Abby as the Joker

Abby got into some red lipstick and was cold busted. Kinda fitting that she had the jokeresque look plastered on her face….considering that she is quite the little joker these days. Mischievous, cunning and always a thing or two up her sleeve.  :)

World According to Abby Yo

Abby and I were out grocery shopping the other day and she got a hold of my iPhone. I thought she was watching a movie, but when I downloaded my recent photos, this is what I found! It made me smile and I thought I would share. This is apparently what grocery shopping looks like in the eyes of a three year old!

Fishing?

While Rana was running a half marathon today, I thought it might be fun to take the girls out for a little fishing.  Who knew that minnows and worm poop could be so fun?

[Update:  Looks like the video link was broken...should be fixed now.]

Spring Break Camping Trip

Over spring break we ventured out to a new camping spot with the McDaniel’s, Canyon of the Eagles. The first couple of nights were quite chilly, but the days were perfect. By the third day we were getting sunburned. Texas weather–go figure. Jim and John decided to go out early on Saturday and set up camp, while Shannon and I did some last minute packing. We gathered the kids and made our way out just as the guys finished setting up. Perfect timing! 

We spent our days out by the lake, which is usually up very close to the camp sites, but is now a little hike since it is so low. The kids found oyster shells and were bringing them up by the dozens to play with at camp. We did some fishing and also gave Molly her first “test” off her leash. She played in the water, chased sticks, chased birds, kids chased her and she seemed to do pretty good. We went on a nature walk on one of the many trails one afternoon. Chloe was true to form and showed the slave to fashion that she really is as she “hiked” in her pretty pink boots that light up when you walk. There was no getting tennis shoes on her. The walk was a bit long and in true kid fashion there was lots of whining, crying and “when are we gonna be done? When is this over? I’m hot! Carry me!”. But, I just know in the midst of all the fuss, there were memories made. We also visited the observatory one night and marveled at the skies above. And there was a centipede sighting at our campsite. I won’t speak for everyone, but I was a little creeped out by the size and speed of this thing. I’ve posted a picture to show you just how big we are talking. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! And no, I did not place this creepy crawler on the dollar bill. I found this photo at What’s That Bug?. 

There was lots of entertainment at the campsite and as always, never a dull moment. Abby had some major “honey bee” issues. You will see in one of the photos below that they were just everywhere and little Abby Yo was not so good with that. She would just hear some buzzing and scream “honey bee coming to get me!”.  We didn’t get to our rock, paper, scissors tourney but as we were cleaning up on the last day, Chloe and Ryanne started a “shell shop”. Once all the other kids noticed that they were making some sales, the competitor stores opened up left and right. It was interesting to see their little minds work to see how they could outsmart one another and get more “traffic” at their shop. Jim and John had no luck fishing this trip (they got skunked as they put it), but entertained Shannon and I nightly with their fire making skills. Camryn McD and Courtney Beth showed off their muscle power by bringing up John’s fishing boat from the lake. We were joking around and told them to go get the boat (it was actually a ploy to get the kids to go play so we could clean up) and before we knew it, Cam and Court had pulled the boat all the way back to the camp site. Over the rough terrain (which is usually lake bottom) and up a hill. We were all impressed.

If you have never been to Canyon of the Eagles, I highly recommend this place. The tent sites are very roomy and extremely shaded. I would love to go back at a time when we could actually see the eagles and when more of the nature trails are open. We were limited to one open trail when we were there.  We had such a great time and we always love to go camping. This is two years in a row for spring break camping. Maybe we’ve started a new tradition.  

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Garden Path (the path to no where as Jim likes to say)

Construction on the path from the side of the house by the garage to the front door has begun. Jim started helping me the first weekend and it looks like I am going to be finishing it up alone as time goes by. The stones that I am using are ones I have been collecting over the years from various trips to my brother’s property in Gatesville. These are also the stones I used to raise the front flower beds. I hope that I have enough to finish the project!  

Grassy walk from the garage headed to the front door.

This is an example of the type of stone path I am trying to emulate.

