Happy Birthday Samuel!

We had such a fun time at this party and a lot of fun planning it. We knew we wanted to keep it simple and have a party similar to Matthew's first birthday.  So we baked lots of cupcakes for all of our friends. We hung a bunch of green and blue paper lanterns in our live oaks and clipped about 150 pictures to them as well. All of our friends and family came and had a great time.

Here are some of the high lights.

1. Hot dog bar for lunch
2. huge bowl of m&m's for the bird houses
3. pumpkin spice cupcakes
4. pictures on the trees
5. birthday boy's highchair and hat
6. bird house favors
7. Rolo pretzels
8. drinks
9. paper lanterns hanging from trees

The lanterns looked so nice in the trees.  I would have left them for a while but it looked like rain so we took them down that day.

I also made Samuel a birthday banner.  I was really happy with how it turned out but it took a long time to make. 

And here's the birthday boy in his high chair waiting for his cake.

 

Samuel was so cute.  We found this hat at Hobby Lobby and he wore it the whole time.  I think he knew he was the center of attention.

The little cake I made turned out so cute. And of course, I had to make him a pumpkin cake.

Mmmmm! Yum!

 I think he liked it!

Kisses from Grandmother.

"I'm done!"

I got him out of his highchair and we went straight to the bathtub. 

After we got cleaned up, we went inside to open presents. 

Samuel received so many wonderful gifts. But after they were all opened, he chose to spend the rest of the party crawling in and out of the very large gift bag my dad brought.  He was laughing the whole time. It was so funny!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMUEL!!!

Samuel

November 3, 2012

1 year old

Happy Birthday sweet baby boy!

I can't believe you have been with us for a year now.  We are truly blessed to call you our son.  We adore you.  You are growing into such a sweet little boy.  It has been exciting to see you learn and discover what this world has to offer.   

We are so thankful that God sent you to be part of our family.  He has been so good to us!  We pray that you will grow up knowing that it is safe to trust and follow God.  He has a special plan for you and we look forward to seeing it unfold.  Your joyful spirit is a continual reminder of our Lord. 

I am honored to be your mother.

Love,

Mommy

all dressed up

It took us a long time to decide what to wear for Halloween this year.  In fact we did not buy something for Matthew until the day of.  You can imagine I was running all over town to complete his costume.  The shirt and boots were found at Smarty Pants, a resale shop here in Waco.  I got the bandanna at Academy and the hat came from Baskins.  He calls it his Woody hat.  The costume was completed by his great grandaddy's Texas Ranger badge.  It is an honor for us to have it and to let Matthew use it for his costume.

"The Cowboy"

We were lucky that he wanted to be a cowboy.  This outfit doubled as a costume for his cousin Maverick's 1st birthday party a couple of weeks later. The theme was cowboys and indians.  

We had never really talked to Matthew about Halloween or trick or treating so he did not really know what it was. In fact, this was our first year to trick or treat. But once candy was mentioned he was ready to go. 

We went to the Bruer's house first.  Mr. and Mrs. Bruer live right across the street from us.  They were giving away normal size candy bars and packages of skittles.  Not the fun size ones.  I think they gave us two.  

"Let's go get more candy."

Matthew had a lot of fun trick or treating.  He tried to dig in each persons candy basket to get more candy than he was given.  He even tried to go into one person's house.  We only went around our block but ended up with a whole pumpkin of candy.  

And here is Samuel.  This was his first Halloween   He was supposed to be born before Halloween but I guess he wasn't ready yet.  So he missed it last year.  

 "Super Sam"

We put him in the Superman costume that Matthew wore for his first Halloween. He was so cute but it was a stretch for it to fit.  Matthew was only about 6 months old when he wore it.

"Super Matthew"

He was so happy to get to walk in the street.  

He even got to do a couple of fly byes.

Here the boys are going to our neighbors house, the Manhands.  They are so sweet and love our boys.  They also have two dogs that Matthew and Samuel love.  

We had so much fun, and ate so much candy!  In fact Matthew ate too much and was sick in the night.  Yuck! We will know better for next year!  

Heart of Texas Fair

We here in the Pendley house love Fall.  There are so many things to look forward to...to anticipate.  My birthday of course being the first of these things and then following that comes the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo.  I look forward to it every year.  The lights, the smells, the people!, the food...I love it all.

And this year so did Matthew.  I had been talking to him about the fair for at least a couple of weeks and  then when they started to set up, I came up with excuses to drive by so we could see them setting up all of the booths and rides.

A little obsessive you might say.

No way!

Who doesn't look forward to greasy fair food and funnel cakes and cotton candy!, and riding the rides, questionable though I might add, but throwing caution to the wind and doing it anyway.

