Blessed!

How fun is it to do "roll call" around here each morning?!??!?!! I love getting my little people out of their beds! :)

He is so in love with his blankie...I looooooove it!

I don't think our kids have enough stuffed animals to keep them company when they sleep!

We are enjoying a new mat "pass me down" and some new cars...it is cute to see the B&A kids play with my kids and their old toys...it's like a trip down memory lane for them...and Maggie was into the new toys too (or at least the bag they came in)!

Carter loves scooting around on his truck from Aunt Susan...and he loves to help me vacuum! I wish I could get a video of him when I first start...he tears into the playroom to get the vacuum from Pepere and is back to help...we have gotten so much mileage out of that toy! And Carter has never been afraid of the vacuum like M was before we got the little one for them! Hopefully when they get older they will think the real one is cool and want to do it for us! :)

Can't wait for this guy to get home from work to start our weekend...This week has been such a great week! I feel so blessed! :)

My little helper in action....

New Study....

Went to a new Bible Study today with ladies from church and I loved it! We are reading this book. It is so good and I actually read it yrs ago, but I'm enjoying rereading it! Def. something for me to revisit throughout my life....In the chapter today we discussed that most women either struggle with having an anxious spirit or a spirit of discontent. I tend to be concerned with the "what ifs" in life and worrying about the future...when your 3 yr olds pretend play usually involves the words "be careful", "don't worry," and "germ x" you might have a problem..Safety for my children and their futures are def. idols for me...I want my kids to see me content and "laughing at the future"...I'm looking forward to re-reading this book and learning from the ladies in my group!

"She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come."

~Proverbs 31:25

And the memory verse for this week: Philippians 4:11-13...I love that it says "I have LEARNED to be content"...it is something that the Lord is constantly teaching us to do...We can all learn to be content and less anxious with God's help! :)

Girls Getaway

Wow! What a week! It was one of those weeks where you really feel the "brokenness of the world..." My heart was so heavy watching a child suffer with cancer...(Thanks for your prayers! Ber is now NED!) Such a rollercoaster of a week for that family of super highs and lows...Please keep praying for Ber and his parents!

And we also had some very sad family news as we had to return Norris to the SPCA bc he bit M in the face on 2 occasions. You know it is a broken world when a super cool dog who was so gentle and patient with all of the kids he interacted with suddenly starts biting...it broke our hearts to take him back... He was such a part of our family in the time we had him and we love him so much....but he will be trained not to bite and be placed with a family who doesn't have kids or who has older kids...We miss him around here, but we know he will find a great home...

It was a hard week, so when my sisters suggested a "Girl's Weekend" I was all for it! Mallory, Susan, and I headed to NC on Sat. My mom had already caught a ride down with some of our "beach buds" on Friday morning...then Dad decided to come down on Sat. too...He didn't want to miss out on all the fun...and he's used to girl's weekends...it's the story of his adult life raising 3 girls! :)

Mike and Carter had a guys weekend here! Uncle Matt and Thomas came over to keep with the theme! It was fun to get texts from Mike while we were apart...this was the one he sent me right before I got home...He painted for me as a surprise! The blue tape (circa 7 months ago is finally down! yayyyyyyyyy--- yeaaaaaa!!!!...we still have a little left to do, but it looks tons better...) So sweet of him to give up part of "Bro Night" (thanks Matt!) and his naptime to paint!

Mallory got her hair curled for the first time in hot rollers...

She thought she looked like Goldilocks...

Thanks for the "do" Aunt Susan!

The girls went out shopping and out to lunch while PaPa did some stuff on his own...it was so nice to walk around outside in the Spring-y weather!!!

Then we picked up PaPa and headed over to Rob and Elizabeth's house to hang out with our beach buds! The girls had a blast together!

Then back to Auntie Lu's to set up the rooms for sleeping and we ate a late dinner...M thought unrolling and blowing up the mattress was the coolest thing ever!