First Fruits Gardening @ GNUMC

Our first Planting day (Sat, March 28) in the First Fruits Garden at Holy Ground was a GREAT success despite a chilly beginning.Cameron and I got up early and were there  for the blessing that Pastor Bob delivered. After that it was off to work to finish building garden squares, fill them with dirt, cage them with chicken wire and prepare for planting. Jim and the rest of the girls came up later in the morning and we planted our garden together. This is a first for the Baughman family and we are hopeful for great success! The girls are hopeful for all the fixins’ to make home made salsa. As for the bigger picture, we are hopeful for lots of fresh produce to share with those in our community that are in need. 

The full garden master plan of vegetable boxes was completed and all but three planted. The chicken wire was incorporated in hopes that the deer of Holy Ground do not think we have opened a salad buffet for business! A lot of hard work has taken place the last few weeks and has resulted in a thriving ministry to support the Hill Country Community Ministry Food Pantry with fresh produce.

There are lots of photos posted on our blog firstfruitgarden.wordpress.com

What is the First Fruits Garden Ministry?
Deuteronomy 26:1     1 When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the first fruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket.

Objectives
––Provide fresh produce to the families of Good News UMC and to Hill Country Community Ministries to share with our brothers and sisters in our community.
–Provide an opportunity for the sponsoring families and groups to encounter the kingdom of God through the Biblical concept of “first fruits” giving described in Deuteronomy.
–To heed the message of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and “invest” what God has given Good News UMC for the building of the kingdom of God through the “talent” of Holy Ground.

Ministry Description
The plan is to build 4’ x 4’ square garden squares that families and groups can sponsor to grow various fresh produce.  Each sponsoring group can keep 10% of what they grow and will donate the rest to HCCM. 

How I Met A Rosy Boa

Hi! This is Courtney Beth.

For my B-day I want a rosy boa. You can see what a rosy boa looks like by the picture my mom and I found.  My mom took me to the ZooKeeper Exotic Pets store today and I got see one in person. And I got to hold one too. There are many animals there like turtles, rabbits, scorpions, a sloth was in the window, farrets, rabbits and huge tarantulas. There were other things too. If you go there you can hold some of the pets but they do not bite but scorpions do.  When we got there we saw this guy and he was talking to a scorpion and he held it and didn’t get stung but they had the tales up and were upset. 

When I touched the rosy boa she was rough. When I held her it was like she was eating something. Maybe win I get one I will call him or her slither. Here is a picture that my mom took while I was holding the snake. 

   I think what I will do now is save my money for a new snake. My birthday is in August and I think I will want some gift cards to the zoo keeper store. This is how I met a Rosy Boa. The end. By Courtney Baughman.

Happenings and Ramblings of the Week

I guess early Saturday mornings are great quiet time for me and a chance for me to catch up on the week. Why is it so hard to get out of bed when it’s Monday-Friday, but when it is Saturday, I can just jump right and start the day?? Well, coffee is brewing and I’m going over the weeks events and I thought I better write them down while all is peaceful.

Saturday night was the “First Annual 37th Street Phase 10 Tourney”. Steph and Heather hosted a fabulous event and a total newbie was crowned champ!  
Notice the Phase 10 champion crown and the wad of cash! I believe that she walked away with a months supply of lunch money and a whole lotta braggin rights. Out of 24 peeps, Jim was 14 and I was 20. I won’t bore you with my strategy talk and where it all went wrong. But, let’s just say there were some obstacles to overcome at my table and it took me ’til about phase 3 to embrace the atmosphere and find my happy place. During the final game, Jim and I were taught to play Farkle  by Sharon and Ronda. This game was really fun and I can see this fitting into the rotation of games at the Walker Family Reunion very easily.

On Sunday night the family got together to celebrate Cam’s birthday. We went to China Cafe and my kids really like that place because they can actually order an appetizer called “Pu Pu Platter”. Well, when you are 10 and below, you have to find the humor in the small things, right? And the parents have no say when it is printed on the menu. As always, I roll my eyes, Jim laughs and says, “hey mom, lean into it!”. [Janni, that phrase will live long in our house]. We had a great meal and it was our last big family get together prior to Roy going in for hip replacement surgery on Wednesday, March 4th. 

