We have moved!!

After years of blogging about my 3 little lights, I now have 5 little lights! I have moved to a new blog called The Mullis Life. I would love it if you would come visit me there. :)

Ladies Spring Luncheon

We had our ladies Spring Luncheon at church the weekend of Mother's Day. The theme this year was "a garden party" ...hats were encouraged and so a lot of us had fun with our spring hats. It also happened to be the Kentucky Derby so our hats fit right in with the weekend events!

Every table was decorated with a different kind of flower. My mom and BFF, Amy and her mom came down to enjoy the day with us. It was so much fun.

Here I am with my girls and my mom.The Goodwill Girls and Amy

My BFF, Amy. Love her!
Abby and Esther with Aunt Amy and Ms Sandy

My three kids sang a special and Nate played. They did such a good job.

Yes, I am alive and a few of my favs

Ok SORRY for being MIA for SO long! I have been keeping up with my adoption blog a little better and those that read it to know that this has been a very difficult spring waiting to pass court for Micah and Sarah Faith. We are SO close to being through waiting for them to come home! Hopefully they will be here by June!

We have kept up with school and church and life but honestly it has been hard to do much more than keep up with it... and that doesnt make for really great blogging either.

I am beginning to plan school for next year for 4 students and for the first time I will be homeschooling with a baby in the house!

Our summer is also becoming jam packed with fun things to do. Hopefully we will be finished with the school year next Wednesday May 25th..just in time for the homeschool convention!

Now on to some happy things! Here are some of my favorite things this spring....

A new picture of my Ethiopian loves
My three little lights on Easter Sunday
My new favorite Kitchen appliance! Oh my word! We also bought the Ben and Jerry's recipe book and have decided to work our way through the recipes this summer! Love it!

Micah's new backpack...all waiting to be packed for Ethiopia and then for trips to Nana and Gramps house and the cabin! :)
A new Chore chart...notice all 5 of my kids!

Couponing. I am such a newbie! I had only been collecting for two weeks when Harris Teeter ran a week of triples! Oh my! So I woke up early and went with my limit 20 coupns and bought ALL the stuff below! It totals over $65 and I brought it home for $27..not too bad for a first timer!

FHE Hawks Basketball

Weight Watchin

So I have been on WW since July 2, 2010. I have lost, to date, 42 pounds...I actually lost a few more, but then I went to Africa and came back wanting to eat like a lumberjack for about 2 weeks!

So now I am back in the saddle , so to speak, for my last 10 pounds before summer. Here are some tips I have found helpful to me over the last half a year or so:

Exercise

Ugh! I really hate it, but I have found that the easiest thing I can do is walk for 20-30 min every morning. I make better food choices and have more energy if I do. Then I do sit ups at night.

Water

I actually like water, but I drink a ton and have found that if I use a straw I drink more water..weird, but true.

When I am out and about:

When we are out running errands, my kids are always begging to stop for a treat. A few things that have saved me are:

Sonic's Diet Cherry Limeade. I go between 2-4 ( happy hour) and get the Rt 44 xtra large. It is .5 points and I sip on it all afternoon. It is caffeine free too :) Love it!

Zack's Fat Free/Sugar Free frozen yogurt. If you live somewhere that does not have a Zack's, I am sorry because it is awesome. AND a med sz is only 2 points!!!!

Because I drink SO much water at home anywhere we go and I can get a fountain Diet Coke or Diet Dr Pepper ( At Chick fil a) is a treat.

When I am home:

I love flax seed cereal with Almond milk. It is only 1 point for a bowl. A 1 point breakfast! YUM!

The little Deli round breads are also one point and I use them for BLT's or I will spread some Pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese and make pizza toast. If I am wanting something sweet I can spread a little nutella on toast too

Sherbet only has 2 points a serving, so I will buy sherbet, but I have found that the diet Ice cream just goes to waste in my freezer cause it is NASTY! So I will buy the good stuff and just use the 4 points for it if I really want ice cream. Same thing with sour cream..it is so worth the extra little bit to not eat ff sour cream..yuck

Laughing cow cheese and special K crackers

I eat a piece of chocolate everyday and don't write it down and I don't count the points. It is my little bit of rebellion to the diet machine. Its just enough to psychologically keep me going. I know I have rebellion issues...I blame it on my christian school years and being forced to wear culottes. :)

My Best out to eats:

Subway salads

Chick fila char grilled chicken salad with ff honey mustard dressing

Japanese mixed veggies with steamed rice

Panera black bean soup and Asian sesame chicken salad

Moes Jr Joey Burrito

Anyone else have any hints and tips that work for you..I would love to hear them!

President's Day celebrations

President's Day is next Monday and while I usually don't post about our family fun nights until after we have had our fun { just in case something like a dog/ child gets sick or someone calls and asks us out for dinner or to a ballgame:) }

I have had a few people ask me to throw out my ideas for holidays before hand in case they want some inspiration...therefor Be inspired:

The Menu:

Lincoln logs ( pretzels)

Woodrow Wilson Whip ( dip)

Benjamin Franklin Burritos

Ronald Reagan Rice

William H Taft Tea

"I cannot tell a lie" George Washington cherry pie

Our crafts:

We are going to trace our hand from elbow to fingers and put it on paper like a tree. Then color green at the top and fingerprint cherries for a cherry tree.

