VBS

Today was our first day at VBS at Northside and it was a huge SUCCESS!! :):) This is our second year at VBS and my kiddos have been talking about it ALL month long!! :) Maddie and Zack were SO EXCITED to go and be with their friends and learn about Jesus!! They were also quite excited to learn a new theme song and just enjoy being with their friends! I grew up going to VBS, so it is very special to me too! I am SO excited that my kiddos get the chance to be blessed by all of the time and energy our church puts into this program!! They realize that for some kiddos, this might be their first {and only} chance at learning about the Bible!! We LOVE VBS!!

As I mentioned previously, this is our second year at VBS!! Last year looked MUCH different that this year!! At this time last year we had just started attending our new church and we were so anxious about the new-ness that it was!!! I had gone to many activities with Northside growing up (my family attended a sister church throughout my childhood:)) but it was different going as an adult!! I was so worried about whether we would like it there, or if anyone would talk to us...you know! If you have ever left a church and gone to a new one, you know exactly the feelings I am describing!! It is {SCARY!!} BUT, God is SO gracious and we have found so many new and dear friendships! Wyatt and I feel totally blessed!!! God's hand really has been in our move, and we are so thankful for His leading and for His perfect timing!!

Today, as we walked into VBS, instead of feeling nervous or anxious, we had friends waiting for us to go to class! :):) As we walked down the hall, different friends hugged on us and told us how excited they were that we were there!! It was an incredible blessing!!! I hope that we, The Jenkins family, will be a blessing to others who just need to be loved on!! :)

AND, we can't WAIT for the rest of this week!!!!! :):):):)

Breaking Habits--Part 1

For as long as I can remember I've been a nail biter!!I think I might have been born biting my nails! It is a habit that I have always "just had" but that my husband HATES!! :) About 4 weeks ago we were hanging out with some of our besties and the wife mentioned that her husband used to bite his nails!! So, being the annoyed husband of a nail biter, my husband whips out "How did you get him to stop??" She went on to tell us {me} how many germs there are under your nails and how grimy our hands are!! Well, of course these are all things that I know, but after hearing it from her...I had to think!!! After I thought about that for about a minute, I decided that I was DONE being a nail biter!! :) So, here we are 4 weeks later and my nails are gorgeous!! I LOVE painting them and having them long!! (Well for me they are long, but they are growing!!:)) So {YAY} for breaking one bad habit!! I am excited to share with you all a few of the other bad habits I am working on breaking!!

A Princess Party

We celebrated my Maddie's 4th birthday with a Princess Party!! She LOVES Princesses through and through!! She loves to dress up as a Princess, she loves to read about Princesses and she loves to talk about ANY thing Princess!! She is my girly-girl all the way {and I wouldn't have it ANY other way!!} We woke up on her birthday, sang to her and told her her birth story (of course without the "interesting" details, just with all of the cute parts! :) Then we headed over to my parents house so I could finish up the last minute details (which I LOVE!!:)) Wyatt took M and Z for a delicious breakfast at McDonalds so mom and I could have a few minutes to finish everything up!! I have to make a HUGE shout out to my parents for graciously hosting Maddie's party every year!! I think they love it, just as much as we do, but we are SO THANKFUL for their thoughtfulness and generosity!! It is one of our favorite traditions!! :):)

Finally our Princess came and we got her dressed in her *new* Cinderella dress that we got her from the Disney Store, complete with a sparkly tiara!! Oh, her eyes lit UP as she twirled in the mirror just admiring herself! :) She was SO EXCITED for her friends to come!! One by one her sweet friends came through the door!!! She was such a good little hostess!! We started off our party by decorating cinch sac's for each of her guests, then we colored Princess pictures and played dress up!! After a lunch of ALL of Maddie's favorites (mini corn dogs, mac and cheese, cheeto puffs, chips and dip, spinach dip and hot dogs) she opened her birthday gifts (given so thoughtfully by each friend) decorated cup cakes and then sang to our favorite birthday girl!! She was just delighted!! :) It was the perfect day and we are SO THANKFUL for all who made it fabulous!! :):)

A Love Note to My Maddie

Dear Sweet Daughter!

