To North Park, to North Park to Look at the Trains

Well...almost. We took one look at the line for the trains and opted out. Maybe next year. And, maybe before the last few days until Christmas.

I have to be honest. After spending a day with the kids in the car on Sunday to see my grandmother two hours away, I wasn't looking forward to a ride down to North Park and a trek through the last minute shoppers with two small children. Alas, I woke up this morning to Audrey (in the other room) excitedly asking Reid if he was looking forward to seeing the trains, Santa and Scrooge. Though we didn't get to see the trains nor Santa, we did get to hang out with some great friends, play in the fountain, watch some ducks swim around in their indoor pool and listen to Scrooge single out Reid amongst the many to give him a hard time.


At the beginning...everyone's in a good mood. Yay :) What you can't see behind me is Luna de Noche. On our way out I grabbed some chips and salsa to go. Green salsa. So tasty.






Isn't he a cutie?










See Scrooge in the house?


See Reid standing there (in the orange & white striped shirt)? Scrooge called him out and had him stand up. He asked Reid all kinds of questions and gave him a hard time about everything. Audrey stood up to help Reid and Scrooge asked, "is that your wife??" Pretty funny even if Reid didn't quite get it. After all the heckling, Scrooge gave Reid an autographed picture of himself. It's sitting on Matt's desk.

Maury Hundley...

...is the beautiful photographer who took our Christmas card pictures (one side of which is featured in the header above). Not only is she a talented photographer, she is also a loving, caring, godly mentor and friend. I have had the humbling privilege of sitting under her honest example for two years. I can remember being a college student in Abilene longing for someone like her to wrap her arms around me and walk with me through life, helping me see my insufficiency and Christ's ultimate sufficiency. I am blessed to finally walk in a relationship like that. Thank you, Maury.

Since I don't have everyone's addresses in blogland, I thought I'd send a virtual Christmas card to you all (including some of whom I actually do have your addresses but ran out of cards! So sorry!).

Merry Christmas!

(here are a few of the other pictures from "side B" of our card)

Do you know who my Daddy is??

Cute story that I just had to share about Audrey. Let me preface it with this: we had no idea Audrey really "gets" who her Daddy is outside of him being her Daddy who works and preaches at our church.

Audrey is sitting in class. One of her classmates' dad is eating lunch with them. She and the dad casually strike up a conversation. Once Audrey becomes more comfortable chatting with him she says...

A: Do you know who Matt Chandler is?

Dad: Yes. In fact, we go to your church.

A (beaming proudly): He's my daddy.

Them Chandlers' Christmas Tour of Home(s)

Okay. So. I wanted to upload my pictures for Boo Mama's Christmas Tour of Homes but that didn't happen. I didn't realize there was a DATE. I'm thinking maybe some dateS for the Tour...have you seen how huge the Tour actually is??? Like 800 people! Who could possibly tour 800 homes on only December 15, 2008? I could be totally wrong and that's just the START date. But whatever...here's Them Chandlers' Christmas Tour of Home(s). If anyone wants to join me, please do!


The dining room...pretty much like last year.


The entry...I heart poinsettias. They're cascading down the railing. They're blooming from the Christmas tree. They're pouring out from underneath the candelabra.


The mantle. I'm missing one large candle votive. I bought them from Hobby Lobby last year. One didn't make it to this year. And, of course, Hobby Lobby didn't have them this year :( I left them up there anyway!


The tree. It's pre-lit and the top portion went out...boo!


An ornament Reid made this year.


One of my new additions to the tree this year...Christmas-y cardinals in their nests.


The view from our couch...one of my favorite vistas.


My attempt to display our Christmas cards in an orderly, decorative fashion.

Thanks for coming! If you decide to do something similar, leave me a comment so I can stop by!

My Christmas Mix

I made a little "Christmas Mix" for my friend, Maury. She and I share the same love for, as she calls them, "teary Christmas songs." So here's a sample:

Teary Christmas Playlist...
"A Baby Changes Everything" sung by Faith Hill (from her new Christmas album)
"Angel's Lullaby" by Christy Nockels from "Ring the Bells"
"God Is With Us" live version sung by Christy Nockels from "Gloria"
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" sung by C. Nockels from "Gloria"
"Follow That Star" by Cindy Morgan from "Gloria"
"Prepare a Place" sung by Michael W. Smith & Christine Dente from "Gloria"
"Welcome to Our World" by Chris Rice

Tip: the Gloria album is great but not easy to find with Christy's live version of "God is With Us". I found it online at Wal-Mart.com. Just click on the song above.

