Halloween down, Thanksgiving and Christmas to go....

When did Halloween become such a to-do?? It seemed like we were attending Fall Festivals and Halloween parties for weeks prior to the actual trick-or-treat extravaganza.  Despite the over extended schedule we all had a great Halloween. Jillian was the Wicked Witch of the West and Madie was Dorothy. Jillian loved the idea of getting to "get" her little sister. They both were super cute.

The week leading up to Halloween Mimi and Papa Tom visited and we had a great time with them. They were both able to attend Jillian's school Halloween party along with Josh, Madie and me. Dad broke out his story telling skills and read to her class. The kids loved it and it reminded me of when he used to read to my elementary classes every Friday. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing. Josh and I spent lots of time sleeping in which we were very thankful for.....doesn't happen much here. Mimi and Papa Tom took over the children and Josh and I became about as lazy as possible. (-:

Unfortunately we had to snap back to reality on Sunday when Mom and Dad headed back to KC.  Monday night we went trick or treating with some neighborhood friends. We had a 4 wheeler pulling a small trailer. The girls looked like "big stuff" on their make shift carriage. Jillian being a pro went from house to house. Madie was very hesitant at first and then realized there was candy at each door. She didn't walk the rest of the night... she ran as fast as she could.

We have added a new addition to the family. Her name is Daphne Ratatouille and she is a gray hamster. I won her at Jillian's school auction. It was a silent auction and I bid on a bunch of stuff just to bid.....well I've learned my lesson on that technique. If you bid on a hamster....you'd better want that hamster. (-:  Needless to say Daphne has escaped since she has arrived at our home and caused a full day hunt for her. We found her and Mommy now knows to double check all doors on the hamster cage frequently. (-:

As for this week we don't have alot planned. Jillian has a girl scout meeting Thursday, church Wednesday night and Josh has football practice tomorrow night....that reminds me, if I haven't already told you Josh is coaching 5th grade flag football.  They had their first game Saturday. It was a rough one, but Josh did great staying positive for the kids.  Some of them really need that encouragement.  On top of it all two of the kids on his team are twins and their Dad passed away unexpectedly last week.  So he is dealing with alot with this team.  The girls and I were the best cheerleaders we could be but truth be told Josh needs prayers. He is dealing with kids suffering from loss and some under priveledged kids.  Just pray he is able to rise to the challenge and be a positive role model that they may need right now.

Last but not least Jillian has exciting news. She has decided to welcome Jesus "into her heart." She has been very interested about being odedient and likes the idea of God as our heavenly Father and says "Jesus made sacrifices for us so I will be good for Him."  She may ask you about your relationship with Jesus so be ready. She has had me on my toes lately.  She is a smart girl and is really asking alot of questions and making sure she gets answers. I am really proud of her. It is very rewarding to see her blossoming into such an awesome girl.  Baptism is the next step somewhere down the road and we will make sure everyone is involved and will throw a big party for that for sure.
Well that is all for now! 

Love,
Jess

 Jillian at a recent birthday party-they had farm animals. So cute.

 Madie taking her turn on the pony.

 She was one spooky witch!

 Jillian was ready to say, "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too." Ha.

 Our trick or treating crew.

 Loading up and getting ready to take off.

After hitting up alot of houses they were into the candy.

It's that time of the year......busy!!!

Hey All- Sorry it has been a few weeks since I posted. A lot has been going on. To start I finished my first triathalon the weekend of the 8th & 9th.  It was here in Hattiesburg. Josh particiapted as well and did great. We had a fan club here to cheer us on!! A big thanks to Granny, Mima and Aunt Pam for being our sideline support!

That same weekend was fall break for Jillian and she went to Oklahoma to visit her Dad. She had a great time and hit the ground running when she came back. She joined Girl Scouts and had her first big school field trip to Mitchell Farms, a local pumpkin patch.  As many of you know Jilly decided to quit dance back in August. I told her she was welcome to try something new and she said she was really interested in being a Girl Scout. She had her first troop meeting last Thursday. They learned Daisy law (she is considered a Daisy right now) and then went on a community outing to the Fire Station. Madison tagged along and we all had a great time. As for the pumpkin patch I got to help chaperone and Jilly and I had a great time. We picked out pumpkins, went on a hay ride and went through the crazy corn maze. I do have pics on my camera from the field trip but have not downloaded them yet so I will post some of that fun day later.

As for this week we have been gearing up for Mimi and Papa Tom's visit-they arrive Wednesday. We are very excited to see them. I am busy planning the Halloween party for school. It is going to be great. The school does a whole day of "fall fun." There are individual class parties, an all school concert and a class door decorating contest. It should be alot of fun.

