Mr. Independent

This would be Riley, helping himself to some chocolate almond milk while I was in the bathroom. 

And,

that's all I have to say about that.

Now that's some sunshine!

So, last Thursday we had a really warm day (for February!) and I took the kids out on a walk for the first time in a long time!  The next day was pretty nice too.  It wasn't quite as warm, but unlike the previous day, the sunshine was out in full force - which made up for the slightly chillier temps!!!

Ahhh... blue skies.  So rare around these parts during the winter.

We even got to play in the backyard a bit!

Now if we can just get some green on those trees!  :)

Haddie wasn't sure if she liked the swing or not.  I'm sure come summer I won't be able to keep her out of it!

Perspective is a funny thing.  On Thursday of last week the temps were in the 60s and the simple warmth of the air gave the day such a spring-like feeling.  Until I went back and looked at the pictures from our outing I had thought the skies had been blue and sunny.  I was so surprised to see that they had been grey and cloudy.  Then, come Friday, just feeling the warm sun on my face and seeing the blue skies made the chillier temps less noticeable.  Ever since those two days I've been thinking a lot about perspective and how it can affect my attitude.  

Today, just one week later...  the ground is again covered in inches and inches of snow, the skies are grey and cloudy and the temps are again chilly.  Perspective... it's really more of a choice than anything.   So, amidst the chilly, snowy, grey-clouded day, I am choosing to feel the warmth of the sun.  

A bit of a trip

Saturday these two sweeties and I went on a bit of a road trip.  My dear friend, Amy, was going to be alone with her five kids (one being a newborn!) while her hubby was out of the country on a mission's trip.  This trip was something I'd been mulling around in my head for awhile, but thought it would be impossible to work out.  Come Friday though, some details worked out and a trip was planned!  Jamie and Riley had plans to go spend the weekend with Jamie's parents, so, Saturday morning around 9:30, we were off!  8 1/2 hours later we arrived at our destination.  Both Hadassah and Sophia did excellent on our road trip - I couldn't have asked for better behavior!

We had such fun "doing life" with Amy and her kids for 3 full days and four nights.  Sunday we enjoyed going to church and the kids had fun playing hard all day!  That evening Amy invited her Mom,  oldest sister, and a friend over for some treats and chatting.  A movie was the original intention, but we never did get around to that.  :)  It was of course wonderful seeing Amy's Mom and sister.  Amy is my friend that I grew up with on the mission field in Africa oh so long ago.  I've seen her Mom and Dad often, but her eldest sister just recently moved back close to Amy and it was the first time I'd seen her in 7 years!

Monday was definitely a highlight for three homeschooling families!  Amy, her 5 kids, Amy's sister and her 4 kids, and me and my two girls all drove a ways to Valley Forge to learn about and celebrate President's Day.  The main theme of the day was a birthday celebration for George Washington.  It ended up being a lot of fun and the kids adored it!  The only glitch was at the end when they were going to sing Happy Birthday, cut a cake and serve cupcakes to everyone.  We were in the main lobby, us three moms with 11 children - and the crowd kept pressing in on us closer and closer.  All three of us began to get more and more anxious about the crowd and keeping track of all of the kids.  About at the same time we all decided to flee the scene.  All the kids were wailing about missing the singing and the cake, but we kept to our choice to leave the crowd behind.  Poor kids.  

Singers

Picture op with George and Martha

:)

My colonial sweetie!

Doing drills with her musket.  

Sophia sporting her three cornered hat that she made at the craft area.  

Later on Monday, Amy and I tackled some rearranging and cleaning projects.  Those sorts of things are always more enjoyable with a friend!  It reminded me a lot of when we were young.  We always had some sort of project we were dreaming up and trying to organize and accomplish!  

Tuesday we spent lunch and all afternoon at Amy's sister's house.  After a delicious lunch we served the kids some cupcakes as a peace treaty for making them miss them the day before.  :)  The nine older kids (Haddie and newborn Betty opted to stay inside ;) ) played like crazy in the freshly fallen snow, while us Mommies stayed in and talked and talked.  Such a lovely afternoon!

