Happy Halloween!!

We had another super fun Halloween even though it remains my LEAST favorite holiday. The girls all chose great costumes this year! So girly...I love it! We spent our evening around the corner at our friend's house who also happens to be our co-leaders in our small group. And basically, our entire small group lives within 5 houses of each other so when we get together, it's a party and a HUGE gaggle of kiddos! We BBQ'd, ran through a few neighborhood haunted houses and then walked a couple of streets for candy. This year I got super smart and quickly ransacked my girls pumpkins and took out all the candy they don't like and then proceeded to pass all of that candy back out! Tacky perhaps, but at least it won't go to waste in my house. ;o))

More Photography!!!

Photography!!!

It's official. Amy's photography shop is offiicially open for business and these were my first customers! Actually, since I did it for free, can't say that I am official just yet BUT I am having fun practicing. I may post some more on here, but here is a very small sneak peek of the adorable Foley Family.

Happy Birthday Paigey Girl!!!

Oh my goodness Paigey Girl, you are 8 today! To know her is to love her! She is the fruits of the Spirit all rolled up into one little package and I am blessed to be her Mommy. She is joyful, she is patient and kind, she is all about peace, she is gentle and is good...she is Paige! Happy Birthday sweet girl and may you always know just how special you are to our family and most of all to God!

Last Day

Today was our last outing for our staycation. I took the Paige, Chloe & Sadie to the zoo while Sophia was at her ASU class. It was SOOO hot that I'm glad our visit was short (100 degrees today) but we will be back again for the next several weeks and hopefully it will be cooler! We loved the tortoises this time because there was a man giving them baths and telling us all about them. Sophia did great in her class and was the only child who could do the digital root to check her work on double digit addition. ;o) Yay for her!

Baking Day!!!

I just spent the morning of day #4 of our Staycation baking with my girls. We made caramel apples and harvest cupcakes! I am so blessed to have 4 little cookers who love to help Mommy in the kitchen! We did math while counting and measuring, we did art by decorating and we did science while taste testing. Can I just say again how much I am loving the age of my girls right now and pray we continue to have amazing days together like today!

Big Red Ball Fun!!!

On Day #3 of our Staycation, I took the girls to the park to roll down some hills in a big red ball. I can't tell you the giggles that came out of them all! It was so fun and I can't wait til we do it again. The ball itself took a long time to blow up even with an electric pump cuz it must have about 20 separate valves! Worth it though in the end to hear the laughter.

Wildlife Zoo

This is the first week ever of a Fall Break that we have stayed home instead of traveling. Personally, I think it may be actually cheaper for us to travel! For our first day, we painted pottery and for our 2nd day, we visited the Wildlife Zoo just West of Phoenix. All the animals were so close up and we had a great time riding the train, the skyride and petting some very sweet animals. The weather was perfect and fun was had by all!!

A perfect night

I love it when it is finally cool enough to go outside and enjoy our fire pit. The s'mores were delish and the company even sweeter!!

My College Girl!!!

It's official, we have a daughter in college and she is only 9 years old!! Sophia applied and was accepted into the Talented Youth Program at ASU and she started her class today. I could not be more proud of her drive and accomplishment!!! Her teacher this year has been instrumental in encouraging her students to further their education and Sophia is the only one in her class that stepped out in faith. She will be taking The Art of Math for the next 6 weeks. In the meantime, she was also recently interviewed for the Arizona Republic and that should go to print next weekend. Sophia...you continue to amaze me in ways I didn't think possible and whatever you do, don't stop being you!

Fall is here...finally!!!

We were busy this past week getting in the mood for Fall. First we made our teacher's little Fall gifts as a small thank you for all that they do each week! We wrapped a pumpkin dish towel around chocolate! I've said it before, but truly this is our best year of school yet. Sophia has found her place of safety to be who she is and we are so grateful. Paige has the best ever 2nd grade teacher whose main focus is writing and reading. Paige too is growing in leaps and bounds! And Chloe and Sadie have the most amazing Kinder teacher. They are writing sentences and have learned more Spanish and sign language in just a few weeks than I know! Then we made these ghostly cookies to "Boo" our neighbors with. Yum! I am excited to be home this year for all the Holidays to do some festive things with my girls. They love to cook and create...just like me.

My Very Sad Heart

For years now I have been suffering from a condition known as Premature Ventricular Contractions or PVC's. It's basically a misfire of my heart in the lower ventricle and every time it occurs I feel like my heart has done a flip in my chest. It is very scary and has caused me to take numerous trips to the ER, cardiologist and my regular doctor. There is no real cure for this condition and because my EKG, my ECHO and my Stress Tests all come back as normal, the doctors basically say..."just ignore it and live with it" HA! That is not easily done my friends when you truly feel like your heart is going to stop at any moment. The cycle is vicious because when I happen to have many of these PVC's, it sends me into a panic attack which then increases the PVC's which then sends me deeper into panicville. This condition is exasperated at night when I lie down and am still because I feel every single bump and thump. I've become an insomniac over the past couple of years and again, that is not helpful because lack of sleep is also a trigger for more PVC's. I'm sharing this with you all so that perhaps I'll have a few more prayer warriors interceding on my behalf. I only have one heart and hope it lasts me a very long time so please join me in praying as I seek one more time this month to meet with my cardiologist to see if there is ANYTHING else I can do to manage this frightening condition. I am not alone in this battle and if you want to read more about other people's ongoing struggles, just turn to Google and read away. Thanks for listening and even moreso for your prayers on behalf of my sad heart.