I almost forgot-last weekend we painted the girls room and got Jilly some new furniture. We also moved her to the playroom. It is the biggest room and allows her to play and have her desk in there-the back bedroom where she was didn't allow alot of room to play. I included some pics of their rooms. I am proud. (-: Ha.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Love,
Jess

 Just finished our triathalon!

 Jilly posing by the fire truck at her girl scout outing.

 Love this pic, she is a nut.

 Madie's room!

 Jilly's room-she says it is fancy.

Just this morning them snuggling on the floor watching their Saturday morning cartoons. (-:

Fall is here in more ways than one....

Fall came this week in many ways.  The positive weather change (fabulous) to more mild beautiful days.....but on the negative side the seasonal viruses have hit our home too.  Madie had a 24 hour stomach flu bug on Wednesday which sadly also was Josh's birthday. Despite the sickness we managed to have a fun dinner at home of homemade enchildas and one of Josh's favorite cakes.  He turned 27! The girls and I enjoyed picking out cards and presents. Even though Madie was sick that day she was such a doll. It was very rainy and she just snuggled on the couch and in my bed. She acted so grown up. I would ask her what was wrong and she would rub her tummy and say "oww." Then I would say I am going to go get this or that...and she would say, "ok." It was crazy bc for the first time I felt like I was really having a conversation with her.....hard to believe she is already that grown up.
Friday Jillian had a Teddy Bear and Tea party at school. The kids got to bring their favorite teddy bears and they feasted on Teddy Grahams and Tea. Jillian brought big bear-if any of you know big bear he is huge! The teacher ended up having the kids pose for a class pic with him. It was alot of fun for all.  Then sadly Friday afternoon the stomach bug hit Jilly. Here we are Saturday evening and she is still struggling. Poor gal. I was just able to get her off to bed. After many sheet changes, showers and alot of 7up she seems to be on the mend but not 100% quite yet. She was such a trooper today. At one point she said she wanted to pray to Jesus and ask him to make her better. I have never heard a more adorable prayer. I wish I would of written it down. 
We had planned to go to church tomorrow, but I would say that is out. So it will hopefully be a quiet day at home. We have a big week to gear up for-Jillian heads to her Dad's next weekend for a visit over fall break. Josh and I are doing a triathalon next weekend as well. His second one, my first.....yikes! Bob, Mary and Granny are coming down to take pics for the triathalon and to visit. We look forward to that visit. 
Well, I think that is it for now. Hope everyone is well. Have a great rest of the weekend!
Jess 

 Poor Madie bug when she was sick-she was such an angel snuggled up in my bed!

 Sipping on some PediaLyte

 Crazy Madie in the shower. She decided to lay down and take a break.

 Jilly at the Teddy Bear party!

 She was feeding her bear some Teddy Grahams too!

 They danced with their bears too, it was very cute.

Jilly is front and center sitting in "big bears" lap. Fun group!

Madie turns two!

It was quite a weekend. Madie turned two on Saturday, hard to believe! She is getting so big so fast. We decided not to do a big party this year in part because none of the family could make it in and to be honest I didn't have the energy. If feels like since school started we have been going 100 miles an hour. So it was nice to have a relaxing weekend together as a family. We started out Friday night going to eat Japenese Hibachi Grill. The girls both love to watch the men cook the food right in front of you and they love the food too. (-:  Saturday we went to a new Diner in town called Rocket City Diner- a 50's style place. There are hula hoop contests and singers, alot of fun for the girls. Josh took the liberty of making Madie a cookie cake this weekend and it turned out pretty good.  She enjoyed eating it and the bowls of icing she was awarded while Daddy cooked the cake.
Jillian ofcourse loved all the "eating out" and doting on her little sister. They have their moments, but for the most part they are so sweet to one another. Hope that lasts, fingers crossed!

Church as usual yesterday. Josh and I are really enjoying our new class. Meeting some new people, which is nice. It has been hard finding people that are our age and that have kids too. This class is a good mix. So far so good. Yesterday afternoon we just hung around and helped Josh in the yard a bit. It was back to school, work, housework, etc this morning, but I wanted to take a few minutes to share about our weekend. Enjoy the pics of our weekend.
Much love,

Jess

 Madie spooning herself some icing.

 What a face! And covered in icing!

 Daddy's creation, I was quite impressed myself.

 Everyone enjoying Hibachi and watching the chef cook.

 She can't even look away for a picture-her eyes are glued to the chef.

 The girls in one of Madie's new toys for her b-day-a small ball pit.

