it's going to be a loooooong week

Fall Frenzy

I am sitting here at my computer utterly AMAZED at the involvement of our church in our annual Fall Frenzy. We weren't sure how we could pull it off this year, and people overwhelmingly donated their time, effort and cAnDy to make it happen. Thank you to everyone who made our Fall Frenzy 2009 a success... you all went above and beyond!

my lil' mechanic

turn that frown upside down

This is the expression my son had on his face all morning.I decided to have a sit down chat with him to figure out what was bothering him. When I asked him what was wrong, huge tears started to fall from his eyes and he said "I don't know what is wrong, mom, I'm just sad today." We talked about sadness and how sometimes we have days that aren't as happy as others, but we need to look to God to help us. We talked about the scripture in Nehemiah that talks about the joy of the Lord being our strength. We then made sure that the rest of day was filled with things that would bring us joy!

We made a huge rainbow cookie

We played with all of our play-dough toys.

We even went for a nice autumn walk and to the grocery store
and wore whatever we wanted!

It ended up being a very happy day!

and in all things... session 10

Things I am thankful for on October 29, 2009...

1. Isaiah 40:28
2. The smell of coffee in the morning
3. My husband's sense of humor
   
4. Digital cameras
5. ATMs
   
6. Granola
7. God's voice
   
8. Priceless advice from some of my mentors
9. Baby hugs
   
10. Thursdays
    

balloons.balloons.balloons.

I took the kids to Party City to pick up 2 dozen balloons for our banquet tonight in Legacy. What a mistake! I forgot it was the week of Halloween and Party City was packed. I forgot I had my parent's car and it is much smaller than mine. I forgot my daughter screams randomly. I forgot it was windy. I forgot I only had 2 hands. I forgot my kids had to fit in the car as well. It was the most hilarious nightmare and I wish someone was there to witness the whole thing so I would have someone to laugh hysterically with. What was I thinking? I am very proud of the fact that I only lost 1 balloon!

to ireland, with love

WARNING: This video has the potential to be super boring to anyone not completely in love with the kids involved.

worship in the a.m. from lori bunk on Vimeo.

Jesus and Kristen Molloy

At our women's get-a-way this past weekend, everyone brought one of their personal mugs to exchange with the idea that you would pray for that person every time you drank your morning coffee. I got a wonderful mug from my friend, Kristen Molloy. This morning during my quiet time with God, I prayed this scripture for Kristen: Isaiah 40:31 "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will want and not be faint." So glad you were on my mind this morning Kristen!

The Thankful Tree

Last year we started our Thankful Tree Tradition. I love being able to sit and talk to my son about the reason we give the Lord thanks. The things Isaac was thankful for last year: Jesus, Daddy, Mommy, Zoey, Grandma Neva, Papa, Grandma, Poppy, Grandy, Uncle Matt, Aunt Nina, Maddy, Uncle Justin, Aunt Kyle, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Keri, Alina, Aunt Jeni, Drew and Luke.

The things Isaac was thankful for this year: toys, the table, ming-ming, the bunky chair, ratatouille, Jesus, Mama, Luke, trees, good things, Zoey, scissors, footprints, Daddy, bouncing, my cars, bags, my chair, God and Drew.

and they're off...

Today we hugged and kissed goodbye to Papa and Grandma and sent them off to Ireland. Isaac couldn't wait to get home to find the country on the globe. In honor of the 2009 Ireland Team, I think we are going to have an Irish day tomorrow!
Please keep Mantle Ministries and the entire team in your prayers.

Here is today's excerpt from My Utmost by Oswald Chambers:

A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.

sweet madeline.. bom, bom, bom

... good times never seem so good.
Special thanks to my adorable niece Madeline for designing a brand new coffee cup for me to use every day. I'm already using it for my fresh afternoon cup of joe.
I LOVE IT MADDY!

i heart date days!

Today Isaac and I went out for one of our date days and we had so much fun! We started off getting our favorite drinks... "oran-gin pop" and diet coke with lime.While we were at the mall trying on winter hats, we found that 104.3 was putting on a family day with lots of treats, games and projects... so we stopped to color and decorate a pumpkin.

I love being with my mini-man and I don't get as much time as I used to to spend quality time with him, so today was such a wonderful treat. I just want to bottle up this little boy and never let him grow up!

nighty night

The pirate and the princess...

There are certain things I just don't want to do. One is fly in a jet with a fighter pilot, another is eat oysters, the last is carve a pumpkin. I knew I was in trouble when Isaac kept asking over and over to "decorate" a pumpkin like his friends, so when I found these "Pumpkin Head" accessories I knew I had scored! For a dollar a piece (a steal, I know.. I love Party USA across from Lakeside!) I didn't have to use a knife or get my hands slimy whatsoever and the kids still had a blast with the pumpkins Isaac picked at Blakes. I am going to put them in my dishwasher and save them for next year!!!

that's the book for me

b-i-b-l-e from lori bunk on Vimeo.

and in all things... session 9

Things I am thankful for on October 22, 2009...

1. John 3:16
2. Vitamin C pills
3. Biggby Rewards Card
   
4. Church Nursery Workers
5. Toaster Ovens
   
6. My Sleep Number Bed
7. God's promise of protection
   
8. Candlelight
   
9. Ziplock Bags
10. Hope
    

merci beaucoup

Thank you LEGACY for the amazing flowers.
I was very touched tonight!And thank you Demick family for the bouquet of flowers I received earlier this month.
They were beautiful!

monkey see, monkey do

Today was an incredible day!
"Why?" you ask... because we had NOTHING TO DO!
It's been almost a month since I've had a day that wasn't scheduled for me and I had such a wonderful time just hanging with my kids. Since Isaac is still on a Curious George kick, we thought it would be fun to dedicate today to the crazy little monkey.
Ok, so I know my sisters are cracking up right now because I am NOT the artist in the family, but my kids LOVED their monkey sammies and Isaac was so impressed he asked for seconds!
Monkey puppets!
We got a kick out of acting like monkeys. We went on a monkey walk looking for good swinging trees, we colored tons of monkey pictures and we even learned how to draw Curious George.
We ended the night with some yummy MONKEY CAKE. Isaac was a little confused why it didn't look like a monkey or a cake, but his daddy was super thrilled! Making this brought me back to childhood!!!

Curious George

Tonight we took Isaac and Maddy to see Curious George Live at the Fox. On a side note, I forgot how beautiful that theater is! I won 2 ticket vouchers and we purchased 2 more... so worth it. We had such a great time, and the kids entertained everyone they came in contact with. They were so hysterical walking into the theater screaming "CURIOUS GEORGE! CURIOUS GEORGE!" as they waved their tickets in the air. All of the ushers were cracking up. Thank you Amy for the giveaway... we had a wonderful time!

Cup #9

I'm not sure whether this is coffee #9 because I was up all day and night again (the first night for a youth all-nighter and last night with my fussy daughter) or whether I should just start over at cup #1 and begin a "new day," but whatever the case, it will be downed in record time. In my last few days of forced insomnia, I've come to realize a couple of things...

• The reason the black mascara under my eyes won't wipe off is because it's not black mascara (how did this happen??)
• I can limp around sore even though I can't think of anything that I did to hurt myself.
• Now that I'm 30, I will not look the same as the 16 year old girls when I am too tired to put on your makeup or do my hair.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

We braved the frosty weather to cheer on Uncle Andy at his soccer game.
I don't know how those guys are in shorts... it was freezing!