Tuesday morning was Cam’s official b-day and it was shared with TAKS testing. Bummer. Courtney had a little stress about this test starting at about two weeks prior, but on the day, she had her game face on. Cameron was never worried about the test, she just protested often about “how could they schedule it on my birthday?”. I agreed it was a bummer, but I assured her that I would have her requested meal on the table that evening and she would get to open presents for a third time. It seemed to work. I spent a couple of hours at the school that day as a hall monitor and let me tell you, it’s serious business on TAKS day. I was fortunate enough to have the bathroom/lunch room post, so the time flew by over my watch. When the girls made it off the bus that afternoon, I told them they could do whatever they wanted (and yes, that included TV all afternoon, if that is what they chose). Funny how when they get the carte blanche over the TV no one really wants to watch it. Jim and I may have to work on our “strategery” in the upcoming years. Roy and Mimi came over and shared in the meatloaf and mashed potatoes feast that Cam requested. We wrapped up a great evening with Chloe reading us Green Eggs and Ham all by herself!! Wow! We were all impressed.

On Wednesday morning, Mimi had to have Roy at the surgery center very early (5 am I believe). She called by 8:30 to let us know that he was out and did really well.The nurse only had to poke him one time for the IV, which was a huge stressor leading up to the surgery. That evening we had our First Fruits meeting at church and then it was the gymnastics/karate juggle.  But, the thing that I remembered most about this day (and it gave me great joy all day) was how it was one of those mornings where everything just seemed to run so smoothly. All the kids woke up in great moods and we were ahead of schedule getting out the door to the bus. Courtney rode her bike down the driveway with the dog chasing behind her. Cameron took Chloe and their backpacks on her scooter and they were just riding around laughing. Abby and I were holding hand and walking behind them watching it all happen. There was peace in my universe and although it may have only been for 30 seconds, it brought me joy all day. I need those moments! [You can see the image of the scooter that Santa brought Cam on the right. She has even taught Molly (the dog) how to ride it with her.]

Thursday was spent “vacationing” in downtown Austin. Shannon and I decided that we should spend our day doing things we want to do while Abby and Avery were at Mother’s Day Out, instead of all the things we needed/had to do. Call it a mental health day. After dropping off the girls, we headed down to Town Lake for a run. We did a little over 4 miles and the weather couldn’t have been better. Then it was off to The Great Outdoors. This is a great garden spot that I love to visit, but don’t make it down there very often. After that, it was lunch on the patio of Guero’s, people watching (and a little falling off the Jillian Michaels 30 day routine). A browse through the San Jose (the place to stay in Austin), coffee at Jo’s and back to get the kiddos by 2:00. Phew! That night it was the first softball game of the season for the co-ed team I am on. Our team from church didn’t make it back this year, so I just filled in a spot for another team that lost a couple of girls. It was great fun and the kids had a blast running around. They were covered in dirt from head to toe, which to me is a sign of a lot of fun!

Jim just walked in and critiqued my blogging and mentioned that this is getting a little long. So, I’ll wrap it up and carry on with my day. I’m going to get kiddos up and off to the First Fruits garden. We are building boxes today and hopefully the dirt will be delivered! Planting is in two weeks!! 

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Friday the 13th ’til Now

I’ve laughed with 7 girls at The Rock in Game Plan, had a tickle fight with Cameron, played go fish with a very determined little three year old and am now having the first cup of coffee on a fine Saturday morning. Cameron had some girls spend the night for her birthday and Jim and I are about to fix a very big breakfast before we all head out to watch Cam get her ears pierced. I’m grabbing this bit of down time while the kids are out playing to review some of the happenings of the last couple of weeks.

