Birthday FUN!

We went to an indoor playground on Friday for a special birthday activity as a family.  Here are some of the pictures of that time… sorry for the poor lighting!

The girls were chasing each other up and down the large slide! It was hard for them to stop for a second to let me catch a small picture! (That is why I really don’t have a lot!!)

Hmmmm…. are we finally wearing you out, Hannah?

Josiah with Daddy… they are just taking a small break!

After we wore the kids out, we hopped over to get some Fast Food for lunch.  Here is Caleb eating his first fry!  I am so glad that I had my camera to document this special occasion!

Just in case you didn’t know…. I love you!

My husband, whom I  love GREATLY, has always had an aversion to Valentines Day.  Why do I have to tell you that I love you on a day when everyone else does?  Why do I have to buy into the Hallmark holiday?  Well, this year, I changed things up in order to let him know that I loved him.  I wanted to make the holiday special enough to convince him that he should celebrate it with me.  So… I celebrated the 14 days of Valentines!  I made notes for him to find for 14 days and each had candy, a snack, a coupon or an idea for us to do together.  We started off on day one with getting a Red Box Movie for after the kids went to bed!  He was convinced from day one!  Honey, just in case you didn’t know… I love you!  He loved the sweedish fish and the note that read, “It’s o’fish’al….I love you!”  and the I-Tunes Gift Card which said, “We make pretty amazing music together!”   I know, sappy, but he loved it…. WIN!

I always do special things for the kids on Valentines….. here are the highlights but certainly NOT all of the specials of the day…

PINK Milk!

This is Caleb on his first Valentines Celebration!

Danny hid all of these kisses for the kids to find… they were squealing with delight as they found each one!!

Hannah had to find these hearts during her math lesson. She told me the numbers and then had to put them in order from 0-20!  Good work, Hannah!

It was Thursday so we had to go to the Library!  It is pretty fitting for our family since we ALL LOVE it there!  I love that the Library has a parking garage.  It is much warmer than being outside and we don’t have to worry about snow or the wind! 

 

Once upstairs we had to return the books that we borrowed before we could collect the new ones!  We had several on reserve this time, which was VERY exciting!  We had to find where they were kept and they had Grace’s name on them!  COOL!

Hannah enjoyed getting this book… I remembered it from when I was a child so it was fun to check it out and read it over and over and over to her and the other kids!

All of the kids love to go to the Library.  I don’t let them play on the computers – something that we can do at home – I only let them play with the puzzles and things in the children’s section or read books!  We have such fun finding books on a certain topic or about a certain character. 

Caleb is on the move!

While I was at the computer, Josiah used the books to make a balance beam that he was jumping over!  What a kid!

Checking out the mountain of books that we have collected… I love that the kids know how to do it all by themselves! 

Caleb loves the windows that go all the way to the floor… perfect height for him!

Once we were back at home, we have heart-shaped pizza!  YUMMY!

After naps and some play time, Daddy came home to make dinner…. he made Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo!  He spoils us!  The kids especially loved the candles that I set up on the table.  They wanted to blow them out like candles on a birthday cake.  I kept having to explain that they were just for a special effect… they didn’t get it!  Oh, well!

After dinner and gymnastics we had Oreo shakes for dessert….a special treat for a special family!  I think they know that I love them!  :)

Six

The number that comes right after five…. a whole hand of fingers PLUS ONE or a group of tally marks PLUS ONE.  SIX.  It may just seem like another number to you, but I have blinked and now my baby has gone from a comfortable five to six… overnight….without my permission.  It just snuck up me!  I knew that it was coming, but now that it has come and gone…wow! 

A family of only THREE… that seemed so amazing back then!

Grace had her birthday on Saturday.  Just a typical day here in Iowa, but a special one as well. We all went to an indoor playground to have fun as a family on Friday, but on Saturday we did things Gracie style: cinnamon rolls for breakfast, pizza and wings for dinner and then chocolate fondue for dessert!  We DID raise her right… what great choices!!!  We opened her presents after breakfast and even watched one of the movies she got… how spoiled!  She went with Danny to an indoor pool in Urbandale which was having a winter carnival.  It was a great date time for both of them.    