I can hardly believe you are going to be 4 on Saturday!!! Can that really be true!? You are my pride and JOY, my Maddie Joy!! God knew that I needed you in my life and I am SO thankful that He blessed me with your precious little life!! He knew that I needed a little girl to enjoy the beautiful things in life with!! I love hanging out with you...you love crafts and baking and all things girly, you just make me smile! I LOVE this about you!! You bring me so much joy! Never could I have imagined how much you would be like me...it is a blessing and it is also kind of scary! I pray over you SO much, knowing all the things that lay ahead for you...I pray that you will make better decisions than I did during certain points in my life!! I pray you will SEEK Him, in ALL things!! I pray that God will bless you with some awesome girl friends and that you will stick tight to each other all throughout life! I pray that you will find your identity in Christ and that He will be the center of your life, even when it gets tough!! These things and SO many more I pray for you my sweet, precious daughter!! You are the daughter of my heart and I love you so much!!!

You are such a beautiful girl, both on the inside and out!! You are so happy and full of JOY!!! You love your brother and your friends and you would do ANYthing to help them, or make them feel better!!! You are such a good listener and at night when I am tucking you in when you ask "Mommy, did I obey you today?" it melts my heart!! You have such a gentle spirit and you are so soft hearted!! I love the way you love your family!! You would always choose a girls' day away with your Ga-Ga, Tre-Tre and I over anything else!! I pray that we can be a good example to you!! The three of us are all very similar, but also very different and I pray that we can lavish love and affirmation on you, in all of the ways you need!! Oh, how we love you!!

I have never seen a daddy melt with love, the way your daddy did when he saw you for the first time!! OH, he is SO proud of you!!! He often tells you stories about how you and he would nap together every day when you were just a little baby!! :) You would lay on his chest and off to sleepy time you would both go!! :) That was such special bonding time for you two!! You love to hear stories about you when you were a baby!! (You are so cute!:)) Sometimes, when you are feeling sad or a little insecure about something, you climb onto your daddy's lap and rest your head against his chest!! He and I LOVE you SO much!!

Maddie Joy, I pray that this year will be your best year yet!! I pray that God will continue to knock on your heart and that you will continue to listen to Him in all that you do!! As you start school, I pray that you will SHINE for Jesus!! I am SO proud of the little girl you are!! You are a blessing to your mommy!!! I love you my Maddie!!!!

My Favorites!

These are some of my new favorite pictures of my kiddos!! :) They LOVE each other SO MUCH and love to be together!! :) It is pretty precious! :) This top picture was taken as we were heading out the door to have our weekly Tuesday lunch with Ga-Ga!! I love the way the wrapped their arms around each other, even without me asking! :) They are truly great friends!! They love to be together, no matter where they are!! If one of them goes somewhere, the other usually follows!! I hope we can raise our kiddos to NOT be competitive against each other!! I want them to have a healthy and fun drive to be great at whever they do, but I DON'T want them to feel like they have to out do the other at all times!! We want them to grow up being proud of thier siblings for their achievements!! {Lord, hear our prayers!!}











The picture was taken just last week as we were getting ready to go swimming!! It is definitely a PERK to have a really nice swimming pool in our neighborhood!! We look forward to swimming ALL winter, so once the pool is open, we are THERE!! :) They look SO cute in their swimming suits!! :)













BEST friends!! They melt my heart!! I LOVE them SO much!!!!

