Spiritual Conversations with Ashlan

Ashlan: "Mommy, what are cents?"

Me: "You mean cents as in 'dollars and cents'?"

Ashlan: "No, mommy, like 'Jesus died for our cents'. What are cents?"

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Ashlan: "I think I am going to sleep with my Bible tonight."

Me: "Are you sure? I don't want you to roll over on it in the night and the edges poke you."

Ashlan: "It'll be okay, mommy. I just don't want God to be lonely tonight."

Apple Cake Balls

Are these not super cute!!!


I wish I could say I came up with this idea, but I didn't. A friend of mine made these for her son's teacher. She had the link to the recipe, provided by Bakerella, so I figured I'd make an attempt at making them too!

Honestly, these were hard for me to make. I could not get the chocolate to look smooth at all. That was so frustrating. Luckily, they still happen to look somewhat like an apple..

And of course, here they are packaged for the teacher with a little note that says 'Thanks for a great 1st week of school'

Since I had more than enough apples, I made a little bag for each Kindergarten teacher. Hope they enjoy!


A few tips:
-I bought the red chocolates, lollipop sticks, and bags at Michael's
-I used chocolate cake for the balls, mixed with vanilla icing.
-I used the green candy Air Heads (found at any grocery store) to make the leaves. I just tore off pieces of the candy (Taffy-like) and shaped it like a small leaf.

Again, the recipe can be found here

Where is it?

It's the 3rd day of Kindergarten! What is so special about this 3rd day? Well, Ashlan lost her FIRST tooth today at school!

She walked out of school this afternoon with a large smile on her face. I thought maybe it was because she had such a fantastic day (which she did), but she was really wanting me to notice the hole between her teeth! And yes, I noticed! Once I noticed it and we celebrated, Ashlan quickly became somber. Why? Well, she isn't sure where the tooth is AND she didn't bother to tell the teacher it fell out. She thinks she lost it during snack time. Actually, she's certain she lost it during snack time. She says it was there before she bit into her Rice Krispie, but after the treat, it wasn't there anymore. My guess is that it is in her stomach!

Ashlan was VERY concerned that the tooth fairy would NOT come tonight, since there is no tooth to give her. But I reassured Ashlan that the tooth fairy KNOWS where her tooth is and will get it! She will still make a visit tonight while Ashlan is sleeping and leave money.
(Hint to self: I MUST remember to go to the ATM tonight and get money out. Brent and I NEVER carry cash. Bad habit, I know)

She is very excited about the tooth fairy!

The bottom middle tooth came out. The other tooth in the middle is hanging by a root..literally. You can tell that other tooth is about to come out any day. Hopefully that one won't get lost!


Congratulations on losing your first tooth, Ashlan! Another little milestone!

First Day of Kindergarten!

What an exciting day! And we all survived! (when I say 'all', I really just mean me, 'the mommy') For the last few days, I've been an emotional mess. I just can't believe Ashlan is in elementary school. Luckily, I had Brent home for emotional support (although he was a bit emotional too). And when we picked Ashlan up from school she had a huge smile on her face! Best sight I could have seen!

We will back up a bit and start with pictures from last night. The Night Before Kindergarten

Ashlan telling Nick good night.

(Nick had his first day in high school today! 9th grade! Wow!)

Ashlan was sooooo excited about Kindergarten, she had a very hard time falling asleep. So a little playtime with Bismark seemed to drain some of the energy out of her...

And not too long after, she was sound asleep!

And here we are....the morning of the first day of school! Nick is such an AMAZING brother to her! He was adamant on waking up early to walk with her to school!

Walking to school

We let her walk into the room on her own and put up her belongings while we watched from the doorway.

Such a big girl!


While Ashlan was at school today, Brent and I (yes, Brent helped!) made rainbow cupcakes for her. I only had pastel gel coloring, so they ended up looking more tie-die than rainbow....but anyways, they were very neat looking!

Add some yummy icing and sprinkles....

....and you have a very happy little girl! Home from a successful day of school to find some cool looking cupcakes ready to be eaten!

Oh, and no mother can forget this - her first piece of artwork in Kindergarten! (I'll treasure it forever!)


Thank you for all your support and encouragement for Ashlan (and me). It was a very successful day and I already know it'll be a very successful YEAR!

Surprise Rainbow Treat

Check out this awesome cupcake!


That picture contains two of Ashlan's favorite things: cupcakes and rainbows!

I'm going to make these tomorrow and, as a surprise for her, have them sitting on the kitchen counter for her when she comes home from her first day of school!

Find out the recipe here!

Sneak a Peek

Last night was Sneak a Peek at Ashlan's school. Brent and I were able to take her up to the school to meet her teacher and meet some of the students that will be in her class. We are beyond thrilled with Ashlan's Kindergarten teacher. It's going to be a fantastic year for Ashlan!

Brent and Ashlan out front the school doors (I guess I missed Brent's smile when I clicked the camera)

One of Ashlan's friends is in her class! They were showing us their lockers!

