" Camp Essie"

This was the week  that my next to youngest, Essie, has been looking forward to. Her brothers and  her dad go to church camp  and her big sister, Abby,  goes to a basketball tournament and she gets to stay home with mom and baby Sarah.

This will be her last year doing this because next year she will be old enough to go to camp with them ( and maybe me too!) so I told her this week we would have a " Camp Essie" week. She can chose the activities and that would be what we did all week long.

Essie is my artistic kid and kinda marches to her own beat. She likes alone time and avoids crowds so I knew the majority of the things she chose would be from home. She surprised me though with a few fun outside activities.

Monday: We had to run some errands and then we went to Michaels to get some craft supplies, Trader Joes to stock up on some yummy food for the two of us and the lunch with my best friend,  Amy. Then  home that afternoon for her down time. We began our Pirates of the Caribeean movie marathon with the first movie that night.

Working on our craft project for the week. A button tree. 

Tuesday: Summer $1 movie at 10am. We went to see Freebirds. Then home for lunch and we began painting our button tree craft project. That afternoon we made key lime pie and Essie's first homemade bread. Then we made shrimp and grits for dinner to go with our bread and Amy came over for dinner. Watched Pirates Part 2 and stayed up until 11:00.

Essie's bread. :) She did a great job. 

 Wednesday: Sushi Day. Essie wanted to go eat sushi (gag) so we went to a buffet that had it and then to Target for a little shopping. We were gonna do the pool day, but Essie didn't want to. Hey, you won't hurt my feelings by not making me sit out in 90 degree weather watching kids run around crazy at a public pool.  Home to work on our button craft some more and watch Pirates part 3. We had ice cream sundaes for dinner. Just cause we could.

Sushi for Lunch

Dinner. Ice cream sundaes

Thursday: Essie declared this a pajama day. Home all day in PJ's.  A sweet lady in our church passed away so Greg needed to leave camp early and come home to help take care of the arrangements. I was a little worried Essie would be disappointed that we were not going to have a whole girls week, but she said, " Its ok, we can work around him." :)
We were super lazy all day and Greg  came home that afternoon. We took a pirates break and just watched Christmas in July movies on the Hallmark Channel and finished our button craft . ( You can do that when you are finally in charge of the remote control!)

Essie's finished project.

Friday: Dress like a cow day at Chickfila. We made the lamest cow costumes EVER and went to CFA, but when we  got there Sarah pitched a total fit and didn't want to get out of the car, so we did the drive thru and proved we were dressed like cows and got our free meals still . ( Yay and thanks Chickfila!)
I made a hair appointment for the afternoon since Greg would be home or at the church and left for a few hours and then came back, ordered us a pizza and we watched our final Pirates movie of the week.

GBC Youth heading to camp. 

Today all the chicks return to the nest! The boys had a great time at camp (or so I have heard)  and Abby's team WON the USBA National Tournament in Myrtle Beach last night. SO proud of those Carolina Cougars!!

Carolina Cougars USBA National Champs!! 

Thankful Things.

So if you are a Facebook person (like I am) you have probably read or even participated in the 30 days of thanks. This is where you give thanks each day of November on your status. To be perfectly honest,  it is refreshing to see more thanks than complaining  on FB ....but at the same time  it is annoying that all of a sudden, since it is the eleventh month of the year , we must now be thankful and let everyone else know...

 So I didnt participate. Because I am a non conformist and because I probably couldn't be consistent for thirty days and because as I said...it kinda bugs me.

But I am thankful. So very thankful for all Gods blessings on me. In November and the other 11 months of the year. God gives me way more than I deserve or am grateful for. Since this is Thanksgiving week I thought I would list a few of the things I am so very happy about having in my life.

                                                                     These guys.
Being a mama is hard work, but I am so thankful that these 5 call me that. I love them so very much and they make me laugh and make me crazy and make me happy to live the life I have.

This man.

I remember a few months after we were first married it hit me one day what was so awesome about being married. You get to have a sleepover with your best friend every single night. 

He is still my best friend and we still sleepover. ;) 

My parents. 

God blessed me with good ones.  They love me and my sister and they love God. They have always been a consistent source of love and support. 

They are kickbutt good grandparents too. 

                                           
                                                                       
                                                                           My inlaws.
Greg's parents were divorced and remarried when he was young so I have been doubly blessed with inlaws. :)  Some people would say that sarcastically, but it is really true for me...blessed.
I love them, but I actually like them too!  They are also fantastic grandparents. I am SOOOO happy that my kids will have grown up having 3 sets of grandparents that they were able to be loved up on and made memories with.

My Sister.

My sister and I are so very different from each other...(looks , likes, personality etc) that I didn't realize we could also be friends until we were both adults. Then she moved all the way to Colorado. I am thankful for her and for the way we can still stay in contact with each other. My kids love their crazy Aunt Jodi to pieces too. 

My Sister in laws.

Greg's sisters are 12 and 24 years younger than him..It kinda makes us more like an aunt and uncle to them, so the relationship isn't typical, but it is still sweet. 

