Day at the Park...

Finally we had clear sunny skies yesterday! :-)

Why do the boys get the great lashes? ...

Oh he's just so sweet!!! :)

Well the clouds are back today...time to get creative...

Family Date for Valentines Day!

I was sooooo excited when Jay called and told me he got the family tickets to go see "Disney on Ice" for Valentines day. We surprised the kids by waiting until Valentines to tell them. We had so much fun! Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! Thank you again honey for making it special! ;)











On our way in... ( I crack up at how they all have the same back end and walk) lol...

Catching Up...

Birthdays, Birthdays & more Birthdays!!! In the end of December my little Brenden turned 7!!! Wow how did that happen; when did that happen? And in January my little girl turned 10!!! Never in my dreams did I think that would have flown by as quick as it did. It seems like yesterday we were potty training these two.

" If Motherhood teaches us anything; it's that we can't change our children...we can only change ourselves. So...instead of wishing that the kids could be different somehow, you try to see everyday whats already good in each of them and love that...because any moment now your going to be hugging a daughter that's turned into a Woman, or standing on your tiptoes saying goodbye to a son that's suddenly 6 ft. tall and heading off to college half way across the country..." - Katrina Kenison

Here is a picture of my little munchkin at 2 years old- is she not just super adorable? I just love her laughter...
Here she is now at 10 years old; wearing bump its on occasion (lol) seriously; and spending a lot of quality time in her own room. I so remember being her age; constantly imagining what my life would be like as a teenager. If there is one thing I hope I can teach her; that is to slow down and not grow up too fast. Maybe she's not growing up too fast and she's right on track- maybe I'm just afraid of her growing up. This is something I need to pray about and not be afraid of.





And my handsome 7 year old boy; who's so far grown up to love Star Wars, Motocross, All Sports & making friends. He is just like his Daddy. He is a total "friends" kind of guy just like my husband. My husband has a group of best buddies that are literally there for eachother in every aspect of eachothers life. They can all count on eachother and share such a close friendship that I absolutely admire. That's the kind of boy Brenden is; already at this age he takes his friendships seriously. He's an AWESOME friend just like Daddy.
And then there is my birthday... I am 31! Now talk about time flying I don't even know how I got to 30; much less 31! I had such a nice birthday; I kept the kids home from school all because it was stormy and I was baking red velvet cupcakes from scratch. YUMMY!!!
This was a 1st time for me... so I had to take pictures. I just love the color!
My beautiful children made such a big deal out of my birthday. They even crowned me Queen for the day...This is what the scroll said...He even got down on one knee when presenting me with the crown!!! How precious...
And it didn't end there; my dear friend here in Sacramento called me to see if she could come over with her boys and bring me a birthday cake to share with me; I feel so blessed to have met such a sweet friend up here. I've said it before and I'll say it again adjusting to Northern Cal. would not have been easy without her. I feel so blessed to have met someone as genuine as she is.
Oh and this woman can cook!!! She has such a passion for culinary arts she inspires me. For my birthday she gave me a great cookbook; I've already tried 2 recipes- and they were so easy and so full of flavor. 1.) Pulled Pork chipotle sandwiches (not pictured) 2.) Pulled pork soft tacos in the crock pot (below)...

Thank you so much Debbie!!! And I'm sure my husband is thankful for this cookbook too! :)

Here are some more pictures of sweet Jimmy Cocoa Puff. He is such a sweet boy.

Heres Jimmy home sick from school; laying on our sweet Hailey Dog!

Happy Valentines to everyone this week! If I get around to it I'll update my blog again for that holiday. All though...look how long it took to blog our birthdays. ;)

Playing around with my blog...

So I have changed background pages like I change clothes. That's it I think it's time to order a customized one! hmmmmm...maybe someday.;)
I have so many pictures to share from mine and Shianne's birthday this month. Can't seem to find the time to download them though. Thought I would also share a special something I read last night...might I add LATE last night. It was written by Greg Laurie. Boy oh boy did I need to read this last night. I just love how God works. I mean really... just look at the title! Did I mention I was up "late" last night?...
_________________________________________________________________

God Works the Night Shift

Share

Yesterday at 4:43pm

It’s 3:00 A.M., the house is quiet, your family members are asleep, it is warm, it is dark, and you should be asleep . . . but your mind is racing, your heart is pounding, and worries overwhelm you.

You might be thinking about the pressing needs of a tomorrow that will find you unprepared, or it may be an area of concern—financial, relational, or employment. You may even find yourself continually in a place where you are out of hope and out of peace. A place that points to a spiritual separation from God that leaves you vulnerable and open to attacks of anxiety and the enemy.

There is something about this part of the night that seems to magnify all of these problems, and I am not sure exactly why that is. Maybe that is why the psalmist said “He guards us from the flaming arrows at night.”

Pray, and let God worry

I am convinced that we need God’s help, not only when we are alert and awake but even when we are sleeping. I think that it’s a great thing to end the day in prayer, as you get ready to go to sleep. I know that I do. It has been said that God works the nightshift, and it is so true.

But the best place to start is back at the beginning of each new day. Start your day in prayer, committing your decisions, your challenges, whatever you are going to face that day to the Lord. And then, as I suggested, end your day with prayer too. In each instance, our prayer should be, “Lord, here it is. I commit it to You.”

It reminds me of a quote from Martin Luther, “Pray and let God worry.” I like that. Not that God worries, but the idea is that you should pray about it, rather than worry about it.

Is something troubling you right now?

Let me ask you right now, is there something troubling you? Is there something eating at you? Bothering you? Irritating you? Causing you to be afraid?

Pray about it, right now. Just say, “Lord, I can’t handle it.” Philippians says, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”

So don’t worry. Pray. You will sleep, and live, much better.