Today I got to spend the day with a dear friend! I woke up with JOY just at the thought of the conversations we would have, and the laughter we would share!! :) Veronica and I go waaay back and I am so thankful for the history that we have together!! It is so wonderful to have a lifelong friendships!! God has blessed both Wyatt and I with several life long friends...and for these true friends, we are deeply thankful!! I have been so excited for her to come and hang out with us and today was a truly blessed day!!! My sweet friend is a missionary (so I am going to be pretty careful about how much I write!! :))!! Her and her husband and children have taken on God's awesome call to teach His Word to people all over!! It is A-MAZING to hear her stories and to watch her share about her friends that are coming to know and love God!!! She loves, serves and honor's God in EVERYTHING that she does, I love to watch her in action!! I am SO PROUD of the woman she is! She is simply one of the COOLEST ladies I know!! Someday, when she moves back here, I am fairly certain we will hang out every day, talking and laughing and living it up!!! I love you Vern, thanks for an AWESOME day!! :):)

4th of July

We enjoyed the BEST 4th of July weekend!! It was jam pack with all of our favorite things to do!! :) It started out with Wyatt being on vacation and has gotten better and better each day!! Here is a run down of our 4th of July festivities!!

Friday--Wyatt was OFF and a wonderful day of our sweet little family!! Friday night, we had our friends the Colvette's over!! They have 3 precious kiddos that LOVE our kiddos, so it was just perfect evening for our family all the way around! :) After we put our kiddos to sleep, we enjoyed an evening of friend time!!! We LOVE the Colvette's and are so thankful for the friendship we share with them!!

Saturday--Breakfast at Hemingway's with my family and my Grandpa Hoffreth and his lady "friend!" My kiddos L-O-V-E Bass Pro, so you can only imagine their excitement that we got to eat there before we roamed around!! We had the best time!! That night we went out to dinner with the Grider's and then headed to their house for dessert and games!! We put our kiddos to bed there and enjoyed the grand 'ol game of Domino's until about 4 a.m.!! It was a BLAST!!! Again, we are so thankful for dear friends!!!

Sunday--CHURCH!! We LOVE our church and are so blessed by the time we spend there!! The sermon was just what we needed to hear!! We spent the afternoon and evening at my parents house!! It was the perfect Sunday!!

Monday--We got up EARLY to begin our 4th of July festivities!! Our tradition is to go to Marshfield (where my grandparents live) to watch the 4th of July parade (it is the old fashioned parade that is about an hour and a half long with all of the bands and floats and old car's, etc!! We LOVE it!! :)) and then we head out to their house for the afternoon!! This year we were SO blessed to have two of our favorite families join us! The Wessley's and the Grider's came out to hang with us for the day!! It. was. PERFECT!!!!

Tuesday--Our DOWN day!! We slept in and enjoyed the morning around our house! Then we got out to meet my parents for lunch!! After everyone enjoyed a nap (we were wiped out!!:)) wegot up and watered our new flower garden and enjoyed some time outside!! Last night I enjoyed a girls night with some precious new friends!! *Blessed!*

We love each season of life and we are so thankful for all that God provides!! :):)

My Little Dancing Machine!!

We pretty much have dance parties like this EVERY day!! But today, my little guy decided to jam to the music of one of his super cool toys!! (This is his fav right now!!:)) Don't you LOVE it that he has his perfect ending!! :):) I LOVE this little guy SO SO SO MUCH!!!! (Disclaimer: please ignore the annoying proud momma's voice in the background!!:))

Happy Father's Day!

We had the best weekend!! :) I LOVE spending time with my sweet husband, and, I LOVE to celebrate him on special occasions for the wonderful man that he is!! We have a lot of traditions in my family {which I love} and Father's day is one of them!! So early yesterday morning, Maddie, Zack and I got up, and the kiddos and I made breakfast for our sweet daddy!! I asked them what they wanted to make and they said chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter on top! (Of course this is THEIR favorite breakfast, but I knew Wyatt wouldn't mind too much!!:)) They are such good little helpers, and they were SO proud that they had helped for daddy's special day!! :) During breakfast we talked about ALL of the things we love about daddy! (Some of my favorites-Maddie: Daddy, you are soooo handsome...Zack: Daddy you are SO good at playing trains and flying the "heli-hopter"!! :)) My two J's L-O-V-E their daddy! :):) Then... it was time for gifts...and they were SO excited!! They presented Wyatt each of their gifts and, as he was opening each gift, they told him what it was!! :)

