Beautiful

Shhh ... Don't tell! I think I just found one of Lex's Christmas gifts.

The concept behind the necklace is the importance of teaching our daughters that beauty is so much more than the color of your eyes or the length of your legs ... beauty comes from the heart and radiates out. The necklace serves as a reminder of what truly makes a person beautiful.

Love the concept ... Love the necklace!!

Check out Lisa's other designs. I think this is such a fantastic and personal way to show your love and/or appreciation for a wonderful woman in your life!

http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/

Monster Eyes

We have a cousin who is not just crafty ... she is really talented! Here is one of her latest genius ideas.

If you are planning a Halloween party ... these are the perfect little treat!! Me and the girls will be making these on Saturday for sure! Such a cute idea!

For the step-by-step directions -- check out her blog:

http://beeinourbonnet.blogspot.com/2010/10/monster-eyeballs.html

Halloween Hair

How fun is this ... Little Miss M will be ROCKING the spider one day next week to school!!

Step by Step directions can be found by clicking below:

http://www.babesinhairland.com/2010/10/halloween-spider-hairdo.html

Halloween Suckers

Who has not made the ghost suckers ... I think those date back to the 70s. However, I LOVE this new twist. The pumpkins are cute, but the Frankensteins are my favorite! Pretty sure these will be making an appearance this year.

Want the complete details? Check it out!

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2010/10/halloween-lollipops.html

Celebrate Failure

Generally speaking, I am a big fan of the red plate and we use it frequently. However, I heard a talk the other day and we're going to try something new. We are going to find a way to celebrate failure! Why? Failure means that you are taking the necessary risks to learn and grow.

*"Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things." Boone

*"The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing. You made avoid suffering and sorrow, but you simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live." Buscaglia

So, after we talk about the excellent thing that occurred. We're going to try and identify a negative event or a perceived "failure" ... and answer these two questions.

• What did I learn from this experience?
• What did I do really well during this experience?

I haven't found the right "plate" yet ... but I'm on the lookout for a "you fell flat on your face today" plate!

Latest Reason Why I Love Texas

We are coming up on five years in Texas, and this week I was reminded of one of my favorites things about living here! Over the five years, I have been regularly amazed by how much faith and God are a part of life here ... A school assembly on Veterans Day that starts with a prayer asking God to bless the troops ... neighbors who ask where ya'll go to church (not if, where) ... etc.

This week, I went with Nat while she had surgery. Her OB came in and talked to us about the procedure, what to expect, answered questions and then he said ... "Okay, let's have a prayer." He talked about her desire to have children, using faith and having the Lord guide them both during this process. When he was done, he got me a Kleenex and made a joke about how the tears must be genetic. :)

The part that amazed me is that there is never a question about what religion you are or what religion I am, if a prayer would be appropriate or if you will be offended by such a request, what is the proper way to pray ... it is pure and simple faith and an acknowledgment that we need the Lord every step of the way in life.

Happy Fall Ya'll

When I get a little stressed out ... I tend to grab a glue gun and make something. It doesn't have to turn out perfect. It just needs to give me that small sense of satisfaction that something pretty happened today.

I made a ball wreath last year for Christmas. When I saw these fall colors, I knew I had to give it another go!

Envirosax

Don't know about you ... but I find the new trend of reusable bags highly useful. They work great from sleepovers to piano books and everything in between. I saw the bags from this website on another blog this week and I LOVE THEM!! This is one of my favorites, but they literally have dozens of styles to choose from.

http://www.envirosax.com/

WOW Box

I used something similar to this when my older girls were younger ... now that they are teenagers, I'm not quite willing to give them an iTunes gift card every time they make me say WOW!

Concept is simple. Fill a basket, bin, tub, or anything you want with small reward items -- the dollar store or the dollar aisle at Target are excellent sources -- and when your sweet munchkin does something so wonderful it makes you say WOW, you send him/her to pick a treat!

GREAT with siblings learning to adjust to a new baby in the house!

Flashback Fridays

So as to not get accused of playing favorites ... here is Lexie's flashback!! She also did dance for five years. Unlike Rachel, there were no tears! She couldn't get enough of the dress-up, make-up and overall fun of dance.