We will also take coins and do a rubbing to make a copy of Mt. Rushmore

Activities:

Pin the hat on Abe :)

Cyber scavenger hunt... I will have a piece of paper folded up. Everyone selects a paper and unfolds it to reveal a president. You must then Go on a cyber hunt to find out the questions listed about him and draw a picture:

The questions are:

Birth date

Which President

Fun Fact

State he is from

Wife's name

We will either watch a movie...I am still trying to decide which one or play a game..either hi ho cheerio, for Essie or Fact or Crap ( ya know not tellin a lie) game

There ya have it! Family Fun Night President's edition.. Feb 2011

My Love

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and also my hunny's birthday. We have been together for 17 years and married for 15. I am almost at that point where he has been a part of my life longer than I was without him. I like that.

We met at Piedmont Bible College when I was a junior and he was a transferring sophomore. I knew the first time I saw him in the PBC cafeteria that I liked him. He had many of the qualities I deemed necessary as a 19 year old:

1. He was handsome

2. He was tall

3. He was an athlete

4. He was from the south

5. He had his own car

Such important factors when choosing a life mate, huh?

We went out the second week of school that fall to TJ's Deli in Winston-Salem and after our date, he very kindly told me he had come to college to play basketball and not to date. With which, I replied that was fine and dandy...for now. :)

We dated on and off throughout the fall and by Christmas I knew that this was the man God had sent for me to spend the rest of my life went. We began seriously dating October 30, 1993 and have not broken up since. He asked me to marry him after dinner at Tj's in May of 1994 and we were married June 10, 1995. Many moves and children later I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Someone told me the other day they thought I really did get the best husband...I would have to agree.

Happy birthday and Valentine's day to the best husband and daddy ever. I love you to the moon and back. I really did get the best husband...I really did.

~ From the luckiest girl in the world

Thankful things

I am thankful today for:

My new hair straightener and the fact that cold dry air allows me a rest from my curls

Chai tea..a recent love of mine

Weight watcher

My parents and their unwavering support..even when I do crazy things like adopt more babies :)

Getting to see my sister over Christmas AND Thanksgiving

My new sweats from Victoria Secret that are soooo comfy

Gym membership for only $10 a month AND a workout buddy

Big girl sleep-overs..I am having my second..two months in a row and they are just as much fun as when I was thirteen!

Safety on our Florida trip and actually being warm for a few days

Time with my husband's sweet family and eating LOTS of Florida food like cubans and key lime pie

A new journal for a new year

Ladies Bible study starting back up tonight. Man, I have missed it!

My kindle ( a birthday present from my hubby) that I resisted but now I love it!

Psalms 37:5

Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken

New Years Bags

Each year we have a New Years countdown with paper bags. I usually print out clocks and there is a riddle and the kids open a new bag on each hour. Last year we were in Florida and were not able to do the bags and everyone missed them. This year we will be driving home from FL on New Years Eve and staying in a motel in SC. Soooo, we are going to have our NYE bags travel style! We will end around 10:00 because we should reach our motel about then and we are staying somewhere with an indoor pool, so the last bag is swimsuits and we will celebrate 2011 in the pool!

Here are the riddles and bag treats for 2010

2010 is about to end and we have a trip to make. To get us in the mood open bag # 1 and we will celebrate!

4:00 Party hats and necklaces and glasses

Road Trips can be kinda boring and slow, but we can make it great. Open bag #2 and see what fun you can create!

5:00 Mad Libs

2 hours down, just 4 more to go .these bags are fun, they are so neat. Start checking signs on the road..because now its time to EAT!

6:00 Dinner

Our bellies are full and we feel good, but now what can we do? How about opening bag number 4 and enjoy what is in there too!

7:00 a movie

Take a break to see whats in here, just a little something to give you some cheer! :)

8:00 suckers

We are close to reaching our stop for the night, but New Years Eve is not the same if you don't try and make it bright!

9:00 DS game for all three? OR light ups battery sparklers

We are here! That was great! Now...... Are you ready? Are you set? What is in this last bag you will need cause you are gonna GET WET!

10:00 swim suits

Word of the Year

I am involved in a home school online community and for the past 4 or 5 years we have all encouraged each other to choose a Word of the Year. A word that you will remember and will help you in the coming year to be a better mother, more like Christ, a better wife..the reasons are all different as to why ladies choose their word. I love to read every one's word and why they chose it. I also love to hear the reflections at the end of each year and how meaningful their word has become to them. Below was my post on the forum about the word I have chosen.

My Word of the year is : Expect

I have been " expecting" my Ethiopian babies for 13 months now..(sort of the gestation of a baby elephant!) God gave me this verse back in July when we were waiting on our first baby referral never even knowing that we would actually be 3 weeks away from leaving for Ethiopia and still have not laid eyes on our baby!

"Yahweh, in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly." Psalms 5:3

I was convicted that I pray and then don't EXPECT Him to do great things and that I should. He loves me and wants to give me the desires of my hearts. He also EXPECTS that I will grow and learn more of Him and His love through the trials and the joys of life. That way the desires of my heart are also the things that please Him.

I am EXPECTING great things in 2011!

Christmas Sunday Pictures 2010

Cookie Day

Today we made our sugar cookies for Santa. We have a friend that goes to Wake Forest that is from Benin ,Africa. He just graduated and is moving to NYC. He came over for dinner and a movie and to help us decorate our Christmas cookies. We are going to miss Dallys in NC, but are praying he has a wonderful time and a successful career in the big city of New York!