Summer fun

It seems I've been playing catch up with each post...but I suppose that's just how life is lately.

We had a very relaxing Memorial day weekend splish splashin' in the backyard.

Little man loves the outside and the water so much he didn't flinch even when his lips had turned blue from the cold water.

We make our own waterfalls.

Seriously, who needs meat when you can have this amazingly yummy cucumber sandwich. Mmmmm. Sense the sarcasm here.

N was given a small soccer ball from his Grandpapa, so here he is practicing soccer skills before class. We signed N up for a summer class on Saturdays where a bunch of toddlers run around trying to do drills. Then every couple of minutes one of them breaks out into a cry...because they're 2. It's quite comical and next time I'll have to bring the video camera.

She is seriously all smiles....most of the time.

Sweet lovin' with Oma.

While company was here we headed outside in the evenings for some play time.

Playing catch outside.

Wooly has been apart of N's life from the beginning...but now he has started joining us for tea time, games and even gets sent to the corner once in awhile.

How can you resist this?

Are you stinky?

It's fun to see the two of them already playing together. Tea anyone?

Now I'm gearing up for more company as my mom flies in this weekend to visit for a week. Can't wait!

Seven years ago

It was 5 minutes to 2 p.m. that I was anxiously awaiting walking down the aisle to my soon-to-be husband. I had no doubt in my mind he was the one I was to spend the rest of my life with.

We had a beautiful wedding surrounded by people we love. I cherish the photos with Lucas' dad marrying us, and our best friends looking on.

The wedding party took a ride on Molly the Trolly over to the reception place at Wilderness Ridge.

Seven years later and I'm so thankful for how our family has grown, and for where our family is headed. I love you, Lucas, with all of my heart.

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:14-19

Grab a comfy seat :: It's gonna be a long one

Don't pass out. Yes, I'm finally writing a post. In my defense, I have some good reasons for my absence in the blogging world. I've had some health issues I've been battling lately, and while I'm still seeing doctors and doing research of my own, I'm so thankful to be back at it and feeling a little bit more like myself again!

Lots of changes have been happening over the last month and a half (has it really been Easter since the last time I blogged???)

:: we put down wood flooring throughout our downstairs and tiled all of the bathrooms and laundry room. Lovin' it! Still need to take a picture to share.

:: I'm transitioning to a vegan diet. Yep. I need all of the prayer I can get on this one, but our hope is that my health will flourish because of it.

:: I finally made homemade laundry detergent. Super easy.


:: little Miss has one tooth.


:: little Miss has two teeth.


:: we've reached the baby food stage. She doesn't quite get the eating part just yet, which makes a frustrating time for mommy and daddy. I don't ever remember wearing the food after feeding N when he was a baby, but with this little girl I end up with it all over me.


:: it's hot here. What do you do when your child wants to play outside and it's about to reach boiling point? Send him out with a spray bottle.


:: we created "the spot." With it being SOOO hot outside here, N has very limited time to go outdoors. When it is deemed cool enough, he gravitates toward his spot. Perfectly shaded and a great place to just chill and do your thing. I'm beginning to think I need a spot...

Oh, and the hose nozzle in his hand serves as his microphone. All of the neighbors get to hear his daytime show.

:: M loves to play with her little piggies.


:: something about sibling love. A little push here, a little shove there. Would you ever guess she is the one who starts it all?


Don't worry...they usually end up like this. They luuurve each other.


:: can you believe this sweet girl is almost 7 months old?


:: she hit the 18 pound mark a couple of weeks ago.

:: her FAVORITE song is Jesus Loves Me. Her face lights up every time you sing it.

:: she has the same amount of hair that N does.

:: my big baby boy is creating all sorts of new parenting challenges for us. We're working on lots of new things.


:: his favorite song to request is "Jingle Bells." My husband is to thank for this.

