one of many blessings

One of the many blessings of coming East has been being closer to some of our friends who we attended college with.  Auntie Dana has been one of mommy’s best friends – a friendship that started the first week of college in the freshmen dorm; let’s just say Auntie Dana was doing some crazy things Mommy thought was hilarious (and she was sober…yes.) 

Friends, roomies, confidants, and then pregnant with our girls at the same time.  I’ve come to learn that those true friends are those that remain over time and over distance.  And when you get together with them, even if it’s been a while, you feel like you were just hanging out yesterday.

Anna and Katie are only a month apart – and that has been another blessing.  Anna loves her Katie and Auntie Dana.  They were able to come over and sled recently, and everyone had a great time.

 

Oh no!  A pile up!  Hudson slid down while Auntie Dana was pulling Katie and Anna up the hill – luckily, everyone thought it was pretty hilarious.

 

13 seconds ago….

(Hudson grabbing onto Daddy’s legs as he goes to heaven)…read on.

Hudson and Daddy were playing and talking about when Leapster 100 will come out.  Daddy told him he’ll be an old man when that happens and that Daddy will be long gone. 

Hudson said: “Daddy will be dead?”

Daddy:  Yup.

Hudson:  If I saw you going up to heaven, I’d grab your leg and go along for the ride.

Daddy: (Laugh)

Hudson:  Because I love you!

COLLECTIVE BLOGGER READING:  awwww…..

addictive pumpkin muffins

I’m lovin’ these muffins, so need to share!  Actually, my kids and my hubby are loving them too, so they must be good.  They were great with our chicken and rice soup, and they are super for breakfast with yogurt and strawberries.  The best part?  NO ADDED FATS.  The only fat in these guys are the naturally occurring fats (which is close to none) and if you choose to put a little bit of streusel topping on a few – which I did.

Here is the link for the muffins. My changes to this recipe were that I used a THIRD of the recipe, used frozen pumpkin puree that Becky taught me how to do this past October when pumpkins were abundant, used cranberries instead of raisins, and added a bit of oatmeal/flour/brown sugar/butter streusel to the tops.  Whatever you decide to do, these things are delish.

from the mouths of babes…

3 prayers from the mouths of our babes – innocent, pure, full of faith.  One sweet, one interesting, one funny. (I will write them like they were said.)

Sweet – Anna going to bed 2 nights ago…

Dear God, 

  Tank you for good day.  Tank you for sending Jesus to me.  Tank you for Mom-Mom Poppy.  Tank you for Husson.  Tank you for Mommy n Daddy.

AMEN!

Interesting – Anna going to bed last night…

Dear Jesus, 

  Tank you for loving me.  Tank you for me going poopy on da potty.  Tanks for the potty.  Tanks for my house.  Be with my friends.  Tank you for Mommy n Daddy n Grandmom n Mom-Mom Poppy n Uncle Byan n Ruby Nomi Caleb.  Tank you for my babies.

AMEN!

Funny – Hudson in the car tonight after being with our friends the Beckers for dinner.  **Sidenote:  Daddy was not with us because he wasn’t feeling well…and he was the third down of our family in 7 days.  Anna got the puking bug, got better.  Then Hudson.  He got better.  Then it hit Daddy hardest, with the highest fever too.  I figured out that I have done over 25 loads of laundry in the past 7 days.  Yikers – Praise God our washing machine and dryer are functional!

Dear Father, 

  Thank you so much for the fun day we had.  We pray for Daddy that he feels better and he stops puking so Mommy doesn’t have so much laundry to do.  We pray for Ms. Dana that she isn’t done making dinner.  Help her not to be too tired and she will make food for her family.  Thank you Lord.

Amen.

**Ms. Dana was stating that most days recently she feels “done” by the time dinner rolls around and doesn’t feel like making dinner anymore.  I guess little ears were listening more than she thought!  HA!**

Daddy & Mommy’s Greatest Valentine’s Gift

To put it simply, because words don’t do it justice,

                               Hudson asked Jesus to live in his heart.

Hudson has known the truth for a long time.  He’s talked about it, he tells others about it, and he tries his best to live it.  He tries to “show love” in the best ways a four year old can.  In fact, he most likely crossed the line of faith on his own.  But tonight, he prayed the words. 

We had just finished reading the story of Moses, Pharaoh, and the plagues.  We were talking about the last plague and how the Israelites put the lamb’s blood on their doorposts to be safe.  How the lamb’s blood saved them.  Hudson’s “Jesus Storybook Bible” amazingly weaves the story of how Jesus was and is the center of God’s plan for redemption – even in the Old Testament.

