Tuesday Mornings and Silly B@ndzs!?!?!?

Tuesdays are my FAVORITE day of the week! It's my Bible study day and I so...look forward to this special time. My sister, Allison, has been coming over the past several Tuesday mornings, so the babies can stay home and don't have to go into the church nursery. The babies have been sick so... much lately that I don't want them sharing their germs, or picking any other germs up. 

They LOVE their time with Auntie Al.
She is so...good with them!!! She plays with them and takes them outside for fun!
They always have a BLAST!!

Riley gets to go with me to church. He is not in preschool this year,
so he LOVES his Tuesday morning play time. He has made so... many wonderful friends in his little class. He talks about them ALL week long!

 His teacher is Miss Jean-Ann, and she is the sweetest thing ever.
Riley absolutely ADORES her.

 okay...so changing gears a bit...
 Have you heard of these things called Silly B@ndz????

 They seem to be the new craze right now--at least at Cor's school. Corban has come home every day for the past week just begging for these silly things. All they are, are colored rubber bands which look pretty normal on your arm. But take them off and they snap into the shape of a creature or object. According to Cor, ALL the kids at school have them! They like to trade and play with them on the bus. Well, I finally caved in and decided he could get some. I mean they are just silly bracelets--right!?!? So I spent Tuesday afternoon calling around to several stores trying to find these bands. Apparently, they are hard to find and when stores get shipments in, they sell out rather quickly. Well, lucky for us, when I called our local toy store, they had just got a fresh shipment in THAT morning. When Corban got home from school, I surprised him and told him he could go pick some out!! 

He was over. the. moon. with excitement. You would've thought it was Christmas morning again!

Anyway, we loaded up the van and headed to Learning Express.

Seriously ya'll, I had no idea how much these things would cost though. Of course, when we got there Riley wanted some too and he and Cor couldn't agree on the same pack, so I caved AGAIN and bought them each a pack. Each pack of 24 bands was five dollars!!!! 

I spent TEN BUCKS on two packs of RUBBER BANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Oh. my. word!!!!!! I still can't believe I did that. 

(shhhhh.....Shane doesn't have any idea how much I spent on these silly things!)

While we were in the store, their phone was ringing off the hook. 

Every single call was about these Silly B@ndz!! 

All I could think about was..."Man...I wish I would've invented these things!"

Have you bought any Silly B@ndz yet???

Hudson man...

Our precious Hudson turned 10 months old last week.

I can't believe it's already time to start planning his first birthday party. April 16th will be here before we know it. Crazy huh!?!?
Seriously, this past year has FLOWN by. Having two babies, 7 months apart, has been CRAZY and busy.... to say the least,
BUT so WONDERFUL!!!

I never imagined my life (and my heart) could be so full!

I love my two babies and feel so blessed to be there mommy.

Oh how I adore this little guy. He is just the most precious baby boy EVER. He totally makes my heart melt with his little toothy grin.

Hudson is cruisin' all over the place now.

He is always sportin' some sort of new bump or bruise on his little noggin because he is climbing up on EVERYTHING, but isn't too stable on his feet yet. He bumps his head daily. Poor guy! He hasn't figured out how to climb the stairs yet---but that's just a matter of time.

He is babbling a lot lately, but most of it is just that--- babbling. He is definitely saying "da da", and I have heard "ma ma" a few times too. LOVE it!!!

Hudson and Sophie are quite the pair!

Hudson's eye's light up when he sees his sister come into a room. He wants to be where she is at all times (because that's were all the action is) and follows her around the house. Whenever Hudson drops something, Sophie is there to get it for him. Hudson's got that game figured out and will continue to drop things just so Sophie will pick them up for him. She will continue to get things for him, but consistently tells him "no, no!" every time she hands it back to him. These two are so funny together!

Hudson...you are such a JOY and I LOVE you so much. You bring so much life into our home. I couldn't imagine my world without you!! What a blessing you are sweet little one!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO!!!