That evening Amy's Mom and Dad brought over dinner and spent the evening with us.  It was so nice to continue catching up with them.  That night I loaded the car to prepare for an early departure the next morning and Sophia cried herself to sleep as she dreaded the thought of leaving behind all her dear friends.

The trip home was uneventful and the reunion with Riley and Jamie was so wonderful!  It was hard being away from my boys, but they had a lot of fun of their own!

A mutual friend had her third child while I was at Amy's and it was so sweet to be able to pray for her together while she labored to bring her sweet son into the world.  We just wish we could have been close enough to her to have gone and taken her some dinner and met her sweet boy.  That shall have to be a road trip for another time!

:)

snug as a bug

These three cuties all ended up in our bed the other morning and laid together so nicely watching a show on Paula, the iPad.  

Love them.

This is what hope looks like

Here in our part of the country, winter tends to, what shall I say, linger?  Drag?  Seemingly never end??  How do we get through the days upon days of grey, cloudy skies?  Ice and snow covered surfaces?  Mounds of plowed, dirty snow everywhere you look?  Freezing temperatures?  

It doesn't take much.  

Yesterday we had a break in the wintry weather and experienced temps of almost 60 degrees all day!  It was delightful to don only mild layers and hats to go on a walk with the kids.  It felt so wonderful to be out in the fresh air and to not be cold.  If you would have asked me to describe the day from memory I would have told you it was a gorgeous, spring-like day, full of warmth and sunshine.  But, upon looking at the pictures I took I realized that is not what the day was actually like...  yes, it was warm, but the sun was hardly shining and I'm not sure it was quite yet spring-like.  So, I guess this is what hope looks like.  The warmer temps remind us that spring is coming.  The joy of the kids jumping in muddy puddles and racing about the slushy piles of mostly melted snow - it's hope, hope for the things to come.

I think there is a lesson in that.

Winter [weeping] may endure for the night, but spring [joy] comes in the morning.

(italics mine)

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was really fun this year.  In the past we've set aside V-Day as a family day, but this year, since it fell on a Monday, and Jamie had to work, it was a bit different.

The day dawned and I tried my hand at making some cake donuts for a special breakfast.  They were super simple and tasty.  I was able to make the dough the night before, refrigerate it, and then simply roll, cut and fry in the morning.  I put powdered sugar on some and pink sugar on others.

Later that morning a friend of mine came over with her four kids.  Sara and I have a newer friendship and our kids had never met.  Soph and I hosted a little Valentine's party as an excuse to get to know Sara's kids!  We had a lot of fun with some games, a craft, decorating cookies, eating donut holes and just playing.  Sophia loved playing with Sara's two older girls, 6 & 4 1/2, while Riley loved playing with Sara's son, who is almost 3.  Haddie even had a playmate as Sara's youngest daughter just turned one.  We all may have gotten a sugar high, but it was well worth it!

The rest of the day was rather uneventful.  Jamie surprised us with roses and chocolate covered strawberries when he got home from work - which was very special!  After putting Haddie and Riley to bed Jamie took Sophia out for a date.  She got all dressed up and they enjoyed some ice-cream out on the town.  :)

Jamie and I didn't do anything super special, but we had enjoyed a double date on Saturday.  We are currently doing marriage counseling for a young couple and went out to dinner and coffee with them while another, recently married, couple (and great friends of ours!) babysat our kiddos.

So, I was looking through our pictures of past Valentines' and stumbled across this one.

This is Riley-boy two years ago!  Isn't he sweet?  Love those big brown eyes.  

Valentine's Day is always really special to me because it is full of so many sweet memories of Jamie and me falling in love.  It was Valentine's Day, eight years ago, that we first held hands and then expressed our love for each other (after discussing all day whether or not we should utter the sacred phrase, "I love you."  I think when we finally decided we could/should say it we counted to 3 and said it at the same time.  Ha!)

