10 Years of Friendship

Cindy, Neish, Vanessa, Becca, Mer, Michele, Me, Sarah, Michelle, and Chrys... Words cannot express the gift God has given me in each of you (Sim you too). You have each been such an essential instrument in my life over the course of ten years. God has used each of you individually to bring me joy, challenge, truth, encouragement, struggles, tears, tons of laughter, memories for a life time. Thank you for coming to encourage me into a new stage in life as each of you do so well! I love you and am so thankful for each of you!

Which one is the Grandmother?

Bammy came to see us last week too! We went to see Peter and the Wolf and before we went Mia came out like this!!

My cute nephew

Caden came to see us last week and I had so much fun holding him and watching him discover new things that his mommy gets to see all of the time! Thank you for coming to visit us Caden!

Who is perfect??

This week we have really buckled down some ongoing issues in our home. ..

We as a whole watch too much TV. So Lent seemed like an appropriate time to address where we spend some time that could be put to much more use...like His Kingdom!

We also have addressed some issues of obedience with Abbey and attitude with Mia. I began to re-read Shepherding a Child's Heart which i forgot how much i loved. He defines obedience as without challenge, without excuse, and without delay! I have tried to create open communication with Mia which seems to have turned into manipulation and trying to get her way by questioning me quite often. Anyway he also addresses making an appeal, which is really what i wanted her to have the freedom to do. Sometimes I do speak before thinking through something so i really could change my mind. He addresses how to teach children to appeal to authority which i so appreciate because apparantly it has become a very fine line to cross.

Mia and Abbey need far more consistency than i am designed to give so I look forward to seeing how God is going to grow and equip me in this area because really i suck at it. Sorry but there really is no better word! Mia summed it up last night!

Mia last night was praying and said, " thank you God for Mommy, thank you that she is my mommy and my teacher... (pause)... no one is perfect... but thank you that she is my mommy and teacher. I was laughing so hard inside because it did not flow at all but apparantly needed to be said!!!

Happy Valentine's Week

Happy Valentine's Week! Love the girls!

Ten reasons to go to Hawaii!

The Sky, The Leis, The Westin Hotel, The Sand, The Rainbows, The Flowers, The Waterfalls, The Mountains, The Surrounding Islands, The Coconut Syrup Pancakes

The best part was having time alone with my amazing husband and laughing a ton with our sweet friends Mike and Chrys! We love you guys!

Can you ride your bike?

Mia has been sick all week. (we don't know what, maybe the flu, or a virus that acts like strep) When she is sick I give her a bell to ring when she needs me (which is often)! She has not had much of an appetite all week until yesterday. She said her tummy thought that a potato sounded yummy! Well that would be easy accept that Tuesday night my car would not start on the way home from yoga so Wes went to get it yesterday and it was the alternator not the battery. So he got my car and brought it home to fix the alternator himself, which is when Mia rings the bell. She informed me that she had some ideas on how to get a potato like; call a neighbor to take me to the store or ride my bike to Walmart ( 4 miles away). I informed her that our neighbor was sick with the flu too and the bike that carries Abbey is broken, the tire is flat. She said we have tons of bikes just pick one to ride. Life is simple when you are sick, just ask and it will be granted. Wes said being sick in our home is a bit too fun!

How Long Do We Have?

This week I found out that a very dear childhood friend (that I often think about but have not had contact with since HS) older sister passed away in a house fire with her three children. Needless to say I was saddened for their entire family and will pray for them in this time of grieving. We also heard that Wes' childhood friend's daughter is in the hospital with Scarlett fever, and pneumonia ( she is only 8).
Hearing of such grief is always a reminder to treasure the moments that I have with my children. Mia is funny, kind, thoughtful, curious, tender, considerate, a good little hostess, beautiful, and enjoyable! Abbey is fun, funny, adventurous, active, enjoyable, people oriented, bold, intelligent and loving. I am thankful God gave them to me! I am thankful He burdened my heart to home school them! I am thankful for the struggle of homeschooling and mothering which keeps me even more dependant on the Lord to create in me the characteristics He wishes to develop and not the things I wish to develop. It is a privilege to get to watch them day in and day out growing and developing in personality and character. They are a wonderful blessing and a gift. Thank you Lord for our time together!

Savanannah girls!

Here are some pics from a brunch with some sweet friends and a few of the newest additions! Sweet Cindy and Vanessa!

SNOW

The girls had to step outside to catch some snowflakes on their tongues! Their success is debatable!

What's your name again?

This morning in bed Abbey, Daddy and I were talking about her drinking coffee this morning instead of Green Goodness ( a drink that she loves, it has artichoke, wheat grass and spirulina in it and she likes it so i am happy). She was laughing and going on about how children don't drink coffee and i said oh yea, i am silly and crazy. Abbey said,"your not silly or crazy your just you...{pause}... what is your name again?" Obviously i laughed out loud...hard!!