Aunt Kimmy lives in NYC and we have watched her grow into herself as an artist and city girl. Aunt Gigi lives in Florida and is so much fun for the kids when we go visit her. She has grown into a beautiful young lady and I am excited to watch what God has planned for her.

Our Church.

I love our church.  There are times when the dynamics drive me a little cray cray, but all in all, we are blessed to be here and a part of this gathering. 

It is a traditional Southern Baptist church...the oldest in our association. The roots run long here. Tradition is deep. It may not be cutting edge/ church plant /one word name kinda place, but the people have a depth and love that is hard to find other places.

 I love that we sing hymns on Sunday morning. I don't listen to hymns in my car..I listen to contemporary christian music, so my kids are only exposed to hymns at church. I love that they get that exposure. I love the elderly and how they love on us. How they have accepted my two Ethiopians and look at them the same as my bio kids.  Are there faults? Yes, but I doubt you could find more than 2 believers gathered that there would not be differences. So, I chose to not focus on our faults and differences and instead look at the many gifts God has given us through this body of believers. 

Oh...and our preacher is kinda cute too. :) 

This is the annual harvest table set up EVERY year the Sunday before Thanksgiving by Mrs. Lillie. It makes me smile every year. I took a picture because eventually she is going to be celebrating Thanksgiving in heaven and someone is going to want to place a boring old mum on the communion table and I want to look at this picture and remember. 

Adoption.
Adoption has blessed me not only with two children , but also with a different perspective on how the heavenly Father looks at us. It has also given me a whole community of believers that have adopted and are like minded in the trials and blessings of parenting adopted children. 

Our House. 

I kinda have difficulty with this one on some days. I have to give the desire for a home of our own over to the Lord almost weekly. I worry about not having our own home if something happened to Greg or when we retire (eventually). 

I long to nest in a place that is my own. BUT... on the other hand ...it is such a blessing to live right beside the church and in a house that is large enough for our family. We have land and heat and air and a place for kids and doggies to run and we have no mortgage. So I am thankful for our parsonage. 

                                                                              Mac.
I love our big black lab. He can drive me crazy sometimes , but he is the sweetest, most gentle dog I have ever been around. He makes me happy.

                                                                       
                                                                             Friends.
I have been blessed with so many different kinds of friends. I have college friends, homeschooling friends, church friends, adoption friends. Friends from churches we have been at in different states. I am also thankful for the blessing of Facebook and Instagram so that I can keep up with my friends.

 I am also super thankful for my best friend, Amy.

We have been friends since we looked like this.

So thankful she lives in NC now and I can see her more often. Also that we have aged gracefully and no longer look like that highschool photo. 

{OK...So the rest of my Thankful Things are a little more like favorite things..... not nearly as deep or thoughtful, but I am still thankful for them.}

Homeschooling. I am pretty blessed to be able to teach my kids and be in charge of their education. 

Starbucks Holiday Blend.  Liquid gold. I read the other day 13 ways drinking coffee can help you live longer. I am pretty sure I will live until I am 380. 

This show. I am not a huge tv watcher but this show speaks to me and makes me laugh out loud and cry almost every single week. 

Apple inc. I am soooooo not techno smart but my iPad, iPod, macbook make me almost think I am. :) 

Christmas. This is my favorite time of the year. I start one of these planners around August. I have gift ideas, recipes, fun activities.... I almost didn't make one this year because of pinterest, but I like keeping it old school.  :)  My kids know they better stay out of mama's Christmas book. 

Basketball. I have three kids playing this season and I am married to a basketball player who is now a coach. It is the sport that keeps my family connected and for that I am thankful for it. In January, when I am trying to balance a 22 games schedule between three kids I may pull my hair out, but I still love it. 

Community Bible Study. We started in a CBS class this past August and it has been such a gift. We are studying the book of Acts. I am thankful for my Core Group and my kids classes. It is super cool to be able to study Gods Word in depth with them. I have been in church my whole life and have had 4 years of Bible college and I am still learning from this class every week. 

Philosophy. This is my new face wash, moisturizer and I am so happy to find it.  My skin feels better than it has in years. It smells so clean too! Love Philosophy! If you are ever in Ulta or Sephora..check it out. 

The last thing on my thankful list are my readers. Yes, you!  ( All 10 of you) ;)  that read my blog!

I started bloggin about 8 years ago as a way to keep grandparents in the loop about school and activities with my 3 kids. Then, through our adoption it was so therapeutic to pour my heart out on my blog and have readers pray.

 Now it is just about our crazy Mullis Life and anything that pops into my head that might be interesting. Thanks for hanging with me and for encouraging me to keep it up. Thanks for checking in  (even through the dry spells). Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week. 

Much Love, 

Jackie

Races ( pine car and 5Ks), Musicals and Dinner out too

A fun full week for the Mullis Life this week.. Especially the Mullis Mom! Wednesday night we had our Pine Car Derby at church. The kids have been working on the cars during their craft time at Pioneer Clubs and were all so excited to race them. Mr. Steve had the track all set up in the family life center and brackets ready for the racers. 