Our Sophie Girl

Our precious little Miss Priss turned 17 months old last week. 17 MONTHS!?!?!? Can you believe it? She is so...not a baby anymore, but a BIG girl. I've noticed this especially when I look at pictures I've taken of her lately. I am blown away by how much she is changing. She is not my precious little baby anymore (sniff, sniff) but more a sweet toddler!!!

When did that happen?

Sophie is so....full of personality. She is spunky and just plain full of herself.

She truly keeps us laughing all the time.She thinks she is so...funny and will laugh at herself too. She is such a little mommy and is ALWAYS trying to help me with Hudson. When it's time for his nap, she will walk into his room and turn on his fan for me. If he needs something out of his dresser, I can ask Sophie and she will go get it for me. Nine times out of ten she comes back with exactly what I asked for. She loves to "help" feed him a bottle, or grab a diaper when he needs a change. It's AMAZING how much she cares for him. Sometimes she smothers him though, but it's just because she is trying to love on him so... much.

The most exciting thing to see recently is Sophie and Hudson interact. I LOVE seeing them play together. The both look forward to bath time every night.

They will just splash and splash each other in the tub and then laugh and laugh. Oh I love to hear both of them laugh at the same time.
It's pure bliss.

Sophie and Riley are two peas in a pod too. Each day, while Sophie is napping, Ri will ask me if he can go wake her up. He told me he misses her when she is sleeping.
Too SWEET!

I actually was brave enough and let the two of them paint together last week.

This was Sophie's first time painting with "real" paint. She LOVED it.

Most of the paint ended up on her though, but she had a blast.

We ADORE you little one!

You are truly a precious gift from the Lord to us.
We LOVE you more than words could ever express.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Another CRAZY week

Well our poor house has had yet another round of sickness. Crazy---I know!!! This time it was the most dreaded bug of all---THE STOMACH BUG----YUCK !!! Oh, how I despise this icky illness. It's the absolute worst! Corban came down with it first, at the beginning of the week, and then several days went by before Riley actually got it. Every night we go to bed just wondering who it's next victim will be.

This is like the third week of sickness we have had since the beginning of the year. Seriously, my house feels like a big germ breading ground!!! We are just passing these nasty germs around from one person to the next. I am praying that this will be the end of it, and that our family will stay healthy now for the rest of the year. Oh, I can hope!! So this has been another week of just laying low and nursing my sweet sick babies back to health.

The weekend is now upon us and I am still taking care of my sweet sick babies. I am so sad to be missing church yet again today. Despite all the sickness, we have had a few highlights this weekend. It's not all been a total bummer.

Saturday morning, Shane and Corban (who was, thankfully, feeling much better) got to go the men's prayer breakfast at our church.

Shane really enjoys going to these, but this was the first time he took Corban with him. Cor was super excited to spend the morning with his daddy and I know he really felt grown up to be going to the breakfast. My Grandpa and Uncle Charlie always attend these prayer meetings too, so Shane and Cor got to sit at a table with them. They all had a yummy breakfast and enjoyed a special time together.

Shane and Cor came home just in time to pick up Sophie and Riley for a birthday party at Monkey Joes. Off they went, for a morning of jumping FUN! I stayed home with Hudson in order to Lysol/clean my house. I needed to get my house back in order because my sweet family was coming over Saturday evening to celebrate my birthday with me.

Actually, at my birthday party was when Riley got sick. (This sickness comes on SO...fast. If I would have had any idea Ri was going to be sick, I would never have sent him to the b-day party at Monkey Joe's, or had my entire family come over here for a party. I feel so....bad, and I am praying no one will get sick from us.

Anyway, it was LOVELY...just as every one was arriving...Riley began throwing up. He missed the entire party, and I spent most of my time running back and forth between the party and upstairs to check on him.

Needless to say, I'll never forget this 30th birthday party;)!