Photos and the Lack Thereof

My poor little Bianca (pet name for my Mac) is about as full as I was Thursday night. Stuffed with too many photos, songs and other files, she refuses to accept another byte (I am SO clever). This is why my "blahg" is so blah (there I go again...on a roll, baby). I might try to steal an hour or so to update picture-wise on Matt's laptop. We've got some great pictures of Halloween that have already been circulating on Facebook thanks to my sister-in-law. Not one picture of Thanksgiving though. Darn.

Some noteworthy events in the Chandler home:

I am officially 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Yay :)
The Christmas tree is already up (and has been for a week).
Audrey is reading!
Reid is riding his bike.
I had a random dream about a well-known blogger (at least in my circles) and now I feel like I know her. So strange! Has this ever happened to anyone??
Our family had Thanksgiving dinner with 2,000 people from our church and the Denton area. Spectacular.
Depending on the BCS, coach's, and other polls, I might only have to endure the Sooners' fight song a few more times. Seriously, I'm over it.
I've just started reading Piper's This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence. You can download it for free here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Thoughts on Thankfulness (and Unthankfulness)

John Piper on why God would start with himself as king of Israel and then bring human kingship into Israel's history later through a spectacular sin (Israel's rebellious request for a human king):

"We should learn from this how stiff-necked and rebellious and unthankful we are...Each time they forgot God and went after other things. That is not just the story of Israel. It's the story of humanity. It's the story of my life and your life. Even as Christians, we are not steadfast in our affections for God. We have thankful days and unthankful days. And even our thankful days are not as thankful as they should be.

Just think of how joyful and thankful you would be if your heart responded to God himself and his ten thousand gifts with the admiration and gratitude of which he is worthy." (from Spectacular Sins)

As Thanksgiving is only two days away, I am especially struck by the truth of this text in my life. I am an unthankful person. Like Israel, I so often forget God and live as if He is an afterthought or bit-part in the story of my life. I forget how He's provided, rescued, saved, sustained and redeemed.

Lord, forgive me for so easily forgetting You. Help me to have a thankful heart always, not just at Thanksgiving. Thank you for Thanksgiving and other reminders of Your providence. Help me impart a spirit of thankfulness to Audrey, Reid, and, according to Your pleasing will, this baby growing inside me. Thank you for each day I carry this little miracle. Thank you for the grace, righteousness and perfect thankfulness imputed to me by Your Son. For that, I am forever thankful.

Guess who will be serenading me tonight??

This guy and his ridiculously talented bandmates....



(photo from www.outloud.com)

Thank you!

Thank you all for the kind words and prayers. We treasure each one! I am finally feeling well enough to look at my computer. For the past three weeks random things made me nauseous:

my computer
my blog
my inbox
my Facebook account
listening to music
driving
the smell of my car (it's not bad but I think I've finally nailed it down...it smells like a new bandaid...weird.)
the road to Audrey's school

Just thinking about the things listed above made me nauseous...still kind of do but not so bad that I refuse to do them :) I'm not sure if it's because this is the third baby but I have felt much more sick and tired this go around. Thank you for your patience. I will hopefully resume a regular blogging schedule. Until then...

I'm a Sucker

Scene: Two good friends chatting over a chai tea latte and a pumpkin spice latte.

pumpkin spice latte-drinker (PSLD): I ran into this lady a few months ago at Potbelly's. She was so sweet. She said she sells beauty products and thought I would be a great model to add to her portfolio.

chai tea latte-drinker (CTLD): Really? And you bought that?

PSLD: Yeah! She gave me her card with her number on it and then asked me for my number. I figured I'd give it to her because I would forget to call her and schedule my modeling debut appointment.

CTLD: Hmm. Yeah...I used to sell beauty products. That's pretty much the spiel they tell you to give a prospective client.