In the morning MiMi broke out some moon sand for M to play with...it was our first experience with it and M loved it! We then enjoyed a trip to the diner together, some time in Laura's yard, and a walk before getting in the van to head back home...

We found a new rug for our fam room while we were shopping in NC...we've been on the lookout since before Christmas (it was MiMi and PaPa's Christmas gift to us...Thank you!)

We love it and there has already been many a game played on it and a fort built this morning! We missed our playgroup today(SAD!!!) bc Carter woke up feeling pretty rotten with a cold...so we have been laying low today and enjoying our new rug!
What a whirlwind of a weekend, but I feel refreshed!!! :)!!!

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
~John 16:33

Please Pray....

Please pray for Ber ("Bear") and his family...he heads to NYC today to prepare for surgery tomorrow....You can read more here. He is an incredible kid...he and his family have been battling his cancer for over 2 yrs...Please also visit here to help find a cure for these kids....Please pray for the doctors and for strength and courage for Ber and his parents during surgery and recovery....Thanks for praying!

A Beautiful Mess....

Life so often is a "beautiful mess" isn't it!?!? As Norris gets more comfortable with his new home he is showing more of his "puppy-ness." We borrowed my parent's crate (or crate-tell...like cradle, as M says) after Norris got into a lot of trouble on Friday while the kids and I were at a playgroup B-Day Party all morning...so a crate was in order! He has been so spoiled having everyone home for so long with all the snow we've gotten-- everything has been canceled- even church! I don't think he knows quite what to do when "his people" aren't home...it's neat to have such a calming affect on him when we are here...it reminds me of how God calms me...

Last night we went over to my parents house for dinner bc some of our "beach buds" were visiting...it was so good to see Becky and Bob and enjoy time together and eat yummy food...we had put Norris in the crate, but upon returning home he had busted out of it (I must not have latched it all the way) gotten into a ton of trouble and eaten half a bag of Hershey Kisses-- wrappers and all-- from Mike's school bag (he was bringing them home from school to share with the family)...So a trip to the emergency vet was in order since chocolate can be fatal to dogs...

We were thinking about how Norris greeted us so excitedly and unashamed of all he had done last night...how he ran to his masters and how we as people a lot of times try to hide our "mess" from God when we should just honestly run to Him unashamed...After a pricey couple of hrs and some help from the vet Mike and Norris returned home last night around 1:30am...

Our V-Day plans changed a bit as we needed to monitor our dog and make sure he was doing okay...we hung around the house instead of going to church (we were disappointed bc we have missed so much due to snow), but it was nice to relax, Mike made a fun V-Day breakfast for the kids, and they got to open their gifts...M got some new rain boots and Carter got 3 little Sesame Street figurines to play with from us (they also got some other fun stuff pictured in these photos from their aunts!)...they got to take baths in the morning, and then we headed out as a family to eat Mexican for lunch and let Norris try the crate again for 1 hr...

We had a wonderful meal-- the kids did great (you never know how it will turn out! We don't get to go out to eat much so it was awesome that it was so enjoyable for everyone!) And Norris was a little angel in his crate while we were away.... :)

I am so grateful for my family and that they love me so well each day of the year and they love me despite all my quarks and my "mess"...I am grateful for a God who loved me first so that I could know what real love looks like and I'm grateful that He wants me to run to Him everyday with my "mess" and ask Him for His peace...

As we approached this V-Day I've been thinking a lot about And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~1 Cor. 13:13. ....I loved the footnote in our Bible:

"In morally corrupt Corinth, love had become a mixed-up term with little meaning. Today people are still confused about love. Love is the greatest of all human qualities, and it is an attribute of God Himself (1 John 4:8). Love involves unselfish service to others; to show it gives evidence that you care.

FAITH is the foundation and content of God's message;
HOPE is the attitude and focus;
LOVE is the action.
When faith and hope are in line, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves."