And speaking of the food...

 Samuel loved the corn dog!

"It's mine! My own, my precious!"

 We had to convince Matthew to try the funnel cake.   

Samuel did not need any convincing.  

 the airplane ride

Matthew and his trusty steed.

Samuel was so excited to finally get on a ride.

Samuel loved the goats.  

We stayed until nearly closing.  Samuel was so done and Matthew was really tired too but I think he would have stayed all night if he could.

The Hobbit

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

the labyrinth walk

I was recently on an out of town visit with my aunt in Kerrville.  This was my first time away from both of the boys by myself.  So I guess I was both excited and nervous at the same time.  I was most excited about all of the uninterrupted sleep I was going to get.  But I was also nervous about leaving the boys for three nights.  Patrick's mom came to Waco to help him out during the day so that he could go to work.  She is always so helpful and gracious with her time when we need help.

So I set off to Kerrville all by myself.  No boys, no toys, no carseats in my back seat.  I looked in the rear view mirror several times but there was no one looking back at me.  It was kind of lonely...and very quiet.  

It didn't take long for me to start enjoying myself though.  I mean just the ease of getting out of the car all by myself.  No extra hands to hold or toys or bags.  It was truly refreshing.  

On Friday we went to a butterfly garden.  Have you ever seen hundreds of  butterflies clustered on one tree? I wish I had a picture but I really don't think I could have captured the beauty.  As we walked through the garden, butterflies fluttered all around us.  One even landed on me.  

After we finished at the butterfly garden, we stopped at St. Peter's Episcopal Church to walk the labyrinth.  

I had never walked a labyrinth before, but thought it would be a good time to stop and talk to the Lord.  It is not all that often that I have time to myself to reflect...to be quiet.  And I have often experienced walking leads to clearer thinking.  

So I started down a narrow pebble path...

I listened for a word from Lord Jesus.  I knew he wanted to tell me something.  I wasn't just walking to walk. There was a message for me.  

As I listened his voice became very clear.  

I often live my life "as the crow flies".  

I am sure you all know what this means but www.phrases.org sums it up pretty well.

In a direct line without any of the detours caused by following a road. 

It is very simple, you see, it would only take me about 10 steps and less than 10 seconds to get to the middle of the labyrinth.  But instead there is a winding path that takes you around and around and around...


Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it.

As I walked I heard the Lord saying to enjoy the twists and turns of life.  All paths are not straight "as the crow flies".  If I am following Him, He will guide me through each curve and bend.  He will give me wisdom and strength for all that life has in store.  Trust that His path is the best and safe to follow.


Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. 

In the center of the labyrinth, there is a cross.  When we walk down the right path, it leads to Him.

I encourage you to follow the Lord's path today.  No detours.  No short cuts. Sometimes He just wants to take the scenic route.

Fisher-Price Little Superstar Toy

I'll start by saying that not all toys are created equally...

A lot of toys are cheap, plastic junk.  Some are way too expensive. And some fall apart not long after they are opened.

But this toy, the Fisher-Price Little Superstar Sing Along, is great.  We borrowed it from Amanda when Matthew was a baby and never returned it....sorry Amanda.  I'll save it though for your next baby...ha ha ha.

Anyways, both of my boys love this toy.  It has a mirror, music, buttons, a microphone and bright lights.  It's fun to play with and it is fun to watch them playing with it. 

Can you tell which one is Matthew and which one is Samuel?

 Matthew

Samuel

This toy keeps their attention for a long time.  They both love to look at themselves in the mirror.  I wonder who that sounds like?

Hey, I would smile too if that is what I saw when I looked in the mirror.

Note:  This is not a paid advertisement.

pumpkin bread

Well it is officially fall.  The air has gotten cooler, some leaves have started to turn, (well maybe not here but definitely in some part of the world), and I made pumpkin bread.

Pumpkin bread is a staple around here this time of year.  I am not sure if I like anything about fall more than getting to bake and smell pumpkin bread...and eat of course. The delicious smell lingers in the house all day long. I think it is one of my favorite foods.  In fact I think I ate my weight in pumpkin bread while I was pregnant with Matthew.

After baking some on Sunday, we decided it would be fun to let Samuel try it for the first time.

 "I'm waiting!"

Movie anyone?

 You might be thinking I can't believe they gave him that without cutting it up.

It did not take long for him to figure out what to do.

"Manna from heaven."

 I think he likes it.  

This looks just like one of Patrick's baby pictures.

"Just a little wider and then I can fit it all in."

He even tried to share some with me.  A boy after my own heart!

So sweet!

I have since made pumpkin pancakes and they were a HUGE hit too.  I love to cook...especially for my boys!  I will have to see what else I can add pumpkin to.