Our big girl turns 10!

Our sweet T turned ten this month. It's hard to believe that ten years ago we were in the hospital, not knowing what to expect, and finally becoming a family. I fell in love that day at first sight. I am still so eternally in love with her, and her sister, only a parent can understand.
She is now 'double digits', wow!  I can't believe how close 12, and gulp, teen years are!
I am reading a book by Dannah Gresch about how to talk to your 8-12 year old about growing up. Honestly, its so scary I haven't done it yet. But I know I need to, because I want to be sure to be the one she comes to for questions (not her peers). I know that with God's guidance, we can help her learn the right choices and prayerfully make those choices. I just really really want to make sure that as she grows up she stays strong in God's Word and chooses His way, instead of our current society's "acceptable" way.
Anyway, back to the celebration at hand. She turned 10 and we had several days of 'celebrating'...


Here she is with two of her friends at her party. We went and saw a movie, got froyo, then came home for presents/cake/homemade pizza, and playtime.




Here her sister is giving her a huge birthday hug as she opens presents. I love this picture. W yelled "I have a birthday present for you!" then jumped into her arms and gave her a hug!  :)




The birthday cookie-cake she wanted.




Blowing out her birthday fruit at the Hibachi restaurant she wanted to go to for her birthday dinner.





The famous pistachio bread that great grandpa made for her.



Our little sewing girl finally got her own sewing maching from G&G





Her and grandpa about to blow out the candles on our traditional 'birthday pie'




what a cute picture of her and grandpa

 And finally on her actual birthday, she got to open the presents from us. Our little girl not only loves to read and sew, but also to cook. So...

We got her a gift certificate to take four cooking classes at a local culinary studio here. Do you think she is excited? :)   She was so happy. She will have lots of fun I'm sure, and hopefully she'll come home and cook for us ;)


Cooking classes...wow!




I couldn't move this picture up where it belonged, but this was her excited look as she opened her sewing maching :)

She had a great (several days) celebrating her birthday and we are so glad to have such a wonderful little girl as our daughter :)

Breakfast in Bed

Dan's 41st birthday was earlier this month. It has started to become a tradition that the birthday person gets 'breakfast in bed'. T, being our budding new chef, wanted to make this special treat for her daddy this year. So she made the following...

bisquit 'eyes'
strawberry 'nose'
over-medium eggs for the 'mouth'
ice cream (???!) served with banana slices
a banana/milk/strawberry smoothie
She also served O.J. and little balls of butter  :)

It was very cute and she did a really good job as you can see from the picture :)

Dan and I went to Flemings for dinner that night to celebrate his birthday together and that was lots of fun too.  Welcome to 41!

Jen's birthday!

Here is a picture of Jen and I after dinner. This is the first time I wore my new heels and it makes me look like an amazon standing next to her! I'm really not that tall, and she's really not that short :)

Her and her hubby, Matt. See she even wore the tiara! Such a sweet picture!

Here comes the cake! Hope all your wishes come true! :)

My good friend, Jen, had a birthday today.

With the help of her husband, we was able to surprise her with a fun evening out at a Hibachi grill restaurant (yummy!!!), and an unplanned (brief) trip into the mall and to a movie with our hubbies (and my kids for part of the evening. Hers were supposed to be there too, but our covert operation of communication was evidently TOO covert, because there was a miscommunication and they didn't come. So fortunately for us, Dan's dad came and picked up our kids after dinner and then we were able to extend the evening to catch a movie and make a brief stop into the mall).

We made her wear a tiara, since she was the 'princess of the evening' and she was a good sport and wore it all through dinner :)

Hope u enjoy all the pictures ;0

misc. stuff

Here are just a few miscellaneous pictures from the last several weeks. Above is our back deck cover in snow on Valentine's day. I can't believe how much snow we have gotten this year!

This is T putting on lipstick one of her friends gave her for her birthday. No, I don't let her wear that stuff, I just let them use it at the sleepover. They had a ball. For having a mom who doesn't even wear any of that stuff (so she doesn't see ME primping with it), she certainly has a big desire to wear it!