I am so grateful for the love I feel this V-Day...He looks so innocent doesn't he?!?! I love how he sleeps with his stuffed animals like a kid! :) I'm looking forward to when the fam wakes up from their Happy Nappies...Norris included! :) Happy V-Day to you and yours!!! :)

....Or Not! :)

The snow days continue! This is unbelievable! We are loving it...but I know I would feel a lot differently if Mike weren't a teacher and all my social activities had been canceled for a wk and a half...The snow surprised us this morning...it was so beautiful as it came down as kids were supposed to be going to school and they called school off right at the last min! (But not in time for High Schoolers! SAD!) We have had lots of fun around the house...it's too windy and cold to play outside today....Mike has pulled out his whole comic book collection today for the kids to see (we have a B&A kid today...parents are running out of personal days at work!), we've played lots of hide and seek, danced, and built fort #367 in the Family Room of this snow season! :) This will def. be a winter to remember and I just checked the weather and it said this and I quote:

Looking ahead: Dry and cold weather holds tomorrow and Friday. But another possible snowstorm looms for Saturday and another behind that on Monday. Seriously. I'm not joking.

And some dancing and singing....one of the educational Dollar General Movies a la MiMi!

Time Out

Looks like our "snowy winter break" has come to a close...All good things must come to an end and I know everyone enjoyed their routines today! It's crazy how fast paced life gets so quickly! Gone are the days where the only agenda was to make a snowman...or go sledding...
Yesterday we went sledding for the first time and the kids loved it...M wanted to go down on her own after awhile, but we told her she will have to wait until she gets older...

It was so nice for M to go to school today and it will be nice when we get to go back to church...ours has been canceled the last too Sundays bc of snow...Here we are above having church at home...we watched this after reading the story from the Bible. The kids enjoyed watching Jonah and it had good songs to jam out to for Carter! (He doesn't really watch for long, then he goes about playing, and comes back to dance for the songs...) We talked about Jonah having a "Time Out" in the belly of a whale and asking God to forgive him for not obeying...

It's hard for all of us to obey and listen to what God has for us and we often all need time outs...it was good for me to have a "time out" of sorts and totally shut down for more than a week in the snow...I'm reading a Proverb a day and this one I loved this week...

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
He's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.

~Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message

Our Girl's First Movie

How to end a long snow break!!?!? A trip to the movies with my little girl for the first time!!! So neat that my grandma Sug took me to my first movie and MiMi treated Mallory to her first movie. Mine was Bambi and M's was Disney too!

Before Mallory was born MiMi and PaPa gave us this book...Dare you to read it without crying! So many special moments for grandparents to share with their grandkids! There is a part in the book about going to the movies together for the first time.

Mallory was so into the previews I couldn't get a pic of her looking at the camera!

Mallory got to go to an afternoon movie so she missed her nap, but she fell asleep on the way over and the way back! We had to drive a bit farther out bc the movie isn't still out in theaters close to the house. When we got home she wanted to play Princess and the Frog with her little frog figurines...I'm sure it will be talked about a lot in days to come! Thanks for the special memory MiMi!!!

THE Snowman!

We headed out to make the snowman today!!! Yay!!! We were so excited to use our kit...why didn't we think of this idea?!?! All the good ideas out there to make $$$ amaze me! :)

Carter just stood there for the first few minutes...I love when he puts his lip out like that!

Mike's "Yankee Skills" came in handy as we made our snowman!

Carter plopped down and chilled as we built it...

Mike did most of the work as I was chasing after Norris who was greeting a neighbor...

Ta DAAAAA!

Then Mike and Carter went back in and Mal, Norris, and I headed out back for some fun...

Trying to get Norris used to his run that PaPa and Mike put up for him out back for a bit each day...See M in the back of the photo above?

Then it was back inside for grilled sandwiches a la Mike and a visit from Aunt Susan and Mike V!

Our snowman is looking at us and we can see him from our door and the kitchen when we eat...thanks for the fun kit other Morins!

Here is a piece of the action...