Our conversation followed as this:

Mommy:  Who is the lamb that came later to save us?

Hudson:  Jesus!  He died to take away our sins and save us. 

Mommy: That’s right.  He washes away our sins and lives with us.  He helps us make good choices.

Hudson: But sometimes I don’t Mommy.

Mommy:  I don’t make good choices all the time either, Hudson.  I mess up too.  A lot.  But Jesus helps me make good choices when I listen to him and learn to love him better.

Hudson:  How does he live in my heart?

Mommy:  We ask Him to.  Do you want him too?

Hudson:  Yes Mommy.  I want him to live in my heart forever.

We prayed together, and Hudson said these simple, yet beautiful words.  Words I will never forget, nor will I ever forget the joy and overwhelming gladness in my own heart…

“Jesus, please come and live in my heart forever. And ever.  Amen.”

Simple.  Beautiful.  Profound. 

I didn’t cry then, but I did cry after we read a book and then sang a song.  He gets to choose a song before bed, and he wanted me to sing a song called “Jesus in my heart.”  There is no such song that I know of, but he wanted me to sing one.  So we made one up.  And it was beautiful.

As I prayed and thanked God for our little boy who so passionately loves and lives, I began to cry.  Hudson asked me why I was crying and I made sure he knew that it is ok to cry when your heart is overflowing from happiness.  And he thought that was great.

That’s good, because I think he is a pretty awesome and great  little man.

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.                   Romans 10:9-10  (NASB)

Rejoice with us, and pray for us as we continue to do our best to show our children the Way, the Truth and the Life.

FOUR FEET!!!!! (50 inches to be exact)

28 inches from Snowmaggedon + 22 inches from Blizzard 2 = a ton of snow

We now have four feet of snow outside our doors. That's not the drifts. That's the real snow accumulation. For all you north of the border-ers, that doesn't sound like a lot. For all you AZ cowboys, you're thinking you get drifts of sand like that in summer sandstorms. For these parts? That's unheard of - at least all within a week, anyway.

Tinkerbell for Anna-belle

Since our trip to Disney in May of 2009, Anna has had a fond liking for Tink.  The loveable companion of the valiant Peter Pan.  So, as the time came to turn A’s crib into a toddler bed, I began working on making her a patchwork quilt for her “new” bed.

I really enjoy sewing.  I know I do, but I forget how much I really like it until I start a new project.  I had to borrow Mom’s machine as mine is still in a pile of boxes in storage (anxiously awaiting me to unpack it when our AZ house sells…because it will!)

I had great helpers.  I tried to mostly work on it during naps and at night, but they both are fascinated by the sewing machine and Hudson loves pushing the pedal.

 

This is the quilt before it was washed and tack quilted.

The finished product – with cool pillows Grandmom found for her new big girl bed.  We’re pretty sure she really likes it.  :o)

commencing blizzard 2

The snow began at around 4:00 pm on Tuesday - and we've got about 13 inches so far - with the heaviest yet to come. Yowsers...

lovin’ February

a mix of random pictures that have no category but February

My mom gave me the rockin’ idea to turn my lighted garland into a Valentine’s Day garland.  I was complaining about taking the lights down because they add so much “warmth” to the living room and she said to put hearts on it. It turned out pretty cool – thanks Mom!   

If you look closely, the hearts on it was a fun art project.  Hudson and Anna painted their hands and placed their fingers crossing on a piece of paper.  After they dried, then I cut them out (the palms are the top rounded part of the heart) and Hudson wrote his name across his – I helped Anna.

Both the cute babes have been into building Lego cities with Geo Trax trains running through them.  This day I had to record because Hudson was playing so nicely with Anna and being a little teacher.  “Good job Anna!  Here, you can put your house here on the mat.  That would be a great place to put it Anna!”  It was too cute – and those moments are happening more and more – phew, and Praise the Lord! :)This is just hilarious because Hugs has totally been into getting out Daddy’s clothes and dressing for work.  He did a good job of matching the shoes, shirt and belt, don’t you think? Heart Owls

This was just a fun art project we did to decorate around the house for Valentine’s.  I drew the different sized hearts and Hudson cut and glued and decorated his own all by himself.  I think he did fabulously!  Anna’s looks awesome as well – she glued and decorated her own heart owl. 

pictures tell the tale

27.5 inches total according to the local weather reports for our specific area of the city.  We’re still digging out – it’s gonna take a while.  Our lovely neighbor let us use her snowblower to at least make a path from the front porch to the road for the time being.  And for the record, when it was done snowing and blowing, Anna actually enjoyed being outside – for a bit longer.  She lasted an hour this time.

