Valentine's Day was low key at our house this year. That is just the way I like it! The girls wore pretty shirts from Tootlebug's to school -- I loved all of the mismatched pink and polka dots. Yummy. Of course it took about ten tries to get a decent photo of the two of them, only I'm not sure I would even call it decent. At least they are both in the frame and nobody is crying. That's success as far as I'm concerned! Ella made us this pretty Valentine's heart at school. Isn't she doing great with her printing? I love that she throws that extra line in her E -- that's my favorite part. We used it as the centerpiece on our dining room table. We had this yummy chicken & rice for dinner. Score 100 points for putting V-Day dinner in the crock pot before leaving for work. SD ...
family
Work in Progress
These two are the reason I get up and walk out the door every morning. Scary faces, toe-biting. and all. When I was younger, all I could think about was being a stay-at-home-mom. Yes, I went to college. Yes, I had plans for my career. Still, my plan all along was to put the career on hold and rock the babies all day long. I never even considered that God had a different plan in mind for me. The circumstances don't really matter, but my husband decided to pursue his own business and that meant I was the reliable job for awhile. I honestly didn't mind. He was following his dream, spending the days outside, working hard with his best friends, and making his way in the world. It was a joy to see him so happy. We didn't have children yet and I worked for a wonderful company at a job that I ...
the Family Circus
Last Saturday, just like the last weekend of every January, we loaded up and headed downtown for the circus. We are always lucky to get tickets from my in-laws for Christmas and it never disappoints. It's funny to me how we can go the entire year without mentioning it, but as Christmas nears every year Ella asks when it is and if we're going. Since Sophie is almost two (and still free!) we decided to take her along this year. I was certain that she would be entranced because of the animals and would sit completely still. Sometimes I have to remind myself that she is WILD. She did enjoy it a lot, especially when the elephants were in the ring, most of the small animal acts or when there was a parade with lots going on. She was less than impressed with the individual acts (trapeze, acrobats, ...
The Day After Aftermath
The day after Christmas is one of the days I look forward to most. There is still a Christmas tree and there isn't anywhere to go or do that you don't want to. There is candy for breakfast and you can wear your pjs and strew your toys all over the house without getting into trouble. Don't get me wrong, I love the excitement and magic of Christmas morning, but the relaxation of the aftermath is pretty fantastic. A few years ago we started celebrating with my parents the evening after Christmas. This year, they came over bright and early to deliver a very special gift for the girls. There was a TON of squealing and jumping up and down and cheering when this Hello Kitty paper came off. I think Josh was a little upset that the jumping capacity won't allow us to participate. Heck, I'm ...
Our "Merry Christmas" Morning
When we last left off, this is what things looked like around here. For whatever reason, after the girls went to bed on Christmas Eve I started to panic about what my photos would look like. I hate using the flash, I was worried about things being blurry without it, my video camera would be on the tripod so that was out. I think I just like to worry in general. I decided I should shoot Christmas morning in manual mode. For the first time. I sat down with my camera manual and figured it out. Sort of. Granted, many of these have a smidge of blur and they are far from perfect -- they are MUCH brighter and prettier than any of our previous Christmas celebrations. So, I'm trying to have no regrets and just go with it. Now onto the big day! I woke up at 5:30. I made coffee, pigs in a blanket ...
Twas the Night Before Christmas
When Scout came to visit on the morning of Christmas Eve he left the girls a note, so they knew to expect a little surprise from him when we got home from Nana's and Communion later in the evening. True to his word, Scout was on the living room buffet with a pretty package for the girls. Can you tell they were excited? On top of the gift was a silver key just for Santa so that he could let himself in since we don't have any working fire places in our home. It took some discussion to determine just what the key was for, but Ella was really excited once we all talked about it. She was puzzled that it wouldn't fit in the front door, but decided that it must mean when Santa touched the key it was magically transformed. We were all about the magic of Christmas this year. They also got ...
Christmas at Nana’s
On Christmas Eve, we always celebrate with Josh's parents. His mom cooks the BEST lunch -- country cooked ham, chicken & dressing, macaroni & cheese, lots of veggies that I avoid on principle, rolls and lots of homemade desserts. We all pretty much stalk the kitchen until the dressing is out of the oven and then eat way too much. This year, Ella wasn't feeling well and we knew she had an ear infection in at least one ear. We were waiting to hear back from the nurse, but I felt sure we would be traveling into town to the after hours clinic at some point in the afternoon. We ate quickly and opened gifts early so that she wouldn't miss any of the important parts of the day. We knew that Sophie was going to be fun at Christmas this year. At twenty months old, she's the perfect age to ...
2011 in Pictures
In January, we saw the elephants walk into town, made our annual appearance on the front row at the Barnum & Bailey circus, saw Sophie turn nine months old, learned to ride our big girl bike and enjoyed Sophie's first "snow"! In February, I learned to be really honest, we enjoyed an Alumni baseball game at our alma mater, you were introduced to Sophie's french fry and we gave this room a major overhaul. In March, we took our first trip to IKEA, took my favorite family pictures ever, celebrated Beemer's eighth birthday and took our first ride on the boat. In April we celebrated someone's first birthday, ate lots of spaghetti, we dedicated Sophie to the Lord before our church and mourned with our state over a deadly tornado. With May came Mother's Day and some ...