0187: Lots of rain this weekend meant canceled baseball practice...which left us with nothing to do but spend time together as a family. Good thing I love my little family!

0188: An afternoon nap is always a blessing. But waking up to find your husband has folded all of the laundry is even better!

0189: I finally got to catch up with a close friend this week. We've been friends since high school and she is a blessing.

0190: I spent a day observing a Classical Conversations group and I'm even more excited now about how this is going to work for us next year. It's something that is hard to describe, so it was really good for the boys to see what it is all about and what types of things they will be learning. I'm thankful for the friend who encouraged me to go.

0185: I'm blessed to have a dear friend that lives really close and who is always willing to watch one (or more) of my kiddo's...even on short notice. Y stayed with her for a few hours today so the boys and I could order baseball uniforms and visit a nursery.

0186: It was a chilly, cloudy day today. But it was a perfect day for us to do some work in our flower beds and our new little garden. So far we have planted a tomato plant, a green pepper plant, and lots of sunflowers.

0180: Y had to have a "physical" because she is going to have some dental surgery under general anesthesia in a couple of weeks. When our pediatrician walked in the room she was so concerned about us because the visit had been coded as a pre-surgery consultation and she thought it must be related to her heart. It is such a blessing to have a great doctor who really knows and cares about our family.

0181: At the Dr's appointment mentioned above, Y was weighed and she has passed the 30 pound mark! She was 30.6 pounds! Her surgery was 2 years ago this month and she came home from that weighing 18 pounds...which means she has gained 12 pounds in 2 years.

0182: Today I got to spend time with a friend that I haven't seen since last year. We met through baseball and only got to know each other a little. I learned today that we have even more in common than I thought. It was good to get to know her better and our kids enjoyed playing together.

0183: I tried a new recipe today and it was really good and super simple! It's Pioneer Woman's "Sour Cream Noodle Bake"...and we will be having it again!

0184: My sweet niece M is spending the night with us tonight. It is a blessing to spend time with her!

0176: A beautiful Lord's day and a relaxing afternoon spent with the family.

0177: Early bedtimes for the kids because they were worn out from their weekend.

0178: Playing Monopoly with the boys.

0179: Getting a great workout at a Zumba class tonight with my SIL. It was so much fun! We'll definitely be doing it again.

0174: My brother in law bought a smoker recently and he cooked his first meat on it today...it was a blessing to be invited over to share a meal with them.

0175: A freshly mowed lawn...the first of the season. My hubby gave up going to watch a soccer game with friends and dinner at my sister's house so he could work in our yard. I love that man!

Pictures week 11

0170: Watching Y run her little heart out and fly her kite earlier this week. She was so proud of herself. I love seeing her run...it's a blessing.



0171: The view from the mountain always reminds me of God's beautiful handiwork.



0172: Last minute plans seem to be the kind of plans that work out best for me lately. Yesterday a friend of mine who lives out of town told me they were going to be in our town for a soccer game today. I was so thrilled that it worked out that I could go see her and her precious family. This last picture is Y and her youngest child, who is also a heart baby from China.

0173: These kiddos share the same cardiologist and have had surgery at the same hospital, etc. The extra special blessing is that they both have their next cardiologist checkup on the SAME DAY next month! We didn't plan this, but I'm thankful to the One who did.

0168: A WHOLE day alone with my husband! The kids went to their grandparent's this morning and are spending the night. The house is so quiet :)

0169: My hubby's parent's gave us some free movie passes. We enjoyed seeing a grown up movie this afternoon after our lunch at PF Chang's.

0165: For more than 6 weeks now I have been trying to get together with a friend of mine but at least one of the 7 children we have between us was always sick. Finally, today, they were able to come over and play for a few hours! I think my favorite parts were jumping on the trampoline with my friend and our girls and watching my oldest son take turns riding the girls around on his Razor 360.

0166: Daylight savings time...I'm thankful for the extra hour of daylight!

0167: I don't always enjoy taking my 3 kids to the grocery store with me. Thankfully, they are usually very well behaved, it's just more chaos than I like to take on :) This afternoon I enjoyed a grocery store outing with just one little girlie...and I think she enjoyed it too. She got to help push the cart and do some of the things her big brother's usually get to do.

0161: We got a good update from Y's speech therapist. She retested her since her IEP was about to expire and she has improved a LOT in just a few months. I like her teacher more and more every week. She is really good at what she does and I can tell she cares about my little girl...which is a blessing.

0162: It started out pretty chilly today and I almost canceled our plans but I am so very glad I didn't. We went up on the mountain and had a picnic with my dad, uncle, and several cousins. The sun finally came out and it turned out to be a glorious day.

0163: While we played on the playground my uncle took C on his first mountain bike trail! This is something my uncle loves to do and C was so excited that he could go with him. They biked around 4.5 miles! C has talked about it ALL night :)

0164: Hubby got off early today and we spent the latter part of the afternoon working in the flower/shrub beds. I love accomplishing things with my husband.

0157: Another play day with a friend (we're taking a few days off for Spring Break)...

