January play

We have had such incredible weather (in a good sunny sort of way) for January.  I finally remembered to grab the camera for a few shots of the girls while they played yesterday.  Today is supposed to be even nicer!  Blessings.

princess party

Mollie has informed me for the past week and a half that she wants a Princess birthday.  Oh my.  Her birthday is in December.  I hope I don't have weekly reminders until her party.  :)  Blessings.

Dale Evans quote

Such a dreary day here, thought this quote from Dale Evans would help cheer the day.

“Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?  Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.”

Blessings

foggy windows

The girls love waving goodby to Andy on his way to work in the morning.  They have discovered a new activity while waiting on him to back out of the garage.  They clear off the fog with their fingers, hands, arms, and faces.  They are quite silly with it at times.  A little more cleaning for me, but it is fun.  If I haven't gotten to them, I hope you don't mind the smears on the door when you approach.  They really are signs of love and happiness.  Blessings.

orange beans

The other day, Betsy was eating an orange.  She gave me a seed and said "bean."  Blessings.

song of the Cebu

We have been in the car a lot of late, so I've heard more Veggie Tale songs than normal.  This morning I woke up with the song of the Cebu stuck in my head.  Yep, it's still in there hours later.  Not as bad as when I first got up, but still playing.  I like the song, but the part that keeps playing in my mind is the "a chew moo moo a chew moo moo a chew moo moo" refrain.  Making a real effort to switch gears here.  Blessings.

Gma R - 85

Andy's grandma turned 85 yesterday.  We were privileged to see her over the weekend to celebrate her birthday.  I love spending time with her and grandpa.  She passed out blowers and we had cake and ice cream - such a fun little family party.  Blessings.

body wash

This morning Andy told me he liked his new body wash. It smells manly like pine trees and shot guns and deer meat.  He makes me laugh sometimes.  Hope you have a good shower with the body wash of your choice.  :) Blessings.

public rr

Today the girls and I are running some errands.  You can be sure I don't want a repeat of a couple of weeks ago, so Mollie will be making more than one potty break.  Poor thing. I know she hates using public restrooms.  Toilets too loud and most flush automatically, the hand dryers are beyond loud, sometimes they're dirty and poor Betsy has no place to stay when we are all in the stall.  Yeah, I'm not a big fan either but it is better than dealing with a dirty car seat!  Blessings. 

Senor A

This week, we are hosting a pastor from Argentina.  We are having a lot of fun having him in our home.  This morning, he said it's like being at a resort. I hope to really bless him while he's here.  His wife did the teaching at our ladies retreat a few years ago. They are both wonderful believers.  It is a pleasure to serve him while he is in town - it is good to open up your home and family to others.  Blessings.

wave goodbye

Mollie was adamant last night that I stop doing the dishes and go to the door to wave goodbye to our company.  I am glad that she is taking such an interest in the folks around her.  It blessed me to see her participating in such hospitality.  I know we have a ways to go in it, but it's a good start. So after you visit our house, be sure to look back for a wave. Blessings. 

Joyful Noise

Andy and I attended a matinee the other day to watch Dolly's new movie. It was not very good at all.  I was disappointed with the music as well as the message.  I hate that we spent our money and time on a movie with such moral ambiguity.  I guess that's what comes from Hollywood playing "church."  The best thing about it was holding hands with Andy as we shared some popcorn.  Blessings.

eagle

Yesterday, on our return trip from the retreat that Andy and I attended, we spotted an eagle.  It was a majestic site indeed. To see an eagle in the wild.  I love recognizing God in the awesomeness of his creation.  Blessings.

old man winter

Last night we drove to my mom's house in the middle of a snow storm.  We saw lots of accidents including one involving an ambulance.  Several jack-knifed semis and one van towing a boat.  It was nasty.  Thankfully, we made it without incident.  Andy and I have more traveling to do today, but we are waiting a little longer for the salt trucks to go through.  The girls will be safe and warm at my mom's.  Too bad they won't be able to play in the snow.  The temperatures are too cold for them to get outside.  That's okay though because they finally got to open Christmas presents from my family.  Blessings. 