I feel like I should wax poetic some more over the special significance of Valentine's day, etc... but I really am just out of words, so - I think I will stop.  :)  

A Child's Cruelest Trick

Scene:  a Mother, playing innocently with her Child.

Child:  Mom!  Let's pretend it's nap time!

Mother:  Okay!

2 seconds later

Child:  Okay, let's pretend nap time is over.

Mother:  Let's pretend it's not.

Child scampers off to play something else.  Mother groans and gets up.

If, then

I discovered a 'new-to-me' band this week, Drew Holcombe & the Neighbors (thanks to BooMama).  If you aren't listening, you are missing out!  Jamie and I just love discovering new, good music.  After seeing the below video we went and bought two of their albums off of iTunes and they have yet to disappoint.  Have you heard of this band before?  If not, what do you think??

First Soccer Game

So, today was Sophia's first soccer game.  Keep in mind they have only had one practice, which was 1 1/2 weeks ago.  This week's practice got canceled due to snow/ice.  Keep also in mind, these kids are ages 4-7 and, for the most part, haven't ever played soccer before.  Sophia's game was at 10:30, and her team, The Cobras, were matched against the Panthers.  It was a 5 on 5 match with 6, six-minute periods.  There was a half time where a short devotional was given.

The game started with all the kids being introduced to some great "pump you up" 80s song.  After both teams were on the field they circled up for prayer.  Then, the game began!

Sophia was nothing if not enthusiastic!  She was eager to get to the ball, always volunteered to do the throw-ins, praised all the other players when they got a good kick and if a player fell or got hurt she was right there patting their shoulder.  She was so adorable!  She liked to take spontaneous water breaks during the middle of play.  :)  For two periods she got to be goalie, and she really did well at this - even when a giant crocodile mascot entered the playing field and she ran to hide in the office.  :)  It was so fun watching her and all the other kids play.  They all seemed to have a lot of fun!  I know Sophia's actual skill and knowledge of the game will increase with time - but what is most important to me is that she associates fun with sports and never gets too bogged down in competition.

Both my parents and Jamie's joined us for the game today.  It was really fun to have them there to support Sophia.

After the game we went out for lunch to celebrate.  The restaurant we ate at is attached to a grocery store.  Our parents had left and Jamie, myself and the kids were browsing the store for some treats.  Soph and I went over the the bakery to look at all the cakes in the display case.  Out of no where one of the bakers approaches us.  She said they were doing a bakery giveaway and could she give us this package of free brownies??  Um, yeah!  :)  So, we scored six Valentine's Day brownies.  Yum!  How random and fun is that?

Tonight Sophia was inspired to have a Valentine's Day party.  She and Jamie colored some pictures for decor.  We played "Pin the Heart on the Girl."  I printed off some hearts, we colored them, then took turns "pinning" them to this giant girl poster we have.  After Riley went to sleep we each enjoyed a brownie (poor kid couldn't have one due to the dairy) and played another game of Sophia's invention - Pin the Heart on the Person.  Whoever was "it" would be blindfolded and had to "pin" the heart on another person - while they were walking around the room trying to  be evaded.  It was actually a lot of fun!

So, that was our Saturday.  A really great family day.  Just the kind I like.

This baby was made for walking!

So, this is going to be short and sweet, but I really want to record it and share the news!

Tuesday night Hadassah took her first totally unassisted step!  Wednesday and yesterday she took a few steps unassisted.  Just now she took a few steps!  It's so fun to see her starting to walk!  She's also starting to wave, respond with nods and head-shakes when asked "yes" or "no," and is loving drinking out of a cup.  She especially loves to steal sips from Riley's cup - which he doesn't always appreciate!  :)

So, my sweet baby is really starting to grow up.  I am SO ready for some of this, and so NOT ready, all at the same time.