PSLD: Well, I figured that. But I thought, what's the harm? I can just get a free makeover and soft hands! And..I've already decided I am NOT going to buy ANYTHING. We really don't have the room in our budget. I'll just have to tell her, 'sorry, my toiletry articles envelope is empty.'

CTLD: Good luck with that.

(a few hours later as the latte-drinkers pick up their toddlers from Mother's Day Out)

CTLD: Well, how'd it go?

PSLD: I'm such a sucker. I bought five products, scheduled a meeting to earn free lip gloss and another meeting to which I have to bring three friends so that I can get a dang bag with fancy brushes in it. The things I do for free beauty products. And, she's my best friend now. Wow. Co-dependent, anyone??

CTLD: Of course. You're still my friend though.

p.s. the beauty products woman was SUPER sweet and I enjoyed her very much...she's really good at what she does!

The Mighty B!

I just watched this show on Nickelodeon with my 5-year-old daughter. Hilarious! I'm not sure if Audrey caught all of the humor but it made me laugh out loud. I hadn't heard of it before so I looked it up on the all-knowing Wikipedia. I knew Bessie's voice sounded familiar...it is none other than Amy Poehler. Who knew?

Blogging From the Outside

Thank you, Lord, for cool mornings! I am literally blogging from my back porch...birds twittering in the trees, soft blue skies untouched by the sun's full shining glory and a breeze teasing us with the possibility of fall. But that's all it is...a tease. I've lived in Texas my whole life and have learned never to trust Fall to come before Halloween. Even then, there are still a few mid-80-degree weather days left. Friday, November 4, 2005 was such a day. Reid was born that "Fall" day. I had every intention of bundling up my sweet new baby boy in a cute blue fleece ensemble. Didn't happen.

The purple clouds just lit up with pink! The sun is pressing up over the horizon.

I'm going to sit and watch now.

circa 1966

When I showed this picture to my mom, she thought it was of her. So funny.

If Only I Had Something to Blog About...

I can think of about four or five times the past couple of days that I've thought, "Aha! This will be great to blog about!" And, as the title of this post intimates, I have nothing. Nada. Zilch. So here are some nothings I can think of while sitting at my kitchen table with hair that must be washed, dried and styled by 6:30 (it's 4:50 p.m. right now and, if you know my hair personally, it takes some time):

1. Hmmm...that makes me think of this little known fact about me. I have had the same hair since I was 2 (with the exception of the processes put on it to make it still look like it did when I was two...capisce?). I had thick, jet black hair as a baby that kept growing and thickening and growing and thickening. It was quite ridiculous. By age 2, it turned blonde. Gradually. I had reverse roots. Blonde roots and black tips. Weird. By age 5, I wore a triangle. The hair on top of my head was close to my scalp while the rest of it pointed out diagonally as it approached my shoulders. At 10, I decided to grow my 80's bangs out. Thank goodness headbands were in. At age 14, after a few short do's, I FINALLY figured out that long looked best on me. And I kept it that way until college with a variation of highlights here and there. After my first semester of college, I cut my hair drastically. It was cute. Kind of stacked in the back. Blonde, of course. Matt and my dad liked it but my mom wasn't so sure. Now that I look back, I don't blame her. Long is best on me.

So how long can you have your hair long? Is there an age-appropriateness to hair? Anyone?

Whew. That was a long "nothing." I'm going to have to limit myself. It's 5:00. Less than an HOUR and a HALF. Cuttin' it close.

2. Reid is digging Elmo. I'm pretty sure he's seen it before but something magical must have happened. All he wants to watch is "Elmo's Wuhruhld." Thus, the earworm has begun: "La, la la la, la, la la la, Elmo's World." Is every Elmo song (minus the theme song) to the tune of "Jingle Bells"?

3. Audrey has a friend that lives behind us. They have a pool. Like everyone else in our neighborhood. Except us. Seriously. EVERYONE. It's Texas. Anyway, Audrey does her own lurking on them. She climbs up to the "clubhouse" part of our playset and spies on them. Poor thing. She looks longingly over the fence and says, "Hey, Ana...what are you doing?" when she can clearly see that Ana is swimming with a friend or her family. Audrey has no qualms about inviting herself over...whenever. Social etiquette is not her forte.