Al and Corban enjoy their yummy cake!

My sweet Sophie girl LOVES to party!

Thankfully, this bug is just a 24 hour thing, and Riley is actually feeling somewhat better today. I am just holding my breath (literally) and praying that the babies don't get it. We'll just wait and see.

Here's hoping you had a great, and of course HEALTHY, weekend!

Frosty Returns!

Well, this past weekend our area was hit by another winter storm. This time, instead of an icy mix, we got a beautiful blanket of pure white snow. It was LOVELY. It started snowing Friday evening, and by Saturday morning our neighborhood looked like a beautiful winter wonderland. Of course the kids couldn't wait to get outside and PLAY! So we suited up--- and out we went. This time, Sophie got to play in it too.

Bless her heart, I really didn't have the right "gear" for her. She had about a bazillion layers on, and her brothers old rain boots:)! She really wasn't too sure about all this cold white stuff anyway. She just kept staring at it, trying to figure what this was all about.

The boys had a BLAST, of course.

And the BEST part...this snow was PERFECT for building a snowman---or three!

Shane and the boys got to work and after about an hour or two...we had our very own Frosty, and two of his friends sitting in out front yard.

Unfortunately, the temps were just too warm for our snowmen friends to stick around very long. By the afternoon, our sweet snowmen had pretty much melted away.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Celebrating

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the sweet birthday wishes you left me. Turning 30 wasn't so bad after all. In fact, it was really quite special!

Saturday night, Shane and I got to celebrate Valentines and my birthday by going out to dinner. My sisters and brother came over to our house to babysit so Shane and I could have a date night!. We decided that we wanted to avoid the Valentine crowd, and just went to one of our favorite local Chinese restaurants to eat. Nothing too fancy, but it was perfect for us. Seriously, I told Shane I would have been happy if we went to McDonald's. At home, meals are...well, crazy. For us, just being together and being able to finish a sentence over dinner is such a treat ;)!!

After dinner, we headed over to my sweet friend, Celia's house. Celia insisted that, because I was turning 30, I had to have a little party.

( so...sorry this pic turned out a little blurry!)
So, bless her heart, she invited some of my dearest and closest friends from church over to celebrate my birthday with me. She is the BEST!!! ( love ya girl!!!)

Honestly though, to me, my birthday was just a good excuse to get together with some wonderful friends and enjoy a night together--minus all our sweet little ones running around;)!.
Celia made some of my favorite desserts---cheesecake with strawberries, and a yummy Oreo dessert. Both were totally fantastic. We hung out, ate, chatted, and then played the game Catch Phrase! LOVE that game! We had a BLAST. I truly haven't laughed that hard in a long time!!!
It was GREAT!!!
I am so grateful to the Lord for the 30 years he has given me.
I am so...incredibly BLESSED!!!

Sunday morning, the kids woke up and bolted down stairs to open their little valentine treat.

We ate our traditional Sunday morning breakfast---cinnamon rolls. (Just the pillsbury kind--nothing too fancy!).
The kids look so.... forward to this breakfast each week though!

Love their sweet, little bed heads!

We decided not to go to church because the babies were still not feeling the best.

Most of the day was spent resting and playing outside in what little snow was left from the storm on Friday!

Riley an I did go to church Sunday night for Wee Praisers choir, but Shane kept the rest of our clan home!

Here's hoping you had an extra special Valentines weekend!!

Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day from our family to yours!!!!

Hope your day is especially sweet and full of
LOVE!!!!!

The most romanic date EVER!

Kelly at KellysKorner is hosting, Show us your Life--Valentine Dates or Ideas.

Since my sweet husband is a true romantic at heart, I thought it would be fun to share and re-live one of my best Valentine dates EVER!!!