I woke up Sunday March 21st to find my hubby and T making homemade monkey bread together! Wasn't that sweet?! Yes, in the background you'll notice I still haven't taken down that Christmas wreath we received this year made with real boughs. At first I figured I'd just keep it up till it started shedding all the needles, but it really hasn't , and now that its April I'm sort of on a mission to see how long it actually WILL last. I know , silly, but that's me. :)

Here is T with her sister and friends at her birthday party. Aren't they adorable?

Snow again (!) on T's birthday! crazy weather!

my big girl :(

For T's 9th birthday this month she very specifically asked for a cropped jean jacket. She went into explicit detail describing what type of jacket she wanted. This is the first time she has asked for an article of clothing with so many specifications. (When her sister got a vest, she asked for one, but she's never asked for something before that she didn't see her sister get first). So I knew she really wanted this and it must mean a lot to her, so I looked and looked and finally found exactly what she wanted (at a consignment shop no less!) and gave it to her for her birthday. She was very happy and has worn it EVERY day since then. She loves it.

I, however, look at her in this hip cute jacket and all I can think of is how grown up my little girl looks. Its actually heart-wrenching. My sweet little girl, is beginning to look like a hip little tween---eeeeek! Here is a photo of what I'm dealing with, I bet u can understand. I'm happy for her, but at the same time it makes me sad because she doesn't look so little to me anymore :( I guess she's really growing up. eeek!

The first picture is her putting it on as soon as she opened it. The second one is with her cheese pie (our family's traditional birthday 'cake' for 3 generations now). (Do notice she is holding a Barbie though (still my little girl!) the doll was actually mine when I was a kid and I gave it to her for her birthday this year as well-she was so excited. The third picture really shows that 'big girl' look that I was talking about, aawwww.

Happy birthday to my sweetie!

Today my sweetie 'T' turns 9 years old. Wow... I can't believe it was 10 years ago that I was pregnant for the first time and wondering what would become of this bulge in my belly. All those wonderful feelings of feeling her moving in my tummy for the first time. The bliss of not knowing what was to come (ha ha) so, being ignorant, enjoying every moment. I remember how HARD she used to kick her heel into my side. She was incredibly strong and mobile!
Wow, that precious baby the first time I held her in my arms. I fell in love at first sight. She was perfect. I immediately loved her SO MUCH. Before she was born, I have to admit I was scared. I didn't know if I could really love her enough. But the moment I saw her, there was no doubt. She stole my heart completely and hasn't given it back since. Fortunately my heart grew bigger so there was room when her sister came along :) I still can't believe she is 9 years old and in 3rd grade. WHERE does the time go!? I want to freeze frame it or at least slow it down. Can we have 48hrs in a day instead of 24? please? I love my kids so much and I love just watching them and smiling about their actions. Its hard to describe each instance or put it into words, I just get a kick out of the little personalities that I see developing in each of them. Its so cute.

I have to say also... I am thankful. I am thankful that my little girl is still such a little girl. Sure she has fun with nail polish and wishes her mom would let her wear eye shadow (which I don't), but she still truly enjoys playing with dolls, barbies, stuffed animals, playing school or dress up or waitress/restaurant or make-believe. She is constantly re-making and re-decorating her little dollhouse which not only houses dolls but all sorts of mini pets as well. I love it. I love that she is still a little girl. Once they go to school they get so many outside influences, and influences from their friends who may have older siblings that its sad to see them grow up too quick. So once again, I am glad I have a little girl who is still little :) I hope it lasts quite a while as I am not yet ready for her to become a truly big girl just yet. Happy birthday T, I love you!

40 is approaching

My husband turns 40 in 5weeks, I want to do something special. Does anyone have any super special ideas?
When he turned 30 I gave him a surprise party and even arranged for his brother and a good friend from out of town to fly in and be here when he walked into the party. It was definatetly a surprise and he really liked it. I also arranged one year for our family to go to Sea World to celebrate his birthday as a surprise. That also was a lot of fun. But now with T being in school we probably can't go on a mini-birthday-vacation, and with the current economy none of his friends would be able to fly in for a party (and I'm not paying for them either), so... I need another idea. Do you have any? We certainly want to do something special since it is a milestone. Let me know if u have any great ideas.

