Basketball Game with Friends

Andy called me at lunchtime today and asked if I would be interested in taking the girls to a basketball game.  I said sure.  We love basketball games because they are quick and keep the girls attention.  We were surprised to see our friends Lia and Stacey walk in with their girls just moments before the game started!  It was a fun night for everyone!  It helped that we won the game in overtime! 

Sleepover Fun

Y'all these two amaze me...they have pretty much fought with each other all afternoon...petty stuff.  When it was time for bed, they begged to sleep together.  While laying in bed before they fell asleep, they were laughing and talking about silly stuff.  I pray that no matter what life throws their way or what differences they have with one another, I pray that at the end of the day, they will remember the gift of being sisters!

Afternoon Chores

About two weeks ago, we began daily chores for each girl to complete Monday-Wednesday.  Our biggest chore days are Monday and Tuesday.  We have afternoon activities on Wednesday and Thursdays so we have simple chores on those days.  Today the girls were working after school to complete their task while also playing dress up.  Maggie said she felt like the tooth fairy (they were studying about dental health at school) and Caroline said she felt like Cinderella BEFORE the ball!

Happy Birthday Mary Claire

The girls spent last night at Granny's house.  Today they went with her to church and then went to Mary Claire's gymnastic party.  They had a blast!!  They were asleep by 7:30 tonight!!  Thanks Granny for a fun night and afternoon!

Church Plant Anniversary

About a year and a half ago, Andy felt the Lord calling us to leave our church, where we had been members for 15 years, to join our friend Stacey in planting a church.  It was hard to follow his leadership because for those of you who know me, change is hard!  It wasn't that I didn't think Stacey would be a good pastor, it was that I hated to think of leaving my friends at our home church.  Fast forward to today, I AM SO THANKFUL for my husband's obedience and leadership in our household.  It has been a true blessing to fellowship and worship with our sweet friends at our church plant.

I am thankful to say we have met some of the sweetest people!  My children have made sweet friends.  There are pros and cons to big churches and little churches.  But what I have grown to love about our little church is that everyone is like family.  People notice when someone is missing.  People are ready to step up and serve when needed.  We hold each other accountable.  We support one another when needed. 

Today we got to celebrate the goodness of the Lord and what He has done over the last year.  It was a year ago this weekend that we held our first official service.  We celebrated with a church wide picnic at a friends beautiful barn.  What a gift each of these folks are to us!  I look forward to how the Lord will continue to use our little church to impact the city!

Fun with Sage

Almost 5 months ago, my friend Lia, Sage and myself put a date on the calendar to get together.  Sadly, due to circumstances beyond her control, Lia wasn't able to make it.  We missed her so much!  However, we had a fun time catching up.  We didn't have any real plans so we just sort of played it moment by moment.  It was glorious...but I have to admit I was a little sad to leave my little family.  I was thankful for a beautiful day and good music to start the weekend.

 Our hotel was located downtown and was within walking distance to everything we needed.  Thank goodness because the parking garage was really low AND we were pretty scared of it! :0)  We enjoyed Mexican for dinner.  Once back in the hotel, we put on PJS and chatted until 10:30 when we could no longer keep our eyes open.

 Check out wasn't until 11 so we headed out to breakfast.  I LOVED being able to walk to everything.  Great exercise.  We ate at a yummy bakery downtown.  After breakfast we headed back to the hotel to shower and get dressed for the day.

 We shopped a little, at lunch at Chick Fil A and went to see "The Greatest Showman."  The theater had reclining chairs and we were in LOVE!!!!

So very thankful for friendships that last regardless of distance!  Good friends are a true treasure!

Fresh Flowers

I absolutely LOVE fresh flowers!  One day when my budget has a little more wiggle room, I will buy fresh flowers every week and place them on my kitchen table...but until then, these are just perfect!!  I love when my girls pick them for me!!  I don't want to forget days like today...when I receive sweet gifts like this!

Night at Caroline's school

Caroline's school had a curriculum night last week.  This is only the second event that we have all enjoyed together.  Typically in the past, one of us goes with Caroline and one stays at home with Maggie.  Maggie did really well.  We all had fun completing different activities.

Fun with Heather and family

My sweet friend Heather and her kiddos came up for a visit today.  It was so much fun to catch up with Heather while I kids played.  I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time!!

Enjoying a yummy nutty butty on a warm afternoon

Waiting in line for a twirl with Captain Caroline on the tire swing.

Zoo trip

We were so excited that we were all off today.  So we headed to a few of our favorite places to spend the day.  We were given a membership to the zoo last year for Christmas and it expires tomorrow.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our membership and wanted to get one more day.  The girls had an absolutely wonderful time!  They were excited to have Andy join us for this visit.  Feeding the birds was definitely the highlight!  After the zoo, we headed to Andy's favorite place to eat...D's wings.  Needless to say when we got home, we were all pretty tired, but it was a wonderful day!

Outside with Mr. Froggy

A week or so ago, Caroline found a HUGE toad outside.  She created a 'home' for it.  When she went to check on it, it was gone.  She was so sad.  A day or so later, she was digging in the dirt where the toad was and there he was, still there!  She was thrilled.  She put the toad in a carrying case and spent the rest of the day playing with it.  It's hard to see unless you click on the picture but it is a HUGE toad!!!!

Celebrating the Olympics

Yesterday Maggie's class celebrated the Olympics at school.  The kids all came to school dressed in clothes ready to exercise.  It was precious!  Mrs. Marti made medals for the kids to wear and eat afterwards.  Maggie's medal is made of Oreo's and fruit by the roll.  They did a snowball toss, ice skated using paper plates and had a few relay races.  Maggie loved it!!

Early Dismissial Day

Today was an early dismissal day for Caroline.  She got home about the time Maggie and I got home.  Tomorrow is grocery day and I honestly didn't have a "meal" for lunch.  So we decided to finish off bits and pieces of what I had.  My sweet friend Heather, who is a mother of 5, taught me this trick.  I've done it a few times before and the girls love it.  It was a beautiful 80 degree day here so we headed outside to eat.  I absolutely LOVED having Caroline home.  It was such a treat!  They loved being outside playing together or doing their own thing.  I sent Andy a text to tell him thank you for working so hard to provide for us and allowing me to get to cherish these moments with the girls.  What a blessing!

Valentine's Fun

We had fun celebrating Valentine's Day as a family!  We made our annual heart cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We had a special Valentine's dinner planned except somebody drank the last of the milk at breakfast and didn't tell me.  We had a small window of time for dinner because I had Bible Study.  So we went to Panera for a quick bite to eat.  I was disappointed my plans for a fun dinner at home didn't happen but I am happy to report I just went with the flow...that's surprising for me!  The girls thought it was fun and that's what counts.