On the way to church we talked more about daddy and how much we love him!! Wyatt was just beaming, he LOVES being a daddy!! He loves being a daddy SO much, and you can totally see it in the way he plays with, and loves on our kids every single moment of every single day!! After church we headed to my parents and enjoyed lunch with them!!! After lunch, we put M and Z down for naps and Wyatt and I headed out to run a few errands! When we got back, we put on our walking clothes and headed out the door for a long walk!! I love walking and talking with Wyatt!! I think we have had some of our deepest conversations while taking long walks! We love to dream together!! You know, like really talk in depth about all of the things we desire for our family...what we want to see our kiddos become...how we want to live life with them at home...ALL of the things we want to teach them that matter, and ALL of the things that DON'T MATTER!! We had the best conversation (and walked for well over and hour! :)) When we got back to my parents house my sister, brother-in-law and nephew were there! After talking with them for a few minutes, I heard two little J's voices...they were ready to get up and PLAY!!! So, we spent the rest of the evening enjoying Mexican food, swimming and hanging out together as a family!!! :) We got home late last night, but didn't mind at all!! It was the perfect day!!!!

An exciting June!!

Here are ALL of events I LOVE that take place in June and July!! I LOVE THE SUMMER!!

** June 19th--Father's Day!! I am so thankful for Wyatt!! He is an AMAZING daddy to our kiddos!! When he comes home, they just want to be in his presence and follow him around telling him ALL about our day! :):) I couldn't ask for a better father for my children!!

Also, I LOVE my dad so much! He is an awesome Godly man and has taught me so much about loving God, honoring Him and serving Him! His entire life is an example of that!! I love the tradition we have with Father's Day! My Grandpa E. will also be there, and my kiddos are SO excited!!

**June 21st--Wyatt's birthday was last Tuesday and we had some SUPER fun surprises for him!! It was his 30th birthday and I hope a birthday he won't forget!! ;)

**June 24th--Wyatt's SURPRISE birthday party!! It was AWESOME!!!!!!! :):) We ordered pizza and hung out with our friends until VERY late, or should I say EARLY in the morning! :) {PERFECT!!}

**June 25th--Our Anniversary Dinner!!! Oh, it was just perfect!! Some dear friends of ours hung out with our kiddos so we could spend an evening together, just the two of us!! We had the best time remember our special day together!! It is always fun to hear "his side" of our day!! :):)

**June 25-27th--my Grandpa will be here (my mom's dad!:)) He hasn't visited Springfield in a LONG time (4 years to be exact:)) so I am excited to have him hang with us for a few days!!

**JULY 4th--We have a fabulous family tradition in Marshfield, where my grandparents live!! They have an awesome old fashioned parade that is SO fun!! We always sit at the same spot and have for as long as I can remember!! Then we head to my Grandparents house for the rest of the day! Some of our friends have started coming with us, so we are thrilled to have them joining us again this year!! It is absolutely one of my FAVORITE holidays with my family!!

**June 30th-July 11th Wyatt is taking VACATION TIME!!!! WHOO-HOO!!! We look forward to this time every year! I can't WAIT to fill up our week with fun!! We are going to head to Branson for a couple of nights/days, hang out at the zoo, go to the pool and SO much more!! WHOO-HOO!!

**July 12th-17th--Rally!! I get to go to Texas for almost a week with some REALLY cool girls!! We are going to SHOP, laugh, hang out, and LEARN!!!! :):) I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT!!! :):) This will be my first time away from my two J's, but I am EXCITED!!! :):) (What can I say?! I LOVE my kiddos?!!?:))

Can you see why I am so excited for summer!?!?