Chloe celebrated her 6th birthday on Friday the 13th. Cameron and Courtney are now to the age that they are aware that “Friday the 13th” has a really bad wrap and they were a bit fearful of their Chloe having to celebrate on such a day. But, I assured them all that she would be fine….and go figure, she was! I took treats to her school and we celebrated with a song and some cupcakes prior to the ice cream Valentine’s party. Yes, all the moms just loved me as I provided sugar before the sugar. What’s a cupcake before ice cream and sprinkles and the loads of candy they were about to hand out?? After Chloe’s party, it was off to hang out with Cameron and Courtney at their class parties before I ran home to make the birthday’s girl requested dinner of “enchiladas with Mimi’s eggplant and fruit salad”. On Saturday morning, she had a few friends over to Chik-Fil-A for some playtime and lunch. Everyone seemed to have more fun sitting at the table coloring on napkins and just chattin’ each other up than playing on the playscape. Who knew that age 6 would bring on such a change?

Pause for a Journey to the Center of the Earth while we make some breakfast…..
Just back from Cameron getting her ears pierced. That video and those pictures will be saved for another day.

On Valentine’s Day, our church had its second annual silent auction. There was child care provided with the purchase of your ticket and what better way to spend time with your honey? Jim and I enjoyed having a couple of hours to ourselves over a nice dinner, grown-up conversation and a little good spirited fun bidding on items like massages, babysitting and a meal catered in your home and doing the dishes included! Proceeds will be used by our United Methodist Women’s group and half will go to the youth (who set-up, served, handled childcare and cleaned up) for their upcoming mission trip this summer.

On Sunday, we celebrated grandpa Marty’s birthday a few days early at the Salt Lick in Round Rock. We usually make the drive out to Driftwood, but the new location has great atmosphere and is so much more convenient. Grandpa has been setting the “edgy and cool” trend in the family lately. He’s mastered the “Ryan Seacrest” five o’clock shadow and just got himself some cool new specs. We are all trying to keep up!

Monday, Jim left town for Manasses and these are the weeks I have to really psych myself up to get it all done. Homework, karate,swim, gymnastics, dance, book fair, dinner, blah, blah, blah. I know, I know, I’m not the first nor the last. There was a book fair at school this week and the theme was Hollywood. Tuesday night was family night and kids could dress-up as their favorite movie star. Courtney Beth decided from the get go that she was going to be Indiana Jones (same costume she wore for Halloween). The other girls were not so sure. Cameron didn’t really want to do anything but wear fake nails. Abby dressed up in a winged unicorn outfit (I’m sure there is a unicorn some where that is a star) and Chloe decided to be Stephanie from Lazytown. After Chloe decided to take the wig off, Cameron decided to wear it! So, Cam became Pink and we called it a day. Although, she really played it up a bit when she was pretending to be “a rock star, with her rock moves”. That’s my girl! Oh yeah, and in spite of how much Abby LOVES Clifford, the life size dog put her over the edge. I really thought that she might just blow a vein right there in the library. He’s right up there with that creepy mouse, Chuck E Cheese, whom she asks to go see often. But, when we actually go see him, she cries and won’t let him near her.  A few more pics of the book fair below, along with a pic of Cameron at her swim lessons. Then there are a few of the night that Courtney went with Mimi and Roy to Austin Park and Pizza for a little one on one time. There were go carts and rock walls. She was in here element.

                                  

Courtney Beth got a rock tumbler from Santa this Christmas and I guess it is one of those things that every kid has to do at least once. Her dad was very good about documenting the stages of the rock collection polishing and she was very proud of her accomplishments with the tumbler. I forget what stage these rocks are in, but as you can see by Court’s little face in the background. She is proud. 

There has been an opportunity come up over the last couple of weeks at church that I am very excited about. I have been asked to be a part of our First Fruits Ministry that is getting started this March.   There are going to 4′x4′ garden plots set up for sponsorship on our land at Holy Ground. Sponsors can choose tend the garden themselves or have our team take care of it. When it is time to harvest, owners will have the chance to receive 10% of what their garden yields and the remaining 90% will go to Hill Country Community Ministries to help those that need their services. We are building the boxes and starting our first day of work on March 7th! 

