our state Capital Austin...and already have had many hotel stays in your short life...you are much less *clear throat* high needs then your sissy...most of the time you are a pretty happy and content baby... your awake times are getting longer and longer....you LOVE watching your sissy play...

These last 3 months have FLOWN by! With how crazy our lives have been lately i already feel as though i will look back on this time with Violet and feel like i didnt "take it in" like i should....i'm trying so hard to be aware of that! I love her so much....she is so beautiful and i could kiss her little cheeks all day!

Frisco Apartment Homes Tour 2011....

Part 2: Piper's bathroom/closet/bedroom






Yes people you are seeing things correctly....that is a BIG GIRL BED in her room!! Since Violets still in our room in the co-sleeper....we thought, that when we moved we would not even set the crib up...there for the big girl bed would be the Cool new thing in our Cool new house:) She has done AMAZING with it! It still takes 2 or 3 times of going in and laying her back down at night before she officially falls asleep...but MUCH better then i was expecting!

Yeah...this is a really big deal!!!....

WE ARE MOVING TO TEXAS!!! wow announcement overload....I'll start from the beginning....
Last October...one night after Wednesday night church, Jake pulls up to the house and just sits in the driveway...i could tell he was on the phone and was so anxious to hear what was going on... when he came inside he told me that this Pastor named Jared from a church in Arizona, whom Jake had met about a year earlier, was moving his family to Frisco,TX to plant a new church and Jared wanted Jake to consider joining his team and be the worship/arts Pastor!! We were excited about the idea yet pretty unsure...we knew nothing about planting a church and Jake NEVER even thought about the idea! (God has a pretty funny since of humor!)...over the next month we prayed a lot...asked a lot of questions...and seeked guidance from Jake's dad in the matter. By thanksgiving...we just didn't feel "quite on board"...we know now that it was just code for "we are really comfortable here...and moving somewhere with a new baby and a toddler, where we don't know anyone, to start a church plant is just too scary, so we should probably just stay put". After we told Jared that we were not quite sure about joining his team...we moved on with our lives....Jake got busy at church and me keeping up with a toddler and growing another person...Then January comes and Jake gets another call from Jared!! Jared basically just wanted Jake to know that he was still interested in him and wanted us to continue thinking about it. WHAT?!? seriously God...we thought we put this to rest?! We felt as though there had to be some reason God was "pushing" us on this church planting idea...So Jake and I dove into some deep prayer again and we both felt completely different this time around...this time for some reason we were starting to feel called! So as soon as Jared's family finally made it to Texas, we planned a weekend in early March to go check out the area and meet with Jared and his family. WOW what an amazing weekend! We LOVED the area and most of all we fell in love with the Doe family!! We really felt a connection and all of our questions were getting answered and our doubts were fading! When we got back to OKC Jake took a day to fast and pray over this new ministry opportunity...and God made it pretty clear (to both of us) that he was calling us to start this church!
Although a location still has not been decided yet our new church home already has a name and a website...Frisco Fields Community Church....click the link to check out our site! We have sold our house and will be moving July 15th! The launch date for Frisco Fields is October 9th!

please read about our core values and the biblical truth behind our amazing logo :)

The Core Values
Biblical. Relational. Missional.

Biblical.
Scripture reveals God’s heart and His story. It is a heart that must be shared and a story that must be told. It is God’s heart for us, and it is the story we find ourselves in. We commit our lives to the authority of Scripture through study, teaching, educational classes and obedience.

Relational.
People were created to live in healthy community. The early church had a huge emphasis on living life with one another. In fact, there are over 30 “one another” passages in the New Testament. We are to love one another, share with one another, confess to one another, serve one another, pray for one another, celebrate with one another, mourn with one another, and teach one another. We are committed to community, discipleship, and communal prayer, and of course… parties!

Missional.
People are called to serve one another in love. Serving brings life to others and self-transformation. The church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves others. Jesus had an uncanny ability to meet people exactly where they were and yet draw them into a life renewed. Sharing faith, love, and hope with others should be a natural part of life. We are committed to service, compassion, outreach, and alleviating spiritual, physical, social, and emotional poverty.

The Logo
The three bars in the logo represent three fields as well as the three core values of Frisco Fields Church: Biblical, Relational and Missional. The third bar and third core value (missional) has a corner cut off from it. This represents Leviticus 23:22 (NIV) says, "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien."

37 weeks...

with piper....

with baby sister....

come on sissy! we are ready when you are!!

Surprise!!!!.....

wow wow wow!! i am still in total shock!! last Thursday at our "normal weekly playgroup" piper and i walked into a HUGE surprise!!.... a "baby sister" baby shower!!!! it was my very first surprise party ever!! these amazing girls really pulled it off! a beautiful table....yummy food....gifts....and of course our usual mommy chat :) It was such an amazing morning...i was honestly in tears the rest of the day every time i would think of the friendship i have found in these girls!




baby sister was blessed with so many sweet gifts...



the "after party" ;)...

speaking of proud.....

LOVE YOU SISSY!!! click on the highlighted link to read her awesome break up letter.... ;)

big sister....

she seems to be a natural.... ;)

let the matching dresses begin!!!!!!......

ITS ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!!!!

this is my favorite....her skinny little legs all stretched out...

sweet profile...


*explanation: we had every intention to "wait to find out" with this baby like we did with Piper, and had even "announced to the world (and family)" that we were "waiting"....then came the morning of December 3, the day of our ultrasound...and i woke up with an overwhelming desire to NEED to know....i convinced Jake on our way there....and what did we find?!.....ANOTHER GIRL!!!! We were both overwelmed with tearful laughter and joy!! not to mention complete shock!
So on our way home we decided since everyone thinks we are "waiting to find out"....lets just keep going along with that (and ummm...lie;) until Christmas and SURPRISE everyone!!!! This Christmas has been so much fun getting to shock everyone with this wonderful surprise!!!
So...we are sorry to everyone who we had to "stretch the truth" (ok...lie) too.....family, my playgroup, church friends, and anyone else! we have prayed about it and been forgiven ;).....I hope you can forgive us too....it was all in the name of a Christmas Surprise! :)
(videos of us telling out family to come....)