Happy Easter!

I'm eternally grateful for today. 
I'm eternally thankful for all that He has done for me.
For my husband, for my babies, for my friends and family, for every. single. person. who chooses the invitation of a relationship with Him.

He could've done anything else, but he chose the nails.
He could've stopped it all, but he chose the cross.
He could've done it with a word, but he chose to suffer, and die, and take the penalty that I deserved.

And I'm eternally grateful.


Happy Easter from us to you.

Man in the Fridge

It's always fun to open up the fridge, and find this.




Thanks to the boys, and a lot of Lego's sitting around this is a pretty common occurrence.

Dr. Seuss Birthday

Cannon's teacher asked if I would make cupcakes for his class. 
So once again, I searched pinterest for an idea.
And once again...thank you pinterest!!!

These (gross tasting, but perfect looking) cookies were at the dollar tree! Score!

Perfect for the trunks of the Trufula Trees from "The Lorax".
 
 Chocolate cupcakes, and green tinted coconut for the dirt and grass.

I found out that this feather boa trim stuff is a MESS to work with.  

(PS kids, don't eat the top of the cookies...cause the feathers are hot glued on!)

Thanks Dr. Seuss for writing fun books, and being wildly creative, and having a birthday so we can make cool cupcakes like this!!

Dating the Kids

This month was the girls turn for dates.
Daddy took Maeve to the toy store and they picked out a new toy to play with.
But first he made her wait by the door, while he rang the bell and surprised her with a little bouquet of flowers. 
I think she was happy.....







Brynn and I went for a sewing lesson.
It actually was more like an "intro to your machine" (which she got for Christmas from her grandma) lesson, but she enjoyed it. 
I learned some stuff too, which was nice...since I've never had a lesson, and really wish that I had!

Handsome Hubby

I think this is one of the things that makes him the happiest. 
Surrounded by kids.
Showering attention on orphans.
Serving, and helping out others.
Sharing how much God loves them.

Pure bliss for my adventure seeking hubby. 

Forever Ago

I just found some pics of Rich and I.

Before the minivan.
Before the kids.
Before home ownership.
Before the dog.
Before marriage.
Before full time jobs.

Forever ago....

This was standing on the edge of a cliff in the Dogon Caves overlooking the desert of Timbuktu, Mali West Africa.  We were sweaty, and hot...and incredibly happy.

Class Auction Gift

I asked Cannon's teacher if I could help with the school's silent auction fundraiser.
I had seen a lot of cute ideas on Pinterest that I thought would be easy and cheap to do, so I helped the students make this cute little peace dove for the auction.
I wasn't sure how it would go over, but it sold for a good price, and the school got the money, and I guess there were a lot of people talking about how great it was!
Thanks Pinterest...for yet another winner idea!!!

The Lakehouse

I hope that when the kids grow up they will look back at our little trips to the Lake house with happiness!

It has to be one of our favorite places to go as a family. 

February

Here's a quick run down of  February....

A most fitting title for our family this February is "Sickness Month".
We had the stomach flu....twice.
We had coughs and fevers....in multiple kids.
We had ear infections and pink eye....
Yay!

 
 
 
 


But, like everything, there is always a bright side!

Valentines Day was mellow. No need for the stress of making a reservation anywhere...because we were barfing. I had time to make a little Vday gift for the hubs (a year of dates tailored exactly to us and what we like), and some quick and easy valentines for the kids to give out to their classmates.

 
 
 I had plenty of time to catch up on some projects around the house...since I was housebound taking care of myself, and the sick zombies that were my kids. I re-did some recipes in my recipe binder, and purged my file folder...and alphabetized it.  So much fun...


While we were all sick, I realized how sadly lacking my flu kit was...so I made a list of all the things that could improve it, and FINALLY finished putting it together.

 
 
 
 I was able to purge my medicine cabinet of all the almost expired medicines...

And I spent some time putting together a list of all the projects that I want to accomplish around the house.  It's a doozy of a list...but hopefully will shrink rather then grow as time goes on.

 We had EPIC battle scenes built with army guys and Bumblebee the Transformer. 
The army guys won...

 
 We got a new heater....cause ours was leaking CO...
I'm trying not to dwell on the fact that we could've all died....

 And I got to replace my toothbrush head after the hubs sent me this text from the bedroom during one of his bouts with the flu....

 

 We "test drove" a dog for a couple days. It didn't work out...cause she ran away.
I had to rescue her from the pound a couple days later, and we promptly returned her to the original owner.

 And this little guy has shown some interest in the potty.  Which is good....I guess?

 Cannon's trying out Basketball this year.  We will see how it goes...so far he is liking it, and Rich is able to help out with coaching here and there.

 But most exciting is the kid dates that we are doing. For Valentines Day, our gift to the kids was a year of dates with them. One on one.  A time for just them, and us.  Something that doesn't happen often enough.
I took Cannon to the airport for Root Beer floats, and watching the planes take off. 
We had a great time!

 

 

 

 

 For the shortest month of the year, it sure feels like a LOT happened!!