My husband is AWESOME when it comes to gifts, birthdays, holidays, and/or surprises. Now, my birthday falls of Valentines Day, so bless his heart, my husband has double the pressure on that one day! He always rises to the occasion though, and normally blows me away with his thoughtfulness. One of the my best birthday/ Valentines Day surprises took place two years ago. What I thought was supposed to be a pretty ordinary Friday turned out completely different than I expected. My morning began with Shane announcing that he had made me an appointment at the Ballantyne Spa. Oh. my. heart! What a surprise!

He dropped me off at the spa and told me to enjoy my entire day of pampering. After I received the total treatment---facial, manicure, pedicure, and a Swedish massage, one of the girls working there came in and told me a car was waiting for me outside. It would take me to the Ballantyne Lodge( a few blocks away from the resort) where Shane and I would be spending the night!!!!!

She handed me a room key. I was then taken to my room which was decorated with rose petals, chocolates waiting, and sparkling grape juice on ice. On the bathroom door was hanging a brand new outfit from my favorite store, Ann Taylor Loft. Accessories were also placed on the dresser. On the desk was a note letting me know that I needed to get ready because we had dinner reservations at 6:00pm. Earlier in the day, while I was at the spa, Shane and the boys brought all my things over to the lodge, so I had everything I needed to get ready. Shane arrived around 5:30 and off to dinner we headed to my favorite restaurant, Nakatos!
After a delicious meal we headed back to the lodge where we hung out and talked by the beautiful fireplace!!!! I truly felt like a princess for a day!
It was the BEST. DATE. EVER!!!!

Quite the week!

Well... this sure has been quite the week for our family!

The sick bug struck again and this time it was in the form of RSV!

Yes--- three of my kids had it this week--ugh.

So our week has not consisted of much except doctor visits,coughing, ear infections, coughing, nebulizer treatments, coughing, gobs of tissue, coughing, antibiotics, coughing, and lots of snuggles! Did I mention coughing? Oh...it's the worst part of this virus!!

I'm hoping everyone will feel better for the weekend.

This mom is so.........ready for winter to be over,

SPRING to be here,

and the sick germs to GO AWAY!!!

On a happy note...a much happier note...

My husband surprised me with an early birthday gift. My birthday isn't until Sunday, but he said he just couldn't wait until then to give me my present. He's so.....sweet!

He got me a net book!

And of course it's... PINK!!! LOVE it!!!
I have wanted my own computer for quite some time now, and was so happy to finally get one!

So I'm updating my blog from my new PINK net book!!!!
So fun!

Well, that's all for now. I sure hope your week was better (and healthier) than mine!

Here's hoping for a GREAT Valentine weekend!!!!

Just Some Simple Valentine Fun

Mondays around my house are catch up days. I do okay keeping up with everything during the week, but after a full weekend---well-- my house usually looks like a hurricane just blew through. Every room seems to be disheveled and in need of some serious TLC. Because we are in and out all weekend long, I tend to let things go a little more than I do during my normal week. Monday mornings are usually spent working on getting things back in order, so I can take on a new week feeling somewhat organized and prepared.

After spending the majority of my morning tidying things up, the kids and I had a little valentine fun in the afternoon.

We made Heart Cookie Pops.

Putting cookies on sticks make them taste so much yummier,
at least that's what Riley told me;)!

I just used a sugar cookie mix that I had on hand.
(Just be sure you follow the "cut-out" cookie directions!)
Cut out heart shapes.
Place on greased cookie sheet.
Lightly push popsicle stick into the cookie, and then place another heart shape cookie on top. Pinch sides together.
Bake @ 350
Cool

DECORATE!!!
--our favorite part!

...and then EAT---okay, so maybe that's really our favorite part!

EASY Valentine Fun!

Super-Super Bowl Weekend!

Saturday morning, Sophie and I had a little girl time. I needed to run a few errands, so together we hit Target and (my all time favorite store) Hobby Lobby. It was just the two of us hanging out, which was such a wonderful treat!

I truly treasure the time I get to spend just one on one with my kids.