4. One more...5:07 p.m....5:08 p.m.....shoot....5:09 p.m.....get with it. Eh...forget it. I'm done. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Go shoot a dove!

Homeschool Day Part Deux

We've enrolled Audrey in a classical Christian program that has her learning at school 2 days a week and at home 2 days a week. The teacher at school introduces new concepts and sends with the students an assignment sheet and work to be done at home. The first day at home, last Wednesday, was a challenge. It took us both some time to adjust. A few things that helped me today were:

1. Hot yoga (as Matt and I lovingly call it because of the purposefully warm room) at 9:45 a.m. The "intention" I focused on during the class was Galatians 5:22 - 23 and 2:20. Fruits of the spirit, dying to self and the life of Christ living in me. This really, really helped.

2. I abandoned my nazi-homeschool-teacher ways. I think I was expecting too much. The poor girl was begging to play outside every few minutes. I've lightened up and have taken more breaks between "subjects."

3. I did more positive reinforcement in the verbal form. It's amazing how much words of affirmation give her the confidence to keep trying!

Of course, as it is obvious from the list above, most of the problem had to do with me. Surprise, surprise. But, at least it's the easiest thing to fix!

Until next time...


L is for Lion!

Kindergarten

Note: blogger is struggling to upload my pictures...so I'll try again later...here's what I have for now!



Today was the big day. Audrey is officially in Kindergarten. She did so well! Reid and I walked with her to her classroom. Because we're usually right on time (not a second too early nor a second too late...a compromise resulting from marriage...a refining process for me), she was the next to the last child in her seat. The few seats left were near the front. Aha! Being right on time proved to be fortuitous. Audrey needs to sit up front. Much like her father, she is easily distracted. Kisses were received and given. We said good-bye and I walked away watching Audrey open her supply box and take out her pencils.

*sniff* *sniff*

After surviving an enormous carpool line, I received Audrey into our car. She was ecstatic. Her first words were...

A: "Okay. My NOT favorite part of school was when the ants got me."

(She always knows my first question is: what was your favorite part?)

Later, after more coaxing and questions, she told me this after talking about a movie they watched about animals because recess was cancelled due to rain (got that?):

A: "They had polar bears there. One was named Icey."

me: "Really? That's a great name for a polar bear because they live where it's cold and icey. Was the polar bear on the video?"

A: "No. They had it in this cage. They asked the kids, 'is there anyone here who has never been to this school before who would like to name the polar bear?' and I raised my hand and said 'me, me!' and they said, 'okay,' and I told them to name the polar bear Icey."

me: "That's awesome."

Then, I thought to myself. Audrey has been telling a bunch of creative stories. For example, she showed a friend of ours a picture that I had drawn of Sponge Bob and his friends. She told this friend that she drew them. When asked if she really did, she said, "yes, at art class." 1. Audrey never drew the pictures. 2. Audrey does not go to art class. I thought about how to correct this and haven't concluded anything yet. Her dad made up stories all the time when he was young and now look how his historic storytelling has reflected the glory of God. Hmm.

me (continued after a very long pause and with earnest): "Audrey, did that really happen?"

A: "No!" (giggling) "I was just kidding! Can I have a friend come over and play?" (see previous post)

Oh my.


Matt's initial reaction to his baby girl going to school.


Silly Daddy.

Bobby Pins and Such

Tomorrow I will have loads of blogworthy bits but since I'm confined to our living room couch thanks to a pesky bug, I'm compelled to blog about not-so-blogworthy bits.

As I was removing clothes from our washer and placing them in the dryer (sidenote: my mom taught me to shake out the clothes before putting them in the dryer to reduce wrinkles in the final product...does everyone do this?), I found a bobby pin sitting at the bottom of the wash basin. The thought hit me: I am obsessed with bobby pins. I wear them almost every day. They're great, really. I can use them to dress my hair up, dress it down, keep it out of my face for working out or try some creative hair assembly. Yay for bobby pins.



That got me thinking to other things with which I am obsessed:


Diet Dr. Pepper (used to be Dr. Pepper but I'm closer to 30 and can't just eat and drink whatever I want whenever I want)


Bloglines (thanks to Lindsey Brittain)

The Olympics

The Big K

And I don't mean the super K-Mart.