W's 4th birthday party

The weekend after her actual birthday we had hosted a bday party for W and her friends at our house. It was her first ever, "friend" bday party. So exciting! (Not just family and adult friends, but her own, REAL friends-wow!) Anyway, most of her buddies are from my gym (they play in the nursery while their moms and I work out. So it was almost a playdate event for all of us-ha ha. We had two big Jupiter Jumps in the backyard and the kids jumped and jumped and jumped. Their cute little faces were all red and sweaty it was so cute. The weather wound up being beautiful (high 70's) so I didn't have to worry about moving it inside due to rain (which was original concern in planning it so far in advance). Wound up being a perfect day. She had so much fun playing with all her friends, and she received several cute, fun toys. This first picture is her with one of her gifts (a blow-up portable bed) which she proceeded to sleep on that night at grandma's when she went there to spend the night :)

Her is T and W doing flips. Look at W mid-air with her feet flying-too funny.

This is T practicing some cheerleading jumps my friend Ashley was teaching her. Look how good she did it-amazing!

And finally W and her cake, princesses of course :) It was yummy too!!!!!

Look who's 4!

T 's gift to W for her birthday was "breakfast in bed". She had the idea herself, and made the scrambled eggs herself. What a nice big sister!

Here is a picture of W getting ready to blow out the candles. I made the cake myself :)

This is a shot of W giving the "thumbs up" sign because she like the fishing pole, tackle box, and hat her grandparents gave her :)

My littlest sweetheart turned four this week. I can't believe it. Time goes by way too fast. I know they have to grow up , but I so enjoy them being "little". They are so sweet. I love it when W wraps her arms around my neck for no reason and says "I love you mommy" aaawwwww. Can't get enough of that!

We went to the mall for her birthday to let her ride the trampoline jumpy thing she has been asking to ride for 2 months. However, when we got there it was gone (internally I was regretting not letting her ride it sooner). Replacing it was a carosel, which of course I let her ride since the trampoline was gone. Then she played in the mall play area which she loves. Then of course I had to go into Children's Place to see if there were any good deals-walked out of there $75 later with a bunch of cute clothes for both the girls {on a side note, I buy WAY too many clothes for both of them. They have more clothes than some adults I'm sure, yet I can't stop myself, if its a good deal they are just too cute to pass up. I think its that whole Barbie-doll dress mentality that I spoke about with the laundry. I love getting them cute clothes.} Anyway, after leaving that store W says let's ask the carosel guy if the moved the jumpy thing. I honestly don't think they did. I am sure they just replaced it with the carosel, but sure enough when we ask, he says they moved it to the other end of the mall! So we head down there only to find out that after we are all ready to get strapped in, W is too scared to do it after all. :0 She says maybe she'll try it later if her sis does it with her, but for now she just clings to me and won't do it. (After literally 2 months of her begging me to let her do it everytime we drive by the mall!) silly goose! These were a few pictures to commemorate her actual birthday. She is having her first birthday "party" with her OWN friends on Sunday, so I am sure I will post more pictures after that :)

39 and loving it!

This was the beautiful box my birthday present came in. I tried to put these pictures at the end of this post, to go along with the storyline, but I messed up somehow and can't move them-so u get a preview of the ending LOL This is the beautiful ring that was inside the box. Isn't it lovely? I love it! :)

Today is my 39th birthday :)

When I turned 38 last year I had a "uh-oh" moment thinking "only TWO more years till I'm FOURTY!" But after about 6 months I got my mind turned around and decided I'm going to embrace this. I'm a 39 year old woman who loves her family and is blessed beyond measure by God through my family. I love my husband (who I've shared with you before about being the man who brought me to Christ and his awesome "studliness"), and I love my two adorable sweet girls! Who could ask for more?! Not me. But I AM even MORE grateful and blessed that we all have good health and we have the Lord in our lives to help us through each day (and year (: ). So who am I to worry about "39". I personally treat it like a badge of honor.

My goal when I was younger was to have climbed the corporate ladder successfully and have a happy, settled family by the time I was 35. Things "shifted" just a little (we started our family when I was 30-so my kids were still very young at 35-in fact I think I was pregnant at 35-so my "family" was still "new" and not "happily settled" as I had imagined. And , after a shift in my career goals, I didn't land at the corporate headquarters as originally planned, but I was happier and still successful in my job until I "retired" in 2004.