After we got home, Shane took Corban and Riley to the YMCA to go swimming. The babies took their nap and I finally got a chance to put together a Valentine dress for my Sophie girl, and matching V-day t-shirts for my boys. I got Sophie's dress finished in time for her to wear to church on Sunday morning.

(I LOVE having a little girl to dress up---so.......fun!!!!)

Sunday evening, we headed back to church for childrens choir. In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, my Wee Praisers (pre-school choir) sported their favorite team jersey, or wore their favorite teams colors to choir that night.

I just adore my little Wee Praisers! They bless my heart!

After choir, we raced home to watch the Colts take on the Saints! We dvr'd the game so we wouldn't miss a minute of the action. The boys have been counting down the days to Superbowl Sunday for weeks now! They both took really good naps Sunday afternoon, just so they could stay up and watch the game!

My house was routin' for Peyton Manning and the Colts,
but we were all truly happy to see the Saints play so well,
and bring home a Super Bowl win to New Orleans!

Way to go SAINTS!!!!!!!!

Love is in the Air!

I can't believe January is already over and February is now in full swing.
Valentines Day will be here before I know it, so I thought is was about time to bring out my V-day decorations.
The photo on the bulletin board above was taken at our county courthouse when Sophie's adoption was final. A precious time for our family. It just seemed appropriate to display it for valentines day!

Last year, the boys made these cute paper hearts.

I hung them like garland on my mantle, and even had enough to hang in the kitchen as well.

The boys were super excited to see their paper hearts again this year.

They remembered making them for Valentines Day last year, and were so proud to see their art work being displayed once again!
With a few other odds and ends displayed...
I think we are officially ready to celebrate this season of LOVE!

...and I just had to throw this pic in here!
One of my sweet little Valentines!
LOVE this girl with all my HEART!

MOMs Group...and another new recipe:)

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4

I am so blessed to be part of a MOMs group that meets at our church every Tuesday morning. Together we are studying the book, Shepherding a Child's Heart. The book is great and has really given me a lot to think about. I come away each week refreshed and encouraged in my role as a mom. Not only is the study great, but I also enjoy the sweet time of fellowship. We share our hearts and then have the pleasure of praying and lifting each other up. We all have the deep desire and passion to grow in our love for the Lord and then to instill that love in our children.

Once a quarter our group gets to stay an enjoy a wonderful luncheon together.
It's just a special time to chat, relax, and eat some delicious food.
Everyone brings a yummy dish to share.

I made this Cinnamon Apple Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Filling
  
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup thawed apple juice concentrate
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• Topping
  
• 2 medium tart apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup thawed apple juice concentrate

• In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, oats, walnuts and cinnamon until well blended. Press onto the bottom and 1-1/2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan.

Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in milk and juice concentrate until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined (batter will be thin). Pour into crust.
Return pan to baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.

In a large skillet, cook and stir apples in butter over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Arrange over cheesecake.
In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, cinnamon and juice concentrate until smooth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Immediately brush over apples. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.

ENJOY!

While the weather outside was frightful...

Well it wasn't really frightful any more, but because of the uncertainty of the road conditions, school was canceled for Monday! Most of the snow was nearly gone, but we were super excited to have Corban home with us!

YAY for snow days!!!!!!!

So in honor of yet another snow day, and as a way to keep the kids entertained, we made Snowmen Rice Krispy Treats.

Our little snowman family!
Daddy, Mommy, Cor, Ri, Sophie, and Hudson
We used...
Chocolate chip-eyes
Orange star burst-carrot nose
Pretzels-arms
Fruit by the foot-scarf
The kids had a blast creating these little guys (and girls),
and I thought they turned out pretty cute!

Mommy with one of her sweet helpers!

Sophie enjoyed eating her snowman after dinner for dessert!

And even Hudson got a little taste.
Not sure how much he actually ate...

most of it ended up on his head.
LOL!