Essie Hope with her car. 

So Sarah Faith and I apparently have the same" Lets race a car" face. 

Sarah won for the preschool class! Her little purple car was undefeated! 

Then Thursday night my BFF, Amy and I went with a few other friends to the Wake Forest production of Hairspray. I'm gonna go ahead and confess that I totally went for the dinner before hand ( BEST chicken pot pie ever) and to hang out with some girls for the night. BUT, I loved the musical! The students did such a good job on the songs and it was funny and totally kept my attention the whole 2 hours and 15 minute. I didn't sneak and check Facebook or snapchat one single time. 

I kinda feel like I might have missed my calling as a reviewer of theatrical performances, don't you?

Me and Amy. Love her. My BFF since forever. 

Then, on Saturday the big kids were off to a football game most of the day, but were home in time for us to switch off on toddler duty ( Have I ever said how much I love having teenagers and a little one at the same time?) so Greg and I could go on a date. 

We had talked about where we could go earlier in the week and I mentioned I would really like to run a 5k at Tanglewood Park under the Christmas lights Saturday night. 

So this handsome man took me to the park and waited around while I ran my 5k (In 33 min and 15 sec) and then we chowed down on the finish line buffet so much that he didn't even hafta take me to dinner. Cheap date, I am. 

By the way...it was really fun to run under the lights. I think though if I do it next year, I might walk it because I was kinda sad to blow past ( well lets be honest, JOG past) all the displays without stopping to really enjoy them. 

Staying warm before the race

Tanglewood Festival of Lights

Ready to Race! 

Then Sunday evening,  Amy and I had a much needed dinner with our friend Teresa who is baking baby Carolina Grace at the moment. We missed her baby shower because it was the same day as trunk or treat and I still have not found a way to clone myself or I would have totally been there! Anyway, we had our own shower, just the 3 and 1/2 of us at PF Changs. Yum! 

They played a game at the shower where T had to guess who brought all the onsies. And everyone brought one that best described them. Mine said, Keep Calm and Drink Coffee. :)

It was so good to catch up and to know the next time we hang out,  TT will be a mama!

So blessed to have these girls in my life. 

So that is my week in review!

What you been doin??

October Week 4 Trunk or Treat

We had Trunk or Treat and our annual Chicken Stew at church on Sunday.

(Chicken Stew needs to be capitalized because, well,  it is just that important of an event round here)

It really is one of my favorite church events of the year. We always have a big crowd come out for it and it is so much fun to see everyone pitch in to help make it a good night. I usually start putting pressure on myself to get a family themed costume together around March and think on it all summer. This year, it wasn't to hard to get it all together and the kids loved it! They dress up in their own costumes for Halloween night but for this event, they will pretty much let me put them in whatever I want. 

We had a hayride and bonfire and Sarah Faith went on her first hayride! She wasn't to sure about it (as with most things she has never done before), but she sat on my lap and loosened up about halfway though. She did look up at me at one point and say, " Mama , where we going?" I guess her little brain was trying to figure out what in the world was up with 30 of us piled on hay putting around the neighborhood behind a tractor. 

The Cat in the Hat and Mr. Grinch

My Suess-y Family

My friend, E's family was soooo cute. Snow White, the Evil Queen, The Mirror and the Apple

We had two race cars there ( We do live in NC)  :) 

The Pirate Family

Thing 5. We have taken Sarah off all red dye's and she had just had some M&M's . This pic is kinda like watching a time bomb right before it explodes.

Go Panthers! 

Mark and his daughter Kendyl. Mark is our across the street , down the hill neighbor. He has worn this sweatshirt every Halloween I have known him. It is oddly comforting for me to see him in his orange sweatshirt  with the safety pin jack o lantern on it. Kinda like all is right in the Halloween world. 

My things . Love them! 

Super cute tooth fairy and her tooth (or as he said, her toothache)

Nana and Gramps rode down for the evening. Here is nana with Thing 2 

Gramps with Sarah Faith. This is right before she broke his glasses trying to get off his head. Sigh.  3 year olds. 

Trying to get her warmed up to the hay before the hayride. 

My BFF , Amy came to help ( and did a fab job pouring drinks and slicing cakes while I ran around keeping SF from red dyes) Once she sat down with me to eat, Sarah must have thought Amy was me, because she climbed in Amy's lap!( Not usual behavior for my little shadow)  Well, I moved around the table to take this picture and when she looked up, her face was priceless! She was trying to process how she could be on MY lap and me taking her picture! She hopped off Amys lap ASAP. It was super funny though.

We had a great night. I love that our church takes time and spends money on events like this for the kids in the community.  This was Sunday and I honestly felt like Halloween should have been over Monday morning we had so much candy already. But nope, still had Halloween night to look forward to. Essie and I planned a spooky dinner for Thursday. Pics of that to follow soon!