Happy Birthday Mr. Mike!

This year I actually didn't take Mike at his word when he said don't worry about my birthday.... Instead I sent out birthday invites and had the whole family down for a birthday celebration. I invited several others too, but most weren't able to make it for on reason or another. It was very enjoyable though to be able to sit and relax with friends and family, some that we haven't seen in quite a while.

Who's Counting Anyways?

Happy Birthday Grandpa! We all had a great time at the party on Sunday, we hope you did too. Savannah talked about it the whole way home. She thought Ella needed a nap, but other than that she couldn't stop talking about it.

Zoe

See that ticker over there on the side??? Today it says Happy Birthday Zoe! You are officially two years old today little Miss Zoe.

I Scream You Scream.....

Well, Zoe is almost TWO! Can you believe it? I sure can't..... except when she starts saying "I don't want to...." over and over again.

For her birthday we are having an Ice Cream Social. Okay so it is more like ice cream with some toppings and let the kids create..... but Zoe and the rest of the gals will think it is great!

Happy Mothers Day!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you. May the new year be full of hope.

Christmas Quiet

It is just past 11, "Santa" is due to be here soon. The kids are in bed, the presents are all wrapped and under the tree, and all is quiet. Well, that is other than the daddy and doggies snoring. It is my favorite time of day, when everyone is sleeping and the Christmas tree is twinkling. Tomorrow will be another busy day, filled with presents, baking cookies, cooking dinner, making yogurt, and more - but for now, quiet peace.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We hosted the family down here in St Augustine. Six adults and four kids in my tiny house, but it was a lot of fun. We didn't take very many pictures, only a couple of Jay and his new girlfriend, and one of Ella and grandpa sleeping through the movie. What can I say, I forgot the camera.

I have come to realize once again that there are seasons in every life. Mostly good, but sometimes lonely and or sad. There are times when one has to hold on and times when one has to let go. When the times are good, we must remember to be thankful for what we have, and when things aren't so good, we must have hope that they will get better soon.

Zoe was sick for two weeks straight so we didn't go anywhere for the most part and Savannah and mommy were pretty lonely. She was better all last week, showed no symptoms of anything what-so-ever and we had a great time celebrating thanksgiving..... well, she is sick today.... here we go again. I apologize if she spread anything to anyone else over thanksgiving. Anyone who was expecting us for Christmas, can go ahead and cancel those plans too, cause I doubt she will be any better by then..... we will probably be on the third round of this whatever it is that keeps making her sick. Maybe by then the docs might actually do something about it.

Savannah's Birthday

Here are a few of my favorite photos.

We made a lot of the party supplies.... I bought the black paper plates, cups etc, and we glued Mickey Mouse heads on. The kids did a picnic, then played in the backyard....

Cake time!

Present time!

Zoe showing off Savannah's new train set.

See the hats Savannah and I made? They didn't stay on very well cause it was so rainy, but they made the day for Savannah.
The kids all made little Mickey bags with homemade stamps. They turned out great!

At the end, they played Where'd my hat go? which is pin the tail on the donkey Mickey style.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my old man.

Zoe's Birthday

For Zoe's Birthday, I bought a slip -n-slide and grandma bought the girls a pool. We used the kids slide from our backyard and made our own splash park.

Originally we were going to the pool area for the party, but we decided it was better to just stay in our backyard.

All the girls were taking a break, swinging.

The theme for the party was splash. The plates, napkins, etc all said splash and had pool balls and inflatable rings on them. So I asked Publix to decorate the cakes like beach balls. I don't think they looked like beach balls, but they were the right color and there was no time to do anything about it....


(The before cake picture)

And they were still just as yummy!

Zoe didn't want to leave a bite behind. You messy trouble maker.

(the after cake messy picture)

Bath time you trouble maker!

Present time was complete chaos. Zoe had lots of help from the rest of the girls, so everything was kind of opened at once. The pictures were hard to get too, so there wasn't many. In this one, Zoe is holding a toy where you push the button and the lights flash and the gears start spinning....The gears can be stacked and moved anyway that baby wants. Thanks U Clyde and A Maryann!

