Winter Fun

Well here it is, the end of March, and we're just not sure if winter is over.  We never got a "really good" snow in my opinion.  But now, we have a threatened winter storm tonight, on March 23rd, so we'll see!  Here are some of our random, winter activities:

Hannah got to attend two Salt Fork Basketball games this winter.  For the first one, my parents picked her up and took her.  I'm pretty sure that's the first time Hannah was "picked up" and taken somewhere while Josh and I were at home.  It felt kind of funny, like she was grown up.  "Oh, Hannah's just running out the door for the basketball game!"  The next time, I took both of the kids with my mom while Josh was in Dallas for work.  Popcorn & M&Ms entertained us for awhile!

Mom and I took the kids to the indoor park at First Christian Church one day.  They had fun, and then we did a little shopping and eating in Champaign.  We tried out the new Buca di Beppo.  I was more impressed than my mom with the food.  She's a food snob-ha!

We had a few play-doh days with our new play-doh from Christmas.

We went to the church park in January!  It wasn't too cold, so we took advantage of it!

Hannah gave out Valentines for the first time.  She took La La Loopsy Valentines to her Thursday school.  

The kids and I played in the snow one day, but when Jacob saw the fence to our neighbor's pool, he couldn't stop thinking about summer.  He just kept crying that he wanted to go to the "beach and sand."  This continued for 20 minutes after coming inside.  I'm with you, buddy!!!

One cold day in March, we decided to make homemade ice cream to wish in spring.  (That and I had some whipping cream that needed used up!)

Grandma Miller's 75th

We celebrated my Grandma Miller's 75th birthday at Biaggi's at the beginning of March.  Here she is with her three kids: Mary, Art, and Teresa (my mom).  

Hannah sat between Grandma Teresa and Uncle Phil

A rare picture with my dad, which I love.  Can you tell who I look like??

Georgetown Fair Queen Tea

Hannah, my mom, and I got to attend the Georgetown Fair Queen Tea at the beginning of March.  It is a fundraiser for the pageant's scholarship program, and since the Queen was from Catlin, it was a great year for us to attend!

Hannah wore her "pink Ariel" dress that Grandma Teresa made her.

Jacob is a princess in training.... oh no..... get this kid a brother!!!!

Lily, Violet, and Hannah

Hannah & Queen Hayley...almost as good as Cinderella!

Dancing and Hugging the Queen!

Hearts at Home 2013

My favorite thoughts from Hearts at Home 2013:

Jill Savage: Main Session (No More Perfect Moms!)-

Let your mess be your message!

Motherhood is the ministry of interruptions.  Expect interruptions!

Karen Ehman: LET. IT. GO.-

Mom's bleeding tongue is better than a child's badgered heart.

What's inside of you is what is going to spill out when you get "bumped."

Imperfect moments can make perfect memories.

Dana Blomberg: Loving Your Husband Toward Christ-

Make home a retreat for your husband.

Die to your right to be easily angered.

Zip it and pray!

My husband is my #1 ministry!

Dr. Rob Currie: The Magic of Parenting Preschoolers-

Preschoolers don't think logically; they think magically.  

       -"Statue Pills"  "Monster Spray"

Simple touches can make life magical for kids 

        -Cookie cutter shaped food

If there are things your kids fuss over:

        -Give it a name! (give foods a fun name, etc.)

        -Make it a game! (get the room cleaned before the "bomb" goes off)

Helen Lee: What is Missional Motherhood?-

Instead of critiquing or consuming culture, we should be CREATING culture.

       -Make your home a Missional Outpost

       -Create family Missional Opportunities

       -Create a culture of Sacrifice

And check this out.  My best friend Jennifer and I made the program!  

TRIPLETS!!!

My dear friend recently had TRIPLETS!!!  Can you believe that!?  It is amazing to me and so exciting!  It seems like yesterday she called and told me the news that she had just had an ultrasound showing THREE babies!  I was excited and overwhelmed for her!  She did amazing through her pregnancy and was very close to her goal of 34 weeks.  They are all healthy; praise God for many answered prayers!!!  In January, I got to hold all of them... at the same time!  They were about 7 weeks old at the time.  They are so precious!  

Their mommy is doing well but also has a toddler at home who keeps her busy.  He got to spend a few days with us near the end of her pregnancy and is spending a few days with us this week as well.  My kids LOVE having a friend here!

Josh is my Bachelor

At the risk of exposing my shallow side, I'm just going to say it.  I love watching The Bachelor.  I know, I know.  It's ridiculous.  There's so much drama.  And I'm not going to lie.  The drama sucks me in.  But more than that, I love to cheer for love.  I'm always hopeful that the Bachelor/Bachelorette will pick someone worth marrying and that they'll actually have a love that lasts a lifetime.  That rarely happens.  But I'm a hopeless romantic and the ultimate optimist.  So I keep watching and cheering for love.

A question that always comes up is, "What are you looking for in a spouse?"  They always have this "list" of things they're looking for.  I don't believe I ever made such a list.  Josh and I started dating at 15 with NO intention of getting married to each other!  I mean, when he asked me to be his girlfriend, I really wasn't sure if I even wanted to go out with him.  But I also wasn't sure that I didn't want to. So I said "yes, I'll be your girlfriend."  Well 15 years (and exactly half of our lives!) later, here we are.  Happy, married, house, kids, lifelong love, best friends.

But back to that question, "What are you looking for in a spouse?"  Taking Josh out of my thoughts for a moment, if I was looking for a spouse, I would want a man who loves Jesus, who loves me, who wants a family (and loves children!), who appreciates and supports me being a SAHM, who is trustworthy and faithful, and who is willing to work hard to support his family.  And being good looking would be an excellent bonus.  That's quite a list!  Only a very small percentage of men would fit the bill.  Well guess what?  Josh is ALL of those things and MORE!  Guess that's why I didn't look too long!

Josh, I love you forever and always.  I can't believe we've officially spent HALF OF OUR LIVES together. On the other hand, I literally can't remember life before you.  Thanks for being my best friend.  You are my Bachelor.  And I'm glad I didn't have to fight 24 other girls on national television to get you!

Hadley Elyse

My very first niece was born on Monday, February 4th.  My little brother Phil and his wife Erika had a little girl and named her Hadley Elyse!  I got to meet and hold her that night!!  Isn't she cute???  They didn't tell her name before she was born, so this is how they announced it: