Birthdays & Playgroup

We celebrated David's birthday last week-end with the Penuel family tradition of waking up the birthday boy wearing "crazy" hats! The three of us had a blast eating breakfast in bed, then moving into the kitchen for more presents. We sure love Daddy!!

Other events over the past week include a shower for our friends Patrick(Bode) & Ashley, Chapman learning to "army crawl" across the floor, cousin Jack's baseball game, and Chapman's fun playgroup coming to our house. Chapman loves having his little buddies over to play!!

Click here for more pictures.

My Favorite Things (1st post by Alli)

OK, so this is embarrassing. The entire time we have had our blog, I (Alli) have not done a post by myself. David usually handles the technical stuff in the family & I just sit next to him saying "That looks good." , "Add that picture." , etc, etc. Needless to say, my husband is the best!!

I am attempting my first post by listing some of my favorite things (idea stolen from Brittney). So here it goes...

1. Anthropologie



This is my absolute favorite store! The home section has a really cool style & is the perfect place to find gifts. The clothes are really fun (esp. the sale closet). I don't get to buy too often, but the things I have from there are some of my favorites!!

2. Watermark Community Church



I love my church! The people who I have met there are some of the most amazing, authentic people I have ever met. David's time on staff there has been such a blessing to our family. Come visit anytime...www.watermark.org

3. Pajama Pants



I own WAY too many pairs of pj pants, but I don't care!

4. Viva Papertowels



I know. This is a random one. But these papertowels are so soft & when wet, they are perfect for wiping baby food off of sweet little mouths! (I give the credit to my sister...she started me on them)

5. Scrabble



David & I love to play regular Scrabble, but "Rapid Scrabble" or "Fast Scrabble" is a favorite of my family & friends. No board necessary.

6. Gilmore Girls



My sister & I used to get together every Tuesday night for the newest episode of Gilmore Girls. Now, we just go through the DVDs (that's right, we own them all!)

7. Chips & Queso



I think I am ALWAYS in the mood for chips & queso. In Dallas, a few of my favorite quesos are at Chuy's, Mattito's & Tin Star.

8. Flavored Coffee Creamer



I have never been much of a coffee drinker, but if you drown the coffee in Cinnamon Vanilla Cream Creamer, how can you not LOVE it?? At Christmas, we stock up on the Peppermint Mocha flavor.

9. Northpark



Northpark is one of my favorite places. David & I love to go there, eat at the food court, & go see a movie. I also love taking Chapman in the stroller & just walking some laps :) Lots of fun stores & good food.

10. My Boys



David & Chapman are 2 of my favorite people in the entire world...aren't they handsome??

11. "Mark of the Lion" Series



Francine Rivers is an amazing author who wrote the "Mark of the Lion" Series. It consists of 3 books, and if you give them a try, you will be hooked! The first is called A Voice in the Wind.

12. Painting



I used to paint wooden letters for my kindergarten students at the end of each year. Painting is such a relaxing & fun thing for me to do.

13. Blogs



I love reading family blogs...gaining ideas for creative things to do with your kids, reading hilarious stories, keeping up with old friends, & seeing some precious pictures.

Puppy Party!

Chapman's friend Wyatt Smith celebrated his first birthday today with a puppy themed party at the park. All of the guests loved wearing their doggie ears and noses. Chapman had fun hanging out with his friends Cade and Grace (pictured above) even though he was a little sleepy the whole time (that's why we couldn't seem to snap a picture of him smiling). We sure love our little "pup".

Click here for a slideshow of pictures

Chapman's First Haircut!

Last week, we enjoyed another Penuel family first...a professional haircut for Chapman! We headed over to "Cool Cuts" where Chapman sat in a taxi and watched Baby Einstein while the professionals set to work at taming the beast that had grown up on his head. Check out the pictures and we think you'll agree that they did a pretty good job!

Click here for a slideshow of pictures.

Easter Sunday, The Play Group Boys, & Family

The Penuels were back in Dallas for Easter Sunday (pictures) and we attended the 11am service at Watermark. For lack of a better word, the "theme" of the morning was "It Ain't Over Even When It's Over." There were three phenomenal videos shown and two of them can be viewed below.



We especially love the clip above because it features a handful of vocalists from Watermark (Shout outs to Cary Pierce, Sarah Stehlik, Sasha Thomas, Kyle Richardson, Linda Martin, and Charly Thomas)



This past Monday, Alli & Chapman headed off to Play Group in Allen (pictures) where our friend Amy hosted an Easter-themed photo shoot that didn't go off as hoped. For some additional incredible pictures from the shoot, click the picture below...


(L to R) Quinn, Hudson, Chapman, Tanner, Porter, and Reid

Finally, Chapman got a chance last weekend to hang out with his "Great Gran" and great "Aunt Sidney" (pictures) when they came to Dallas for a visit. We spent Saturday evening with them and then they joined us for a great morning at Watermark and an excellent lunch at Cantina Laredo.