Already getting familiar with the fun stuff in the classroom

Brent and Ashlan looking out her classroom window. Brent was showing her which direction to look in order to see the road to our house.

Our little family

Kristen and I. We are very happy that our children are in the same class!

Our little Kindergartener


School starts in 48 hours! I am very excited for Ashlan, but once I walk her to the class and walk away, that'll be a different story. My baby girl, my only child, is starting kindergarten! Thankfully, Brent is taking that day off from work....He already knows I'll be an emotional MESS, so he figured he better hang around to keep me from doing anything crazy (like sneaking up to the school and peeping into the window to watch Ashlan all day) He's prepared....I'm not.

My little Kindergartener!

Time to Meet the Teacher

Looking for a cute 'Meet the Teacher' gift? Check out some super cute ideas here!
Compliments of Tip Junkie

It's Almost Here!

School is around the corner and the supplies are rolling in! Today Ashlan's backpack arrived! She was soooooo excited! It's her very own official Kindergarten backpack with her name monogrammed on it!

She is ready to fill it with supplies and head to school!


And along with the backpack arriving in the mail today, my best friend and her family sent Ashlan, Kate, and Nick Back-To-School packages today! What a surprise that was! A huge treat for the kids!!!!!
Ashlan opening up her package!

Kate opening up her package!

Brent wanted a picture too, so he picked up the pencils and said 'Cheese!'

Nick won't be home till Sunday, so he will open his surprise then!

Thank you Emily, John, Sydney and John Thomas for the VERY generous Back-To-School gifts!

Back to School Social

We are counting down to the first day of school! This week we started out with our neighborhood Back to School ICE CREAM Social. And can you think of a better place to have ice cream than Baskin Robbins??? Yep, they hosted it for us! They allowed our little neighborhood to gather in their store for a few hours to enjoy each others company along with a delicious scoop of ice cream! It was a success!
Thank you Baskin Robbins for opening up your doors! Your eagerness and generosity is greatly appreciated!

A ticket for a free scoop of ice cream....

Ashlan enjoyed a scoop of Cotton Candy ice cream.....

Our friend, Christopher, enjoying his ice cream!


Thanks again, Baskin Robbins! And thanks for all of the 80 neighbors who showed up to socialize and celebrate Back to School!

Ordinary to Super Cute

Do you have one of these chairs?

I have one. I use the chair in the craft room. It's obviously not a 'pretty' chair, but it serves its purpose. Well, I happened to come across a particular blog called Craft Rookie and to my surprise, the blogger had posted a tutorial on how to turn an ordinary black computer chair into a super cute chair.... Check out her tutorial on how she did her chair here
Here is my new chair!

(You can click on the link above to see her tutorial which is very detailed. I am going to give you the shorter version of the tutorial, though)
Here is what you need:

Some cute material
An old chair you want to re-cover
A staple-gun
A hammer
An iron/ironing board (if your material is wrinkly)

The walls in my craft room are orange, and I have been wanting to go for a moroccan look in there. I came across this tablecloth on sale at World Market and knew this was the pattern/colors I wanted for that room. I bought the tablecloth knowing I could cut it and use it as fabric to cover my computer chair.

Using a screwdriver, remove the seat and the backrest from the chair. Lay out your fabric around the chair pieces and make sure you have enough to staple the fabric to the back...

I stapled all four corners first. Remember to pull as tight as you can each time you staple so the fabric will look nice and smooth on the front side.

Once you have stapled the fabric around the entire piece, you'll need to use scissors to cut the excess fabric off. You don't want any fabric hanging under your chair.

Your backrest should be in two pieces. Like below. Staple fabric around the front part of the backrest. In the tutorial from Craft Rookie, she covers both front and the back of the backrest. I was only able to cover the front of mine.

And here is that ordinary computer chair all dolled up in the craft room now! The picture doesn't do the fabric/colors justice!


Again, Craft Rookie has a much more thorough, detailed tutorial on how to do this. I suggest you follow her directions here if you plan to recover your computer chair. It really was a super easy, fun craft!

"JR" and Sharie Jo

What a memorable 24 hours we just had! Some friends of ours happened to be in town overnight, so they came to see us! What a treat! Lots of laughing, story-telling, wine, food..... we always have a great time with this special couple!

Sharie is a world renowned artist. Brent and I collect her work, which hangs in our entry way, dining room, and bedrooms. I'm sure, if you've been in our home, then you know the art pieces I am referring to. Check out her site here

Brent and Sharie
Sharie brought a special painting for Ashlan to hang in her room

Her husband, Dan, was actually the stand-in for "JR" on the tv show Dallas. So, of course, a visit to South Fork Ranch was on their list of places to visit within their 24 stay here in town. And luckily, we live 2 minutes from the ranch.









What a fun couple!



We will certainly miss you, Sharie and Dan.....but we will see you in October!