Wal-Mart

Today, my kiddos and I headed out to Wal-Mart!! We were is DESPERATE need of some groceries, and there is no one I would rather shop with than my M and Z (and of course Wyatt!!:))! So we got in our "silly cart" (you know, the ones with the little seats on the "outside" of the cart?? My kiddos named those the "silly carts" and now we look for them everywhere we go! :) It is a fun game for us!!:)) Anyhoo, as I was wondering into the store, I realized that I have not been there in quite a while!! My husband is absolutely amazing and always offers to go for me, and, he takes the list AND coupons and price matches and everything!! (Yes, he IS an Accountant, so perhaps it is a fun game for him!!:))!! I am SO thankful for that guy!! He loves me and takes such good care of me...even when it means something as little as grocery shopping!! I can't WAIT for our BIG weekend away in a few weekends!! :):)

My Big Boy

So this morning I went into my son's room to get him up from bed (it was 9 a.m. by-the-way :)) and was totally surprised at how BIG my baby boy looks!! Seriously, did someone give him growing pills while he was sleeping?!!? He is so tall and SO sweet!! His legs have gotten so long and he is so strong!!! In my eyes, he is still a little guy, but I know he is growing up to be a strong and healthy man, just as I want him to be, it is amazing to watch!! He is just my sweet little guy, he has always been my baby, although we have never said much about him being the baby brother and Maddie being the BIG sister!! Honestly I don't think we made that big of deal about it, because there just isn't that much difference inbetween the two of them! AND, when Zack was born, Maddie was so little herself, we didn't want her to feel like she had to grow up right then! :) WOW, what a blessing it is to watch them grow up!! :):) I am so thankful that God has allowed me this time to stay at home with them!! :):) I LOVE MY JOB!! :):):) I often wonder where the time has gone with my kiddos!! I pray that our time together has been as big of a blessing to my M and Z as it has been to me!!! I love you little J's and I can't WAIT for more play days, just us!!!! :):)

Scripture

It is amazing to me how God can bring a scripture to my heart when I need it the most!! He is so good to me and He knows me SO well! :) Oh, I feel so loved by Him when He meets me right where I am at!! Here are a few scriptures He has brought to my heart in the past few days! :) (I LOVE that they all have to do with "JOY!":))

”The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

”Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

”Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, sister, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” Philemon 1:7

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

”When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:19

THANKS GOD for the JOY that only YOU can provide!! Please bless our week with unconditional JOY, peace and love! Thank you for being constant!! :)

2 Questions

So apparently the two biggest questions that are on people's mind about the Jenkins 4 are: When are you having another baby, AND, when you are moving into a bigger house!? :) Seriously, we get these two questions a LOT!! Hmmm, these questions often lead to quite interesting conversations! :):) First, let me point out that I am not mad at ALL about these questions, they have really allowed Wyatt and I to think about and pray through what we want for our lives and get on the same page about where we are headed!! Wyatt and I love a good conversation, we could sit and chat for hours and hours weighing the pro's and con's of a certain situation! We have undoubtedly had MANY conversations about these two topics! These questions have challenged our thinking and our prayer lives!! God is SO good and He hears us (and gives us peace) when we pray!! :)

We are really praying for God's perfect timing and for God's direction and guidance for another baby! I don't know if it is His will for us to have more babies, but we are open and praying! (if you ask my kiddos if they want more siblings, Maddie will SHOUT YES!! :):) And...Zack will say, "I'm the baby!!" Which translates to NO! :) Its pretty cute!! :):)) Honestly though, if God just chooses to bless us with two, we are SO THANKFUL for our little Maddie and Zack!! We love them SO MUCH and are so proud of the little individuals that they are and will grow to be!! We love living life with them and are enjoying them more and more every single day!! So, when we are asked when we are going to have more...that is what I tell people!! (Which they really don't like! But it is a great reminder when I think it is my business to ask others these questions!!! He he!! :))