Birthday preview

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For Zoe's Birthday Party we did a water beach theme. I set up a pool in the back yard with a slide along with a slip n slide. The girls had a blast.

Here they are, all worn out on the swing. The swing has seen better days, but the girls love it. Nothing major, just needs a new coat of sealant.

Here's the beginning of the cake. She didn't stay this clean for too long.

getting a lot closer to the messy end....

I am not done posting pictures but blogger / internet is acting up.....

Happy Birthday

So I am like a week late, but for around here lately that is pretty good. Happy Birthday Brother Randall. I know it was like on the 22nd, but we have been sick for what seems like a month.... no wait it has been a month.

I hope it was a good one and that you got lots of more timely birthday wishes.

Marriage

Mike and I have come a long way since we were married. We have had a few ups and downs.... to say the least.

We have learned that we are human, and that our marriage is a typical marriage. There are good days and bad days, there are certain subjects that are best left for another time, and other times where we had to have it out.

We have also realized that the worlds view of the typical marriage, and the one that is promoted on TV, websites, and so many other places is not the true vision of marriage. We have learned that we have to guard our hearts against seeing marriage in ways that are not the way God designed marriage. We have had to discover and really investigate what it means to be married, and to realize why God made marriage the way he did. So far, we have had a successful marriage.

Today makes 6 years.

Happy Aniversary to us!

Photo link

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to you all.

We had to cancel most of the plans for Easter due to the sicky's coming through. Mommy went sick on Friday afternoon, and then Savannah became sick on Saturday afternoon. So since kids can't go to church within 24 hours of that "type" of sickness, we called and gave our apologies as we were supposed to help out in the nursery. We laid low most of the day, The girls and I rode our bike up the road to the Walgreens and back, and then we played outside for a while. Otherwise, we just didn't do anything.

I must admit too, it was rather nice. A nice relaxing day. Especially since it was on the heels of a nice relaxing Saturday.

Maybe we will get around to decorating the easter eggs and doing a egg hunt tomorrow..... or next weekend. Maybe.

Happy Easter to those of you who actually read this blog. :)

We are actually on spring break from Mill Creek and kinda just taking it easy. We have been to some mom groups for egg hunts and play time, and we haven been to Mother's Morning Out both mornings..... oh and Monday was the doctors appointment....

Anyways, there hasn't been too much going on with me and the girls.... I promise you, that isn't much in comparison to a regular week.

Mike has been busy with work and with the funeral stuff. We continue to pray for that family.

Thanks for All the Birthday Wishes!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.... I am told that I am now 28. I don't keep track. Once you pass 18, they all start blurring..... well if you don't drink, which I don't.

We went out on Friday night and celebrated my birthday at Longhorn. We had an excellent waiter who figured out that it was my birthday by the card Mike had left on the table. So after the main meal, out comes a chocolate cake slice and singing waiters. All of us at the table shared it and man was it good.

Afterwards, the guys (Uncle Brian still here from Indiana, Uncle Jay, Mike and Grandpa) all ran up to Comp USA for a few items, and Grandma and I, took the girls and went and bought the birthday cake because Savannah has to sing happy birthday. (She looks forward to birthdays too much to not get to sing!) And once the guys made it back, we did cake and presents, said goodbye to Brian and headed home for bed.

It was an excellent birthday, One that really started earlier in the week. Uncle Brad and Aunt Jeanette came into town from CO with Cousins Eric and Melissa. We spent the entire week hanging out with company, going to the zoo, visiting downtown St Augustine (which made me remember why we left the downtown area) and just being busy. What a wonderful time. Savannah and Zoe loved meeting their cousins and hanging out with everyone, mom got a break, and everyone was very tired and happy.

Fun

Happy Birthday to me. Gotta go celebrate!

Leah's Wedding photos

Leah's Wedding pictures by the professional photographer. Very beautiful work.