Audrey will be entering Kindergarten this Tuesday. We had her orientation this past week and "meet the teacher" yesterday.

I just can't believe it.

Yes, I'm excited. She is going to have so much fun. She is the epitome of a people person. Even as a baby, she was never content sitting on the floor playing with a toy by herself. She wanted human interaction. Still today she begs for friends to come over or to invite herself over to our neighbor's house (they have a sweet 8-year-old daughter and a pool...heaven for Audrey). It doesn't matter if she just came from a birthday party with all of her friends. She wants non-stop interpersonal communication and relation.

Enter, Kindergarten.

For 2 days a week, she will have all the human interaction she can stand. And, she'll have a place to legitimately set up science experiments (if you've listened to my husband's recent sermons, you know what I'm talking about) and have more answers to her why's, how's, who's and what's.

I'll be posting pictures of her first day of school soon. I'm sure going to miss that girl on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Hypocrite's Web

I read this entry from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotional. (I found it online here, if you're looking for something like this.)

"They weave the spider's web."
--Isaiah 59:5

See the spider's web, and behold in it a most suggestive picture of the hypocrite's religion. It is meant to catch his prey: the spider fattens himself on flies, and the Pharisee has his reward. Foolish persons are easily entrapped by the loud professions of pretenders, and even the more judicious cannot always escape. Philip baptized Simon Magus, whose guileful declaration of faith was so soon exploded by the stern rebuke of Peter. Custom, reputation, praise, advancement, and other flies, are the small game which hypocrites take in their nets. A spider's web is a marvel of skill: look at it and admire the cunning hunter's wiles. Is not a deceiver's religion equally wonderful? How does he make so barefaced a lie appear to be a truth? How can he make his tinsel answer so well the purpose of gold? A spider's web comes all from the creature's own bowels. The bee gathers her wax from flowers, the spider sucks no flowers, and yet she spins out her material to any length. Even so hypocrites find their trust and hope within themselves; their anchor was forged on their own anvil, and their cable twisted by their own hands. They lay their own foundation, and hew out the pillars of their own house, disdaining to be debtors to the sovereign grace of God. But a spider's web is very frail. It is curiously wrought, but not enduringly manufactured. It is no match for the servant's broom, or the traveller's staff. The hypocrite needs no battery of Armstrongs to blow his hope to pieces, a mere puff of wind will do it. Hypocritical cobwebs will soon come down when the besom of destruction begins its purifying work. Which reminds us of one more thought, viz., that such cobwebs are not to be endured in the Lord's house: He will see to it that they and those who spin them shall be destroyed for ever. O my soul, be thou resting on something better than a spider's web. Be the Lord Jesus thine eternal hiding-place.

Before I realized how much of a hypocrite I can be, I would have read this and thought of people like David Koresh or one of the many prosperity gospel proponents. But this morning, I was struck with how many cobwebs I have found in my own heart. Their construction have not been conscious and overt but rather inherent and subtle. Their presence can be summed up in Spurgeon's sentence: hypocrites find their trust and hope within themselves. Guilty. But, I am so glad I have a Father who will not let His house be filled with cobwebs. He faithfully and sovereignly appoints a servant's broom or traveller's staff to rid His people of such false hope and false worship. He has done so in me. And, I pray, He continues to do His purifying work in me. May Jesus and Jesus only be my eternal hiding-place.

New 'do

...for my blog. LOVE my old header (a sweet friend made it for me and it is fabulous) but wanted a change for a bit. I'll probably whip out the old one when spring gets here. Thought this family pic looked more fall-ish. And I am grasping for fall right now. Though, I will say, this 89/90-degree weather is a welcome respite!

More autumn inspiration...

(the pictures are not mine...just found them online!)


Ahh...school books, new clothes, freshly sharpened pencils.


Fiery leaves! I only wish DFW looked like this!


Pumpkins! (Obviously.)


Thanksgiving...which brings me to...

...being thankful in whatever season I find myself in. Meteorologically speaking or spiritually speaking. Though we're in the "dog days of summer" physically, spiritually I feel as though Spring is peeking her sunny head out from behind Winter's drapes. I'm so glad she's come to join me.