We are so proud of our Grace Elizabeth!  She has a kind heart which is compassionate towards those at church but especially those in our house!  She loves to snuggle and give kisses… either regular ones or puppy kisses.  She has the biggest imagination and loves to pretend to be doggies, kitties, other people, other animals or the characters from a movie or book!  I never know WHO she is going to be so I frequently call her the wrong name!

School work comes very easily to her, but she does have to think and be challenged at times… she THINKS she knows more than her teacher!!  She loves reading and has just finished the 42nd book in a series that she is reading.  She can read 1-2 books (with 10+ chapters each) while the other kids are napping!!  What a girl!  She loves to make up her own stories too!  She has finished her whole AWANA book in Sparks, has completed the review of the entire book and has nearly finished with the other book of verses and activities.  (I am trying to keep her from finishing too fast! I want her to have verses to say until the end of the year!)  Because she loves to read so much, we decided it was time for her to have her own Bible --- ones with all of the chapters and verses in it.  She is IN LOVE with it.  She reads along with me at Bible time every morning and is soaking in all of the extra sections which give more information about the stories or have maps.  AMAZING!! 

We love our little Sugar.  There is so much to say about her…. we continue to pray that she will love the Lord HER God with ALL her heart and with all her soul and with all her mind.  We want our faith to become HER FAITH!  Happy 6th birthday, Grace!

My New Van….

Here it is… sorry for the pictures of it just in the garage!  I didn’t want to get it out just to pull it back in the garage, but I know that many of you have been asking to see what it looks like!  Hope these will satisfy you! :)

We got an ‘02 Honda Odyssey.  It has low miles, one previous owner, and we think God had been saving it for us!  It was too good to be true.  We had been saving our money (thanks to Dave Ramsey’s plan) and were going to have enough money to buy one some time soon.  We narrowed down our search with help from our mechanic from church and with looking at different models.  I really wanted one with KEYLESS ENTRY and CRUISE CONTROL and a DEEP TRUNK!  I am not picky, people!  This one had been sitting in an off-site lot of the dealership that was selling it… well, trying to sell it.  From our estimations it has been there since the spring or summer.  We knew that there was room for negotiation… and we are so glad for it.  We think it is a great fit for our family… it has many features that our old one didn’t have including leather seats…. heated seats!  WOWZA!  That is a great feature… I nearly burned my butt this morning!

Now we just have to sell our “old” van! 

Have you met Hannah Blue Eyes?

There is no denying that Hannah is a truly special little girl.. she has a smile that makes even the grumpiest days ok and a caring heart that even melts the hearts of the class bully in Sunday School!  She is a giver and a lover.  She gave ALL her give money at Christmas time to Operational Christmas Child... and even took some from her other jars because it didn't seem enough!  AND.. Just this week she saw an ambulance with its lights on when we were on the highway.  She immediately asked if we could pray for the person who had an emergency!  Her prayers bring tears to my eyes.  A special little girl indeed!

One thing you will notice when you first meet her is her special blue eyes!  She has eyes just like Grampa... and she LOVES that fact.  We often call her Hannah Blue Eyes.  They are sensational... they show who she is... a sparkly girl with a heart that her Creator is working on to be used for His purposes!

We love you, Hannah Joy!  Keep up that SPARKLE!

Snow much fun!

There are times when my mommy juices are flowing and I am able to have great ideas to keep the kids active and learning…. and then there are the majority of the other days that I need some inspiration!  PINTEREST to the rescue!  I am sure you have been there and have been a few dozen things yourself.  Well, I have a board on there that has really given me great ideas… like this simple one that was a HUGE HIT in our house!

It snowed this week and then the temperatures dropped low… I mean really low… in the negative numbers.  The kids played out in the snow on that first day – Wednesday but then they couldn’t play do to the cold.  So… we brought the snow IN!  Yup… right into the sink in the kitchen.  My kids were delighted.  They had cups and spoons… and played any thing from “Rachael Ray” to making snowmen!  It was hilarious to listen to and fun to join in on!  Here are the pictures of them having SNOW much fun!

 

And, yes, they DID eat a bunch as well!  How could you stop them?  TOO CUTE!!

This is a picture that I took on my phone on Friday… yes, that is a negative in front of that nine!!!!!