:: after much heartfelt searching, praying, and seeking wisdom of others, we've decided to fully commit ourselves to giving homeschool a go. What a huge leap of faith but we're oh so excited for the rewards we believe it will reap for our family. While N isn't quite school age yet, it was important to make this decision now since it will impact conventions and conferences we will go to this next year to prepare. I'm starting to get my feet wet with some pre-school lessons this summer. I'll let you know how it goes!

Sigh. It's amazing when I look back at all of the changes just within a little over a month's time. New challenges to face and new adventures to begin. So grateful we get to do them all as a family.

Easter weekend

We had a wonderful, sunny Easter weekend together as a family. I had wanted to do some fancy egg dying but settled for a late night of dipping them in solid colors so little man could get to bed. Bad planning on my part, but I was determined he'd at least get to dye some.

We're still trying to figure out exactly how our family wants to celebrate different holidays. I LOVE tradition and want everything to have meaning and memories behind it. This year we decided to ditch toys and such (don't they have enough of those anyway?) and opted to fill the Easter baskets with new books for spring! And baby girl got her pink bunny I had been looking for. N has a matching lamb from when he was born.

I have no idea what we'll do in the future, but if you have some great traditions I'd love to hear them. And if you have any tricks for getting a little man to keep his shirt tucked in, I'd love to hear those too!

Our desire for our family is to really focus on, and teach, what Easter is all about -- the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We decided to do a Resurrection Easter egg hunt this year which N loved. He was excited to get to collect all of the eggs and open each one up as they revealed the story of Easter in a tangible way.

Since it was just our little family this year, and the weather was beautiful outside, we cooked ham and pineapple on the grill for lunch. Yum! The cheesecake birds nests I made were from this new blog.

Thank you, Jesus, who died and rose again on Easter to break us free from our sin, and nothing else.

Deep and Wide

We've been working on teaching the kids some of the typical Sunday school songs. You know, the ones with the marching and motions that make you work up a sweat? These are the expressions I received while I marched to "I'm in the Lord's Army."

Yep, I can't tell you how much those joyful faces give me the motivation to keep on going and not feel like a dork. But don't worry, N was up and moving for "Deep and Wide."

Have you seen?

Have you seen the newest clothing and home line carried by Target called Liberty of London? Super cute!

And I love that they carry the clothing all the way from baby to women. They have a little Anthropologie flare to them at a much more affordable price. I know Anthropologie is all the rage in the blogging world. I'll probably get shot for saying this (trust me, I love all of their stuff), but I always had a hard time justifying paying the price for non-sale Anthropologie clothes because they just didn't seem like they were all that well made. I did have something fall apart on me after it was washed. Who am I kidding? Even if they were well made I couldn't justify paying their price. Please don't send me hate mail for saying that. So I was excited to see some of the new things Target is putting out there for prices like $9.99. I was desperately trying to think of a reason why I needed some of the home decor line but came up with nothing.

I did however come up with this reason...

...to come home with this.

I've had to take a little break from the computer over the last couple of weeks due to some health problems. But hopefully I can get back in the game and you can forgive me after seeing these photos of my cutie-pies.

Baby girl started to roll over two weeks ago. She wasn't thrilled when she did a face plant into the carpet.

But once she realized her accomplishment and saw mommy's face she was all smiles.

We headed to the Ostrich Festival in Chandler a couple of weekends ago. We just made it in time to see the end of the ostrich and camel races. Hilarious.

All it takes are some weird looking animals to keep this two-year old entertained. And the weather couldn't have been better.

At the festival there was also a petting zoo, which N loved. We couldn't believe how excited he was to get to feed the goats (although he called them dogs at first).

He even let them lick his hands and munch on his little fingers.

Rainy and lazy days mean bringing out the creative projects and games. I kept trying to teach N how to line them all up but he'd knock them down after a few. I eventually gave up.

I'm not sure there is anything sweeter than a content baby just happy to be next to you.

With our little girl's excitement to roll over and sit up she's pretty much done with being content to just lie around. It's time to bring out the monstrous exersaucer.