All of my life,
In every season,
You are still God
And I have a reason to sing.

from Desert Song by B. Fraser

Nothing

I don't have much about which to post. Just thought I'd say hi.

Hi.

After being on vacation for a while, I realized I like being home (sometimes) and on a schedule (sometimes). I like waking up in the morning and having a cup of coffee (or two). Does anyone else have coffee pretty much every morning? I like going to the gym and actually sweating because I worked hard. Making lunch. Reading books with the kids. Setting up an art project for Audrey to finish. Helping Audrey get her chores done (new thing at our house...we'll see how it goes!). Making dinner. Cleaning up after dinner (with the help of Audrey...she actually washed dishes with me!). Taking baths. Reading bedtime stories. Tucking in. Spending childless time with Matt.

Love it.

Okay. Bye for now.

22 days

22 things that have happened in the past 22 days...

1. We experienced our first Disney cruise.

2. Saw Captain Jack Sparrow in person...well, kinda. It was a dude that was eerily good at impersonating him.

3. Watched fireworks from the 10th deck of the Disney Wonder.

4. Felt snow fall in the middle of July.

5. Relaxed on a hammock with a tropical drink in hand while watching the tide come in.

6. Felt myself tearing up when Mickey and Minnie Mouse came out on stage during the finale.

7. Disembarked with a bittersweet heart.

8. 6-hour road trip with two kids.

9. Saw (and spoke to) Laurie from Trading Spaces at a Publix.

10. Read Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges.

11. Asked for forgiveness for and repented of the respectable sins I have tolerated in my life. Whew. Fun times.

12. Built a sandcastle.

13. Drove an electric car.

14. Played hand and foot.

15. Got in a bathing suit every day for almost two weeks straight.

16. Got a tan.

17. Rode a prissy pink bicycle with a basket. (I felt so girly...it was great!)

18. Did 150 push-ups. Not one of them was a girl push-up...can you believe it?? I'm still in shock.

19. Held a sweet, newborn girl named Eden.

20. Audrey lost her first tooth!!

21. And then her second one, today, while eating a popsicle!

22. My husband started a blog! Finally.

Desert Song

I had the pleasure of meeting Jill a few years ago at a friend's house. Listen to her story and listen to the song. Truly a sacrifice of praise.

Update

We have had quite a summer. As the pictures in the previous post have illustrated, we've been to the lake, we've been to Colorado and, just recently, we were in New Braunfels visiting my brother and sister-in-law. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera on the last trip so I'm attempting to paint a few word pictures for you. Consider them captions.

Photo #1: Audrey sitting on the examination table at a clinic a mere hour after our arrival in New Braunfels. Diagnosis: middle ear infection.

Photo #2: My brother and sister-in-law's fabulously quaint cottage minutes from Gruene.

Photo #3: Dinner at Gruene River Grill. Doesn't the Trifecta look great? (Trifecta: salsa, guacamole and queso with whole-grain chips)

Photo #4: Yes, that's me going backwards down Wolf Pack. Audrey and Matt had the better seats..they got to face forward.

Photo #5: Reid loves riding with his Papi down Hanz' Hideout slides.

Photo #6: The ridiculously long line to PICK UP YOUR TUBE for Dragon's Revenge. Thankfully, it ended up being worth it.

Photo #7: Warning sign at Dragon's Revenge: Warning. This ride uses visual effects that may cause disorientation. (No slide is worth the wait unless you feel disoriented when you exit.)

Photo #8: Wipe-out. Everyone napping after a long day at Schlitterbahn.

Photo #9: Clear Springs. Can someone say Amen to Texas-sized onion rings??

Photo #10: A lazy Fourth of July. Brisket, pork tenderloin, roasted corn. Viewing fireworks from the bed of a truck, tuned into the local station. Listening to favorites such as "Proud to be an American", Ray Charles' "America the Beautiful" (a Sandlot moment), and Celine Dion's "God Bless America."

Photo #11: Hand and foot. A highly addictive card game usually played by one's grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. I have officially been inducted into the madness. Call me old.

Photo #12: Loading up. Heading home.

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb

A Texas Lake and An Idaho Spring

The Texas Lake...










And the Idaho Spring (where they had some amazing mountain pies)...