Still Swimming...

And LOVIN' IT!

Auntie Jen & the Gang

My sister is so pretty. Look at this sweet picture of her and Haley.


We got to watch Jennifer's daughter Emily the other day. She's the CUTEST thing ever. My kids call her Em-Ems.

Here is a picture of the cousins with Darth Vader substituting as Lexi since she was napping.


Lexi (after nap) and Em-Ems enjoying a snack. Please note Lexi's slammin' pj choice and rockin' hair. I love her.


Come back and see us Em-Ems!!!

Haley's Email.

Today, Haley sent out a couple of emails. I wrote out what she wanted to say and then she typed them.

She wrote this to her Daddy.

DEAR DAD
THANK YOU FOR MAKING
MY BUIDING AND THANK
YOU FOR LETTING US
GO TO IT
LOVE,
HALEY

This is My Husband.

I gave him a hard time about growing this beard out. But I think he ended up looking pretty hot. I just didn't like touching it...kissing around it...you know. Anyway, he grew it out because he was celebrating FEBUHAIRY with some friends but also because of his vow to stay hairy until the building project was done.

Our building project is our Kids Building at church...we call it the Pier.
It is opening this weekend. With that being said...my husband is not home. It's 9:20 in the evening. He's still at work. Instead of being lonely....I decided to tell you why I love my husband.

1. He loves me. At my worst. He loves me. At my best. He loves me. And all the in between times. He loves me.
2. He makes me laugh.
3. He's very creative. He loves all things music/theater/artsy....I love that.
4. He's passionate about God. He loves the church. And he loves the BIG "C" Church.
5. He's a good daddy. He came home from work (After being there for 8 hours.) Had dinner. Played with the kids. Went back to work.
6. I trust him with the kids. I leave the house and don't think twice about them being in the best hands.
7. He loves his family (parents...grandparents...etc.) He loves my family.
8. He's crazy talented and can do/learn/accomplish ANYTHING he sets out to do.
9. He lights up a room.
10. He works extra jobs to take care of us whenever he can.

I could go on and on...these are the first 10 that came to mind. I'm so blessed to have this man in my life.

NEED BREAKFAST IDEAS!!!

So I got the dreaded phone call today...the one to remind me to bring a "Main Dish & Salad" to MOPS on Tuesday. Anybody got any good breakfast recipes? Think eggs/potato-esque foods. Or a yummy salad? I need some help here people!!!!

VDay Recap.

I know...It's nearly a month after Valentines...but we had such a special day, I wanted to share some of the pictures with you. Haley and I decorated the house during the week...in fact, our decorations are still up. (I'm definitely moving in slow motion these days.) We had a cozy love-filled morning. Curtis and I have never put too much stock into Valentine's Day...but it was really fun this year to make it special for the girls.

I prepared a little breakfast for the family while they were cozied up in bed.



Then we had a dance party together. The girls were so sweet with each other.



This is the Valentine we got from Haley.


There was a lot of love in our house that day. Hope your Valentine's Day was special too!!

HALEY IS 5!!!

Okay...so I've been a bit behind in blog world. Haley turned 5 in January. I'm finally getting around to talking about it.

We had planned a Star Wars party for her at the park since we invited her entire preschool class as well as several other friends. When we planned it, it was in the 70's and beautiful. The week of her birthday it was in the 50's and raining. PERFECT!

It started to clear up the Friday before her birthday...but wouldn't you know it, I woke up to rain at 5:30am...and was panic stricken. I sent my friend Gina an email and asked if we could have the party at her house because she had offered it to us previously...and she graciously said yes.

So here are pics of Darth Haley and her costumed friends....and all the wonderful time we had celebrating her 5th Birthday!

Haley & Lexi with Curtis' parents.

Asteroid Hunt in the Backyard


Pass The Death Star

Tanner & Lexi with their own interpretation of Master Yoda.

Haley in Star Wars Toy Heaven


So it didn't all go the way we planned, but it was a fun day afterall! Thanks again Gina! And thanks to all our sweet friends and family for making this such a special Birthday for Haley!!!

Doing something right...

So many of my days end with me wondering if I did anything right in regards to parenting. Did I play enough? Listen enough? Engage enough? Did I discipline correctly? Did I love unselfishly?

I would be lying if I didn't admit that most days I feel inadequate and wonder how my kids might ever survive me as a mom.

But then there a moments like today where I got a glimmer of hope.

The morning started out real lazy as is our usual Thursday routine since we are on a hectic schedule Mon-Wed. So we were sitting around the coffee table....reading, drawing, talking. Lexi started to look through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and stumbled onto a page that had the most ADORABLE Dr. Seuss bedding. She and Haley started talking about how cute they were and then Lexi said, "I want those in my bed." And as soon as I was about to say something, Haley said.. "Sissy...we need to be grateful for what we have."

I was so proud of her.

I then tried to explain the differences between wants and needs. I left out the part about me not even looking through Pottery Barn Catalogs anymore because when you don't know what's out there, you don't have to worry about wanting it. :)

Nor did I flip to the page that had the Star Wars sheets on them because I wasn't sure if her "grateful" speech would hold up in the face of such an extravagant want! I preferred to leave the conversation with joy in my heart knowing that if only for a moment...Haley knew she was blessed....knew she had all she needed and knew to be grateful. And with so many conversations between Lexi and Haley being of the..well...not so kind type...my heart was so full to see one so sweet and pure.

Maybe I'm doing something right after all.

Not that you care....

But I just paid off my student loan.
It's done.
I'm happy.

My Investment

There is a lot of talk these days of whether to invest or not. What to do with your money when your economy is in crisis.

Most people say that the best thing I could do financially is to hold onto my money and protect it.

But tonight, I'm going against financial wisdom. I am choosing to invest in my marriage.

Curtis and I have both been very busy. There's been a lot of stress at work with the new building. Lexi has been sick with a double ear infection. I've been doing my job plus preparing to lead at a different church this weekend. Needless to say...we haven't had any quality time together. (Unless you count me falling asleep watching LOST with him Wednesday night).

So tonight, we invest in a babysitter. We got out. We do this because time together protects our marriage. It reminds us of why we love each other. It quiets the noise in our lives and helps us focus on each other.

To me, that's the best investment I can make.