 

I pulled them on the toboggan on the road (it is covered in 4-6 inches of hard packed snow).  They thought sliding down the road was hilarious…going down was good for Mommy – coming up, not as easy!

Chris took Anna inside then came back out for a moment.  When he went back in, he found that Anna had discovered where the chocolate chip cookies were that were still warm on top of the counter.  Wookie!

part 2 - ‘snowmaggedon’ they say now

    We gave in to the constant pleas to exit our abode just before lunch.  The parental units were a bit hesitant to do such as the wind was whipping (as it always does on the top of this hill we live on) and the snow was still accumulating at about 2 inches an hour.  Yes, that is Hudson next to the drift on the back porch…it was above his head.  It’s still drifted that high, we have yet to shovel the back porch.

The snow is gorgeous – just cold when the wind is blowing – and soon after exiting our warm cocoon of a home, our youngest was verily aware of this fact.  She had enjoyed the snow from the confines behind glass, but soon came to realize that cold snow blowing in your face isn’t that fun.  Specifically when you can’t walk in it because it is over your head.

Hugs enjoyed every moment of it (well, until he took a face first plunge into the snow – and then he was done) and made a tunnel right off the porch.  We had to help him (read: drop him) get to a spot he could dig and play.

We tried to get around back – and managed after a bit of struggle – considering most of the snow was mid-thigh to waist deep and we were carrying small children.

So – as you can see below, I was in it up to my waist, and higher at times, trying to get to the playset that had been partially protected and some of the snow had drifted away.

Anna wanted to head inside for “hot chock-o-lot”, so I obliged and Hudson and Daddy took to jumping off the deck banister into deep snow drifts.  After Hudson face planted, we all sat down to the quintessential post-snow lunch: grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Warms the tummy and the soul! :) 

“Snowpocalypse” as NBC says…

Here are the first few shots of our first major blizzard of 2010.  We already have more snow than we did in December – and we are to get an additional 5 or so yet.  We’ll see what that brings, but here’s us enjoying the warmth inside for now!

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If Anna stands against the back door at this moment, the snow is actually above her head – we’ve accumulated that much more in the past 90 minutes.  We are still enjoying our “jama jama jama pjs” (for all you Sandra Boynton fans!) and had some delish and sticky-gooey-cinnamony-buns for breakfast with a fruit melange (as my husband calls it).  We hit the market yesterday and were able to score some raspberries, strawberries and blueberries from our favorite fruit stand.  The beautiful flowers on the table are a lovely surprise from my thoughtful husband – gorgeous purple hues.

Stay tuned…there will certainly be more to come!

for all you Lost-ies

Today is the day!  I can’t wait to find out who the John Locke living on the island really is…and will they really answer all our questions before the end of the show, or will they leave us with more?

Oh, and I am reading an awesome book my hubby got me for Christmas.  It is super – an easy read as well as amazingly engaging.   It’s called “The Gospel According to Lost” by Chris Seay.

 

It goes through each of the main character’s views on faith and religion pulling them together in the grand scheme of the show – and the impact of their personal belief, or disbelief, through their journey on the island.

Enjoy the journey to the end, my fellow Losties.

all of it for 6.25

FOR ANNA

• 2 sunhats
• lands end spring windbreaker
• a new pair of sunglasses
• gymboree capris and t-shirt
• gymboree strawberry tank top
• carter’s striped polo
• gap denim mini skirt and aqua flower shirt

FOR HUDSON

• gap striped polo
• old navy argyle polo
• old navy plaid shorts
• old navy jean shorts
• carters grey shorts

I know, 6.25!  I found out about an incredible deal from a friend in the area about this cool site that offers local business gift certificates for a discount.  There is an awesome kids’ consignment shop nearby that was a participant, and I was able to snag some things this past weekend (with Mom and Anna) for the upcoming spring/summer season. (I’m pretending it is soon going to be warm.)

The site is affiliated with Cumulus Deals.  It is a company that works in conjunction with local radio stations to offer incredible deals to local businesses and generate revenue for the local economy (that’s my take on what they do.)  Apparently, there are over 50 metropolitan areas that have participating radio stations, so get your your Google homepage and search “cumulus deals” and your “hometown”.  It’ll direct you to the radio station that sponsors the local deals.

The deal I got was a 50.00 certificate for 12.50, and then a small fee for shipping.  So I guess the real total is 16.25 + 6.25….but all of that for over 65 dollars worth of clothes – WAIT, because the deal goes on…it was the semi-annual clearance, so it was an additional 10 or 20% off all of the stuff too!

I was super excited.  Can you tell?  This post is dedicated to the Frugal Flamingo :)