Princess Party

Today Zoey attended our annual Princess Party at church and we both had a blast. I have to say that we both have the most amazing friends and they are so much fun to be with!!!

Fine Arts Night

Isaac had his 1st grade Fine Arts night this past week, and we couldn't be more proud!

Seriously?

Oh my word!

I was re-reading the post I made a couple of weeks ago about "Zoey's moment" in the car, and I clicked on the link to the song that moved us in the car.... TOTALLY WRONG SONG!!!!! I can't believe no one in my family asked why I was playing that song????

Here is the song that I'm pretty confident I accidentally linked:

(It's a wonderful song... just not quite our style)

Here is the song I MEANT to link:

 

Does it make a little more sense now?

So thankful for pre-made Student Packets!

On a related note, I have to give major props to the kids' elementary school. They always go above and beyond for the education of their students. This is the packet Zoey went home with for her summer learning in preparation for Kindergarten. Each student gets a packet like this (grade appropriate) each quarter as well. Isaac's have been so much fun to go through.. in fact, they give you so much stuff it's hard to do it all... plus it's all fun! It's such a nice little touch for a mom who doesn't have a ton of time to think about fun learning games.... thank you!!!

i'll never be ready for this...

Yesterday Zoey had her Kindergarten round-up and I thought for sure this one would be easier than Isaac since we already have one under our belt.... that was definitely not the case. The great thing is that we love all 3 of the Kindergarten teachers and would be thrilled to have any of them for our daughter (that takes a lot of pressure off). It was very difficult to bring my brain to a place that was okay with my little peanut leaving me everyday. She is beyond thrilled to get started and was even skipping down the halls with Isaac before we left. At the end we all took a school bus ride and Isaac and Zoey were sitting in the bench behind us... I could hear Zoey asking questions and Isaac patiently answering every one of them making sure she was excited about everything.

2 down, 2 to go....

January 14, 1990

I'm not quite sure what was so memorable about that day, but for some reason, my Nonne decided to send me a letter on January 14th, 1990. At that time I was 11 years old, so I'm sure I skimmed through it, feeling special that she thought of me enough to write me from Florida.

I found the letter today while I was working on a project. I read through it, 23 years later, and I'm confident it had more of a profound impact on me today then it did back then. She writes, "You always tried to do your best and be the best" (something I have strived for and struggled with for as long as I can remember). I won't go into all the details of why this letter spoke so clearly to me today, or why I miss her so much, but I will say that I am in a phase of life that causes me to deeply appreciate the generations before me.... and I want to leave a legacy for those following in my footsteps.

our very own spiderman

 

He climbs the cupboards.

He climbs the back of the couch.

He climbs the dining room table.

He climbs up on the counter. 

He climbs the shelves in the pantry.

He climbs the shelves inside the fridge.

He climbs the dressers.

He climbs the fence.

He climbs the desk.

He climbs everything he possibly can.

Good thing this boy has 2 dimples!

house of worship.

I think one of my most important endeavors is to make our house a house of worship. Tonight the TV went off and the worship came on... and the atmosphere changed. It's hard to explain if you have never experience it, but there is something deep inside that shifts when we acknowledge that our Creator is present and give Him the honor and glory He is worthy of.

Needless to say, our house can be very chaotic at times..... well almost all the time, if I am being completely honest. I have found myself just stopping mid-laundry to just raise my hands in surrender to the Lord and block everything out. At first my kids would ask what I was doing... now they just join in. It's my way of declaring that God is always our priority, no matter the emotional climate of our household.

Why am I sharing this?

I'm not quite sure.

Tonight I just was so grateful for the reminders God is constantly sending my way, that He is present.... that He is available... that He is here. So Chris and I blasted my worship concoction on You Tube tonight and allowed our minds and hearts to focus on Him.

Psalm 22:3

"You are holy, You who inhabit the praises of Your people."

act accordingly.

Her Moment.

It was a real moment.

One I will not soon forget.

We were driving to church... listening to this song.

All of a sudden I hear Zoey call my name.

I could tell she was crying.

"What's wrong baby?"

Then she said something that struck my core.

"While I was worshiping to that song, I started to cry because I love Jesus so much. He is good all the time and he died for my sins."

We had just then pulled up to the church and Chris had come out to help me with the kids. She shared her encounter with him, still very choked up. We all were choked up.
She is our worshiper and is very sensitive to the leading of the Lord.

He is real... and He made Himself known.

Not because we prodded or pleaded or manipulated.

Simply because He wanted to.

For that I am forever grateful.

I was trying to record her talking about it.
We got the basics.

Operation Front Flip

Operation Front Flip

We are getting a little bit closer.

i secretly love when they steal my camera.

and in all things... session 44

Things I am thankful for on April 4, 2013...

1. Psalm 30:2
2. People in my life who are trustworthy
3. New beautiful sand in our sandbox
4. Spring Cleaning
5. Hope
6. Calculators
7. "I'm thinking of you" texts
8. The book of Isaiah
9. DayQuill, Tissues, Chicken-Noodle Soup, Cough Drops
10. Netflix