Everyday Live Happy

As I've said before, I love Halloween!  I love the fun treats, the fun photo opportunities, the movies (fun ones I don't do really scary) and the decorations!  I have some decor for this fun time of year.  I was pulling it out by the middle of September even though my husband kept saying it was too early.  I have continued to add to my decor stash this year though.  I have come up with a few more decorations thanks to pinterest and happily some of my own ideas as well.  For instance I have this old, ugly wreath that I had held onto but didn't love at all.  So I gave it a makeover.  A really good coat of black spray paint.  I am sooo happy with how it turned out!  I hung it on our front gate and it really stands out.  I also had this board laying around. Where it came from or why I have it, I don't know.  But we decided that it needed a new life.  My daughter helped me paint it.  I had spray painted it with black spray...

I have to admit that I LOVE Halloween!!!  Everything about it makes me happy.  The only thing that I'm not completely on board with is dressing up.  I don't really like that, but I love to dress my kids up.  This year my daughter has decided that she wants to be a peacock for Halloween.  I really don't like the cheesy costumes that you find sometimes so I decided that I would make one.  But I really wasn't sure how to go about it.  I knew that we could start with a tutu, but I didn't want it to just look like a girl in a tutu.  So I looked all over the internet and pinterest.  I found lots of costume ideas, but I also didn't want to spend a lot of money (costumes that had a complete tail fan of peacock feathers) or too much time.  I am not great at sewing so I couldn't pick anything too complex either.  I think that we finally have it worked out.  The tutu is done and now it is onto the finishing touches.  A few peacock ta...

Let me stress that I said baking makes me happy.  It always has.  Cooking however doesn't make me happy.  I hate the phrase "What's for dinner?"  Baking is done for fun.  Today I baked bread, cinnamon rolls and cookies.  Sounds like a lot I know, but it was great!  Of course we won't eat all of it ourselves we'll share with others.  My kids friends love eating cookies.  I love making things that I like and my husband loves.  He can't wait to get home from work today so he can have a cinnamon roll.  I love how my kitchen smells right now.  It puts a smile on my face! These are Reese's Pieces Cookies.  Just like chocolate chip cookies but with different chips.  I like to change out the kind of chips I use.  I actually have a stock pile of different kinds.  I will have to mention all of those one day because they make me happy too!

Okay I'm not saying that I don't do the right thing very often.  I'm just saying that when I do something out of the ordinary for me and it turns out right, it is great.  About a week ago I wrote about going and visiting a cute girl who had been hurt in an accident and taking her some "sunshine."  Today her cute mom came to drop off some cookies and a note from her daughter.  It was so sweet.  They are both amazing women who I admire a lot and hope to be more like someday!  Her mom said that her daughter had been having a hard day that day and that the gift I brought was perfect because she needed some "sunshine" in her life at that moment.  I was SO happy that I had taken it to her.  I love doing things for others.  It makes me happy.  (And that will go in the book too!)

Today two of my neices and one of my nephews spent the day at our house.  They ran, played and had fun.  My husband is a really great uncle.  He takes his role seriously and takes it upon himself to make sure that they have a good time at our house.  So after the kids had played with toys, with the hamster and had spent time playing in the yard, my husband took over.  He took all of the kids - including ours - to get ice cream and then we all went to the park.  So the kids ate and played to their little hearts content.  They had so much fun!  When they came back to our house they played Just Dance on the Wii and continued to enjoy being with each other.  It was such a great day!  I am so proud of my husband and his willingness to be such an awesome uncle.  He makes me happy!

I love the fall.  We are lucky enough to live very close to a pumpkin patch.  So we went with my dad and all the fun neices and nephews in town and went to visit the patch.  We all got on a trailer filled with haybales for a hay ride out to the field to find our pumpkins.  Everyone has to get at least one so we had quite a few.  Big ones and even a few small ones and my little nephew who's 3 found some strange looking gords that he wanted.  So much fun!  Now we have a few pumpkins to carve and some that we will keep through Thanksgiving for fall decor.  It's funny that pumpkins - and pumpkin patches - really do make my happy.  And yes, that will end up in my book!

I have been blessed with four wonderful children.  Our two youngest are still at home.  Our oldest is on a mission in Africa and our oldest daughter is away at school.  She doesn't live too far from home but she doesn't get home very often.  She hasn't been home since Labor Day.  But she came home today to stay until Sunday.  It's Fall Break for her school.  Our Fall Break isn't until next week so we won't be home with her all day everyday, but we still will see a lot of her.  So excited and happy that she's home!  Love my kids!