Shannon and I are still going strong on our Jillian Michael 30 days of torture. We are about 10 days out and in the beginning it seemed as if 30 days was really not that big of deal. I figured I could do anything for 30 days! We are staying the course, but it is a tough regimen. We will see what the benefits of 30 days of torture gets us next Sunday. There will be a scale, tape measure and a very cold bottle of champagne involved in the reading of the results. I will say, I’ve really enjoyed the workouts and the diet portion hasn’t been too bad. I did finally go to the doctor this week and found out I had a “raging sinus infection”. Ewwwwwwwwwww—-gross. So, I’m trying to recover from being extremely fatigued. And the Zooma half marathon is fast approaching in April. So, I need to get back to being healthy!

One last funny thing that has happened recently is that Jim FINALLY joined facebook! Ever since I’ve been turned on to it, I’ve kinda been giving him grief that he needed to join. Well, the other night I was not feeling well and went to bed when the kids did, so I guess he was kinda bored and decided to see what it was all about (didn’t hurt that his two buddies Jack and Daniel were there too). Next thing you know, he’s joined and making friends by the second. He’s addicted!

Well, gotta wrap this up. I need to get the kids that don’t actually live here over to their houses and then get all of mine over to the Mustain’s house. It’s date night and Jim and I have the big 37th street Phase 10 tourney tonight. Money on the line and the trash talking has already started! But, really, in all honesty, it’s the braggin’ rights that we all want. I’ll keep you posted of the outcome!

Smitten Kitten

As a mom of four girls, I knew the day would come when the boys would be more than just the “guys in my class” or the “guys that are only good for playing chase”, etc….. Jim and I have endured our share of Jonas Brother comments and each girl has their favorite picked out, but this Valentine’s Day was the beginning of something totally new. Puppy Love has hit Cameron and boy are we all hearing about it!

Riley is a sweet 5th grader that Cameron knows from church and they both attend the same tweens group on Sunday evenings. They have been in this group together since August, but something changed this January. She started coming home on Sunday nights talking about how funny Riley is and “oh, you wouldn’t believe what Riley did today”. And then it became noticeable that they were sitting together a little more in church. Then, one night when we were working on our Valentine’s cards for school, Cameron came over and whispered in my ear, “I want to give Riley a Valentine”. Awwwwwwww! I helped her make one very special card and then she decided she would buy him some chocolates. I say cute and Jim just rolls his eyes with some well hidden fear that his baby is growing up. But, all of this got Jim and I talking about our first Valentine’s and we discovered that Jim was in third grade when he gave his to Michelle Phillips and I was in fourth grade when I gave mine to Toby Tyler. So, that kinda helped ease some of the pain!

We had our 2nd annual church silent auction on Valentine’s and Cameron was ready to give Riley the treats that night. He ended up not being there, so there was a little pressure relief when she could just hand it to his mom who would then deliver it. The next Sunday, Riley approached Cameron in church and handed her a card and thanked her for her treats. He walked off and Shannon and I sat there and watched Cam open her card, beaming and grinning from ear to ear. There was a necklace inside and she put it on immediately. She kindly thanked him after church and said, “I’ll see ya at tweens tonight”.

After tweens, we were all sitting around the dinner table talking and Cam still had the beaming glow and the necklace still hung securely around her neck. We asked her how it was at tweens and how Riley was. She grinned and said, “I had to hold his hand at prayer time” and she turned about four shades of red. We all just giggled as Jim said, “Oh, you had to, huh?? Or maybe you got to!”. Dad is handling this quite well!

As I tucked the girls into bed that night, I noticed that Cam had the card pinned to the wall along with the envelope it came in (because it had his writing on it) and then there was a little pin that she hung the necklace from. She let me know that this was not to be touched by anyone. Cam would like to have a picture of Riley to hang on the wall as well, but since we don’t have one, Joe Jonas is taking the photo category right now. I guess that gives a mom and dad the “easability” that is needed to move into these smitten kitten phases. There’s a little bit of reality mixed in with some Tiger Beat posters.