0158: Dinner with family tonight...my dad provided the food so all I had to do was cook it.

0159: My sister is always a blessing, but I am especially thankful for her today. She was my cheerleader tonight as we brainstormed about fund raising possibilities.

0160: While thinking about the devastation in Japan I realized that the only "problem" I had to deal with today was that my garage door would not go down. There are so many who have lost family members, their homes, their whole lives are in uproar. I am praying for the country of Japan and thanking my Father for His mercy and blessings on my family. I know these blessings do not come because I have done something good or because I deserve them...it's only because of His grace and mercy.

0152: Pulling weeds outside with the kids. It's so much nicer to pull weeds when it's 60 degrees instead of 90.

0153: Stinky bodies, dirty feet and tired children from playing outside almost ALL day...

0154: Time to catch up with a friend while the kids play at a play ground...

0155: Hearing Y pray for her "baby in China". She really wants a little sister.

0156: We are planning a small garden this year and it has been fun talking to the kids about what we want to plant.

0146: Beautiful sunny weather for the weekend. The sun did not appear at ALL yesterday, but today it was warm and bright all day! Thank you God for the coming of Spring!

0147: Being the audience for my hubby so that he can practice his Sunday School lesson. I teach the 4 and 5 year olds Sunday School class so I miss out on the adult class...it was nice to hear what they were discussing!

0148: Finding some curriculum for next year on sale and ordering it early. I'm excited about what we will be learning next year! And yes, I said "we". I'm enjoying learning right along with them :)

0149: Baseball practice started this week. The boys are on the same team, which is nice (it works out this way every other year). I'm thankful for the great set of parent's and kids that we have on our team this year. We knew every one of them! It's going to be a fun season.

0150: The ability to put a band aid on a little tiny cut to make it all better for my little girl. A kiss and a band aid...that is all she needs sometimes.

0151: Watching C carry Y around on his back. He is getting pretty strong and I'm seeing where this might come in handy at times.

Pictures week 10

0145: Watching the boys use their imagination to create things out of...well, other things. In this case it was with sticks recently pulled from the yard, plastic cups, string and tape.

0141: Cleaning out the play room and setting toys aside for a garage sale...and in the process, finding new age appropriate toys for Y that she has never played with.

0142: Lunch with a new friend.

0143: A safe, dry, warm house when it is storming outside.

0144: Playing scavenger hunt games with the kids before bed.

0137: Brunswick stew and corn bread for lunch on a cold Sunday afternoon.

0138: A friend who could watch my boys on short notice. They love playing at her house so they were very happy to go.

0139: A 1.5 hour drive with my husband and daughter. Y was a great car rider, she played her Leapster and colored. This allowed hubby and I to have great conversation, practically uninterrupted!

0140: I woke up this morning and could breathe out of BOTH sides of my nose!

0130: Friends and family that brought us dinner when I was too sick to get out of the bed.

0131: A husband who can work from home or take off when I am so sick. He had to do EVERYTHING for almost a week and most things for almost 2 weeks.

0132: My dad...who played with the kids one morning so that I could rest. He also went to the doctor with me and sat in the car with the kids so they didn't have to be exposed to more germs.

0133: A doctor who was nice enough to call in an antibiotic for me and not make me come back to his office since he had just seen me 4 days before.

0134: Watercolor paintings and drawings from my kiddos...to make me feel better.

0135: Playing games and celebrating my aunt's birthday with my family tonight.

0136: A cousin who recently turned 16 and volunteered to go to the grocery store for me because we were playing a "boring" game that was taking too long. It was raining today and I had not wanted to get out so this was a sweet, unexpected blessing.

Pictures week 8 and 9

Hello out there? I'm still here!

So it's interesting that the last post I made I mentioned that the kids were sick...well it hit me the next day and I'm just now coming back into the land of the living. I'm not giving up on this project though!

0126: This picture was actually taken in week 8 so I'm not going to be behind in my weekly pictures. Meet "Baby Chase"...my sweet, youngest nephew. He's a charmer! He really is the happiest little baby I think I've ever met. He learned how to give hugs and he shared one with Y. It was so very sweet and I'm so glad I had my camera with me to catch the moment.



0127: This picture was also taken in week 8, when I thought I had not taken any pictures for the week yet so I snapped this early one morning and then went back to bed to die. I'm only slightly exaggerating, I was really that sick. So this picture shows how we start school sometimes...all snuggled in our blankets on the couch. I am loving these moments with my children.



0128: I thought I might have to get a substitute for me, but I was so thankful that I was finally feeling a little better on Thursday night so that I could keep my date with my sister in law and take the kids to the circus! My mom says I went to the circus one time as a very young child, but I have no memories of it. So this was super exciting for me too! The kids LOVED it! We got there early and got to go down on the floor. I don't think I've ever been this close to an elephant!



0129: I love the special friendships that my children have with their cousins. And my sister in law is a huge blessing to me as well. Especially since she remembered that we had talked about going to the circus and bought the tickets for us when I was recovering.