 Madie with a sucker hula-hooping. Jilly in the background making friends.

 Jilly forcing a smile-wanting to get back to hula hooping.

Madie trying her hardest to master that thing, not happening. (-:

One tired Mama.....

Well, it is Tuesday and I am wishing it was Friday, ha. This weekend wore us all out! We had Jillian's fundraiser party at our neighborhood pool on Saturday. It was a blast. Almost everyone from the class came and we raised $745!! Thanks to all the out of town grandparents who sent money!  Mrs. Craft was shocked we raised that much- she has alot on her list she needs and that will get it all and more.

Sunday we went to church. We have been trying a bunch of different Sunday school classes and I think Josh and I finally found one so that is relief. We joing Temple Baptist almost a year ago and it has taken this long to find a class, but in the meantime we visited alot of great classes and met alot of great people so we can't compain. (-:

Mondays are my day to volunteer in Jillian's class. I am amazed how exhausted I am after only four hours in that classroom! They are truly FULL of energy. Madie has Mother's Day Out on Mondays and Thursdays and is loving her time away. She is a little ham and her teachers love her. She is little Miss Independent for sure. This weekend is her 2nd birthday! Hard to believe. We decided not to do a big birthday this year. Instead the four of us are going to do dinner and celebrate. The girls love the Hibachi grill-the chef is so entertaining and Madie ooo's and aaww's as he throws the utensils in the air. Josh's birthday is coming up too, he will be 27 on the 28th.

Anyway, that is all for now. Love to all. Enjoy the pics below.

Jess

Lots of Pizza!

 Our Pool Clubhouse

 Already all smiles before the party

 Lots of the kids playing in the pool

 Some of the little boys from her class

 This is a bumper boat pic from after Josh's triathalon. I couldn't help but post it. We had such a blast soaking one another.

 Madie and Cartwheel Cafe, a local coffe shop with a huge play room for Mom's! Love it.

Jillian playing at Cartwheel cafe too!

TGIF!!

It has been a crazy week! Just busy! Jillian had a great week at school.  Her Dad, Justin, flew in from Oklahoma and had a good time visiting her class Thursday and Friday.  I know she loved having him.  They had a mexican fiesta today at school. I was able to go-the kids seemed to have a good time. The pinata was a big hit. Jillian was very dissapointed that there were not toys in the pinata. A few tears were shed, but by the time I picked her up from school she was back to her normal bounce.  I forgot my camera, but one of my girlfriends took a bunch of pics of the party- I will post them as soon as she emails them to me.

The big pizza party for Jilly's class fundraiser is tomorrow. We are al geared up and ready to go! While running errands today for some last minute supplies Madie decided to snack on her big toe. I couldn't help but share this pic of her. Hope you all enjoy.  Have a great weekend!

It must have been one good toe!

I think I got the hang of this....

After a few hours on the computer I finally think I understand "blogging."  I've got my page up and running and it looks half way decent. I'll have to have Josh help me more later. Now time for the good stuff-what is going on with us! The Moore's have been super busy the last two weeks. Josh and I got to go to Branson for Labor Day to spend time with friends.  Bob and Mary graciously watched the girls for us. We were very thankful for that weekend away. Due to the tropical storm that was hitting Mississippi that weekend Jillian and Madison got an unexpected plane ride back to Tulsa for the weekend. Jillian was very excited that she officially got to fly the plane. She thought she was big stuff. 

This past weekend we all went to Gulf Shores to watch Josh compete in his first triathalon! The girls were great cheerleaders. We had an extra cheerleader (Mary) in town to help and she was great. She took so many great pics and I know Josh appreciated her support. 

As for Jilly and Madie-they are both doing great. Full, very full, of energy. (-: Jillian is loving school. I am class Mom for her class and am having a lot of fun volunteering and getting to watch her in action.  Thanks to all that helped out with her fundraiser. Josh and I are throwing a pizza party this Saturday for all the kids to count the money raised and celebrate their success as a class. It should be alot of fun.

That's all for now. Thanks for your time.

Love, Jess

 Jilly and Madie playing in the ocean!

 Josh headed to his bike after the swim!

 Jilly cheering Josh on as he comes towards the finish!

 Josh at the finish line!

    The girls after the race playing in the sand!

Trying Something New!

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.... well, I am going to try and prove that wrong!  I am about the most computer illiterate person on the planet, but going to attempt a blog!  Why? Well, for all those adoring fans of ours (the grandparents) back in the midwest and scattered across the U.S.  Hopefully this blog can help keep everyone feeling connected despite the distance. 
Much Love, Jess