the she bird

We noticed a lot of birds feeding in the yard and decided to toss out some crackers to them.  Mollie wanted to know if one bird was a girl or a boy.  I said that I didn't know for sure.  She said that it was a she bird and she liked crackers.  I guess she is right. :)  Blessings

1 yr

We have been in our home for one year and a day.  I have loved it. While there are still things that we would like to do, we are very happy with our house and look forward to many more years here. It is good to look around and remember how God brought us to this place and see his hand in our lives.  Blessings.

Date Night - Carrabbas

Andy and I went on a date last night. We had a gift card from Andy's aunt, so we settled on Carrabbas.  We split a meal and then went shopping. I found a coupon for a free appetizer on-line, so we split calamari, Pollo Rosa Maria, and a chocolate bread pudding. It was nice to get out of the house with him, it was also nice saving money.  We try to go out weekly, but it's more like every two - three weeks.  Maybe I should strive for more consistent date nights. I will add that to my list of "resolutions".
Blessings 

oui oui

I don't know when I will learn to actually look inside the books that I check out for the girls.  This time I managed to check out two Caillou books written in French.  Oh well, the girls like the pictures and I just make up the words. I need to learn to pay attention.  Seriously.  Blessings.

the carseat

Mollie had an accident in her car seat yesterday. Really, it was my fault - I forgot to ask her if she needed to go potty at the library and again at the store.  Poor thing.  The problem was not the accident, but the clean up.  I could not get the seat cover off.  I called Andy crying.  He gave me some tips (b/c he normally does these kinds of jobs).  I did not respond well. I was frustrated and angry with myself for forgetting to ask her to go, for having difficulty with removing the cover,c and for being mad at myself.  I have a lot to learn about grace.  I finally was able to get it off and washed, cleaned the mat under the seat and the seat in the van.  Andy came home with a latte for me (sweet man) and I let him put the whole thing back together.  God is faithful.  God is good.  These things happen (thankfully not too often) and they're not a measure of my being a good mother.  Prayer is wonderful, too bad I didn't pray sooner, maybe it would have saved me a headache.  I am learning to rely on God in all situations.  Learning and growing.
Blessings.

found

I rarely lose important things, but it does happen on occasion.  Over Christmas in Indiana, I lost one of Betsy's new outfits.  One that I had bought, one that she just unwrapped.  It never made it home.  I figured it went out with the trash.  It did not.  It was found in a drawer of the changing table that was going to be sold on Craig's List.  So thankful for Aunties that look over things carefully.  Blessings. 

playdoh

The girls also got some playdoh for Christmas.  They have really enjoyed playing with it.  I must say it's not been as bad as I thought.  Well, I only get out 2 colors and give them turns with the tools.  It's keeping me sane and the girls happy.  Blessings

haircuts

I trimmed the girls hair last night.  Betsy got a little off the back, Mollie a little from all over.  I think it turned out pretty well for my first attempt at hair cutting.  Blessings.

Deep cleaning sched.

Jan-blinds/curtains  + turn mattress
Feb-closets
Mar-ceiling fans/lights
Apr-bedrooms
May-windows
June-baseboards + turn mattress
July-carpets
Aug-laundry room
Sept-furniture
Oct-bathrooms
Nov-kitchen
Dec-declutter in general to prep for Christmas

resolutions

I was thinking about this for a little while yesterday and of course I still need to loose weight, eat more veggies, eat fewer sweets, drink more water, but what fun are those kinds of resolutions.  So, this year, I decided to smile more, write more letters/cards, pay for the guy behind me at starbucks 1/month and treat a friend to lunch 1/month.  Of course, I will try to floss every day, deep clean an area each month (I'll post that schedule tomorrow) and exercise more regularly.  But I like the other resolutions just as much if not more.  Blessings.