Father's Day- And a Happy One It Is!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there!

And a special one to this guy...
who has been a wonderful father to our 3 children.

I feel very blessed that our children call you "Dad". 
You are patient, kind, and loving. 

I went ahead and put together a list of just how much we appreciate you and why. Although this list could go on, I tried my best to stick with a few big points, so here they are!

Thank you for...
-The way you set such a godly example of what it means to be a leader in our household. (Ephesians 5:25)

-The way you seek God daily. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

-The way you not only read scripture to know it, but to live by it. (Philippians 1 &2)

-The time you take to make every moment count. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

-The kindness and patience you show others, even when most would give up. (Luke 6:22-23)

-The way you lead prayer. (Ephesians 6:18)

and lastly, thank you for...
-The effort you put into everything you do because you know of the great reward that abounds. (Colossians 3:2)

We love you so much, babe!  You are amazing!

Happy Father's Day!!

A Visit from Mema and Poppie

We had some special visitors with us for the Thanksgiving holiday...and they came up all the way from Florida!

My in-laws visited this past week and we all had a good time with them- especially our kids. We skype with them about once a week, so when they come for a visit, it's always a really nice treat, even if  our kids do get little hyper around them when they are here. As you can see from the picture below, our youngest really wanted to show them a good time by dancing on the fireplace in his diaper. He, as well as his older sisters, can really put on a show for people!

Our son enjoyed sharing giving things to Mema, only to demand he get them right back. ;) But she didn't mind one bit. It was good that we could all just spend quality time together like that.

The girls got some Christmas window stickers from them that they put up right away. 

And I think the little guy wanted to put some up as well, but we didn't let him have any because like any 15 month old, he would've tried to eat them. That stage seems to last a while, doesn't it?

We all took the kids to Bass Pro Shops where they had lots of fun activities to do. We even did something I never thought I would do- and that was take a picture with Santa. Now, I will say that our girls do know he isn't real. We made the decision early on to tell them the truth about that- especially after hearing this article by John Piper about it.
I particularly love this quote from his sermon about it: 
 
"If being Jesus-focused is a killjoy for your Christmas, you don’t know him well." 

And we do want our kids to know why Jesus has come into the world and that he is the one we should celebrate!

We were also surprised at how many activities there were for the kids at Bass Pro Shops. These activities last through December, I believe...just an f.y.i. for anyone looking for something different to do.
Some of these activities included a ball pit with digger, a camping section to explore with tents (which was quite the hit for our girls), an indoor carousel with animals that fit the outdoor theme, archery, and more.

And of course, our oldest spent quite a bit of time coloring and writing- what she seemed to love most about being there. She was definitely in her element at that craft table!

Since the weather was gorgeous, we spent a good amount of time outside in our yard and even took the kids to a nearby playground.

Our son loves to be pushed around on his bike (something that was given to us by some neighbors)...and so capturing this moment where Poppie was pushing him around was pretty sweet.

And we always try to get a group photo at the end of every visit.  :)

I think my husband and I can both say that we are very thankful for family, the time they spend with us, and for loving on our kids. Because of that, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving and one we are very thankful for!

A Note for Mother's Day

Since tomorrow is Mother's Day, I thought I would write a blog post about it. I wasn't really sure of what to write about so I figured I would start with what we did yesterday to kick off the weekend.

To start off the Mother's day weekend, I got to spend some time at my daughter's school on Friday where we had a mother/daughter tea party. The class sang some lovely songs to honor all of the moms in attendance and it was sweet to be a part of that. My sweet girl had such a grin on her face and was very proud of herself for singing in front of a group of people. This also made me very happy and proud. All the moms received some decorated cookies, some artwork, and flowers. This is the first time my daughter has actually prepared something on her own for me to celebrate this holiday and it moved me that the week before she couldn't help but talk about our mother/daughter tea party and the crafts she made for me. It was a proud mommy moment and I'm certain all moms have had their share of those moments.
Here is my daughter with the hand-made craft she created at school for me (don't mind the fact that she has a mouthful of watermelon and is hiding that juicy smile behind her creation)  :)

She also put together some beautiful flowers for me and painted the flower pot. She was very excited about it and I'm just hoping I can keep these flowers alive for more than a couple of days!!

And then I got to read her answers to questions she got asked about me. 
If you have time, you should read the answers too. ;)

Wait...did you just read the part where is says, "My mom is 143 years old?!" Yep...that's what I read too! Clearly, we have some things to talk about. ;)
I also found it quite humorous that she put down that I love to cook "spicy stuff." That couldn't be farther from the truth, folks! My husband loves spicy food, but I surely don't cook that way. :) Maybe she was referring to these cookies we recently made together.
It was all sweet nonetheless and we will definitely be saving this one for the future. 

It's also no surprise that my kids love to color, paint, and draw. That is why I started leaving out a container of crayons on our kitchen table. It makes the perfect centerpiece and the perfect spot for them to grab some crayons when they get the creative urge. It makes momma happy and I encourage you to consider doing this too if your kids like to create things!

I am very thankful God has blessed me with 3 beautiful, caring, and loving children. They are a very important part of my life and I feel truly grateful to be their mom! 

And I will add a few more things here. I have read many blogs about the challenges of motherhood...and yes, it is difficult and challenging at times. But on the other hand, I think we all know what a gift it is as well. Just the other day, I was telling my husband how exhausting this whole being a mommy thing is and how it can also be very stressful at times- every mom knows that, especially when you are in the thick of it all. I never want to downplay that...but in those moments, I have to take a step back and realize my children are gifts. They are blessings from my Heavenly Father. He has entrusted me as their mother and I am thankful that I can celebrate another Mother's Day with them and my family. 

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there. May you feel loved and appreciated!

Ideas for Christmas

Well, we made it through Halloween and had a good time trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. The girls had a blast while our youngest slept through the whole thing. ;)

We decided to make the girls costumes this year. They both wanted to be "artists" (and this was decided at the last minute) so I scrambled to find some extra cardboard, paint brushes, and paint to make their paint palettes. We had a painting smock and a workers apron already that the girls wanted to wear and it all came together just in time for trick-or-treating. It may not have been the vision I had in mind at first, but with a newborn, I think we did pretty good! And the girls loved it...they thought their costumes were great! 


Now that Halloween has come and gone and we have now reached November (how did that happen so fast?!?) it's okay to start thinking about Christmas. At least I already am! :)

These images below have put me in the Christmas mood already.

                            

 Image

I would love to throw some pretty green garland on our mantel this year like the image above.

 

Image 

It would be fun to have neutral matching Christmas stockings....and personalized too!

 

Image

I would love to have a second Christmas tree in our home. I have the perfect spot in the living room for it!

 

Image 

I'm thinking of decorating our tree this year like this. How gorgeous, right?! 

 
Image 
Really would love to hang some lighted garland from our doorway.

 

Image 

I want to add a star like this to the top of the Christmas tree cones we just made. 

 Image

And I would love for the presents under our tree to look like the ones pictured above, but who am I kidding. Our girls already picked out their wrapping paper for Christmas this year and the winners were Minnie Mouse and Sofia the First. Maybe next year. ;)

It's an exciting time of year as more festivities await us around the corner!

How do you get into the spirit for the holidays?