So, to me, turning 39 is a badge of honor. I reached all the goals I had set, and then some. More than I could have imagined back when I was 21 yrs old making those goals. God is amazing, and I thank Him every day for the life He allows my husband and I to live. We have a roof over our heads, our kids have food to eat and shoes on their feet. Life is good. So, for me, I say

"39 doesn't scare me... Happy Birthday to Me" its a GREAT day! I look forward to many more great years with my family in the future :)

Let me tell you about the wonderful time I have had celebrating my birthday...

You can see from the previous posts, I had lots of fun doing my $10 shopping with two GREAT friends! Then I had a fabulous time out with my hubby for dinner/shopping/movie. But I have to share with you some of my "thoughts"...

I like to pick out my own jewelry (and quite honestly, MOST of my presents-does that mean I'm a control freak? :) possibly). Anyway, a local jeweler was having a half-off sale this weekend (thurs-sat). So even though I had already gone and bought myself a new watch for my birthday last week (I say W actually got it for me since she was with me when I found it and bought it LOL), I stopped by this jeweler after the gym on thursday to see if they had anything fantastic since I was sort of looking to get another anniversary band to either wear with my wedding set or put on my right hand. I had already gone back to Israel Diamonds and hadn't found anything that got my attention, so I figured what the heck. I don't want to pay "retail" after knowing I can get "wholesale" at Israel, but if its half off that's about wholesale price anyway so it might be a decent price I figured.

So anyway, I stop in and look at every item in every case. Then I find it. Its beautiful. Its a right-hand diamond band with a row of princess and baguette diamonds in the middle, then on each side is a row of smaller round diamonds. Its white gold and its stunning.

Now, I've bought "$100" jewelry for myself, and I even bought the watch for myself. But I don't buy "big" jewelry for myself. My husband has to buy those for me because even though I do pick it out and "hold" it with the salesperson. Its more romantic if he goes to get it and gives it to me :)

So, I give the guy my name and tell him that I hope by hubby will be by to get it. He writes down the code on the ring so he'll know which one, yada yada yada.

So I go home and tell my husband that even though I already bought my birthday present, I have JUST THE THING that he should get me for Christmas, but he has to do it by Saturday because the sale only lasts till then. He laughs and tells me I'm dreaming and he's not buying anymore jewelry for me, especially right now with this economy. I don't take "no" for an answer though-do I ever? (sometimes I actually do) But anyway, I continue to give him the occasional hint that its really pretty and he could pick it up on his way to meet me for dinner Friday. He says I'm crazy and I kinda think he really isn't going to get it. I'm a little sad. But I can't pout, because I love my hubby and our love is more important than trinkets.

Then Saturday rolls around, and I start "dreaming scenarios" in my head.

Maybe, since we drove separate cars again, and are meeting up for dinner. He'll have gotten the ring, and surprise me at our "birthday dinner" at this nice restaurant.

It was a fantastic meal and great restaurant experience. But no ring. Bummer.

We head to the mall and then a movie, then home to bed. I am exhausted after this full day of run, run, run, fun fun fun.

Then in the morning he wakes up early (as usual) and is trying to entice me to wakeup. I'm sleepy and tell him since its my birthday he should rub my back if he's "so awake" so I can rest and sleep. He of course does convince me to wake up, and then proceeds to tell me I should go to the bathroom....

where I find, the beautiful purple box pictured at the beginning of this post. I of course say its so beautiful I need my camera to take a picture of just the box LOL , so I take my pictures and he humors me while I shoot away.

He's so sweet, he really DID surprise me. I had it all planned out, but he did it HIS way, which actually does make it even more romantic. :) Thank you honey! I love it, and even more importantly, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOXOXO

But even though we already celebrated my birthday yesterday, TODAY is actually my birthday. Dan makes me a yummy breakfast then we head to church where I am overwhelmed by all the birthday well-wishers. So sweet! We then went out to lunch with a large crowd to celebrate not only my birthday, but Rick's birthday, and to "send off" Brandon who is heading out to pioneer a new church in another town. We had a fantastic time with friends and family. Thank you all for making my birthday so special!