Secondly, we LOVE our house!! It is the house that God choose specifically for us and we LOVE it!! Wyatt and I decided a long time ago that it is a choice to "grow" out of a house!! We have 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, a gorgeous kitchen, a great pantry, a BIG backyard and a house payment that we can afford and live comfortably with!! Now... I realize that some people only have 1 or 2 bedrooms, so I can see literally growing out of your home when you have several kiddos, but we haven't "grown" out of our house and we don't plan too!! If we do have more kiddos, we have a boy and a girl, so whoever joins us could share rooms! I had to share a room when I was a child and it didn't hurt me at all! :):) God has really laid His peace on our hearts that we are exactly where He wants us!! We love our house and will only move when HE moves us!! :)

As many of you know, I am a jewelry lady (and I LOVE IT!!!:)) Well, doing jewelry home shows has taken me to some pretty interesting houses!! God has really used these experiences to magnify how blessed we truly are!! If I didn't realize how blessed I was before, I absolutely know how blessed we are now, and I am SO thankful!! I don't want to live my life asking or begging God for bigger and better things! I want my family to be content with all that God has given us!! We want to live a simple and blessed life without all of the stress of having bigger and better!!

So... if you already have, or plan to ask either Wyatt or I these questions, here are your answers! :):)

Mommy Robin

We have a beautiful mommy Robin in our front "tree!" (I use "these marks" because, well...our tree might be a little stunted!:)) We are THRILLED that she has decided to make her little nest and love on her eggs in our front yard!! Wyatt and our kiddos found her nest over the weekend and every morning the first thing M and Z want to do is to go check on the mommy Robin and baby eggs! :) (It is SO cute!!:)) So this morning, bright and early Zack snuggled with me in my bed (at 6:45) and said, "Mommy' we need to go and check on mommy Robin!" So we got up, put our shoes on and headed out to check on her! :) SO precious!!!! :):)

I LOVE the way my kids love things...family, friends, animals, the park, the pool ...ANYTHING!! They just love to love!! And, they let you know what they love and why!! The three of us have had some of the most precious moments in the past two weeks!! Often one of my little J's will snuggle up to me for a few minutes and tell me that they love me!! It always brings tears to my eyes! I hope my kids ALWAYS know how much I love them!! I hope they always feel snuggled and loved with Wyatt and I! I also hope and pray that they feel the love that God has for them!! Maddie is REALLY interested in the Bible and wants to hear Bible stories all day!! I LOVE to see her learn and grow!! What an incredible blessing it is to teach our kids about God!!!

I hope that mommy Robin loves her babies as much as I love mine!! :):)

JUNE!!

I cannot BELIEVE that it is June!! :) WOW!! Where is this year going??! June is absolutely one of my favorite months!! There are two very special occasions that take place in June! My husband's birthday (this year is EXTRA special because he is going to be 30!!! :):)) and our wedding anniversary!!! Whoo-hoo!! I remember setting the date for our wedding, it was in December of 2002! We had just gotten engaged and we knew we were going to have to wait awhile to get married! (We wanted to honor my parents and their wish was that one of us would be graduated right around the time we got married!!) So... as we looked at the weekends in June of 2004, we decided on June 26th! As we we traveled for the holidays that Christmas, we talked and talked about whether we wanted our wedding date to be just 5 days later than Wyatt's birthday!? He kept saying he was totally ok with it, so we stuck to our special date (that, of course, I had fallen in love with!!:)) The week of our wedding, Wyatt birthday fell on a Monday so we gathered our dearest friends and celebrated with him, looking SO forward to what the end of the week held!! :):)

Oh, I LOVE remembering those wonderfully special minutes, hours and days!! We were SO EXCITED to get married, and we had been together for so long, it was a very easy transition for us!! Lots of people talk about how hard their first year of marriage was, and I am so thankful to say that we didn't experience that at all!! We just knew each other so well!! :):) I am still so wonderfully in love with Wyatt 7 years later! Actually, I am more in love with him now!! God has truly sharpened our love for each other, and our marriage gets better and better!!

Of course, I am planning a surprise party for Wyatt and I can hardly wait!! I LOVE my husband so much and I am so thankful for his life!!

Wedding Weekend

One of my favorite people is getting married on Saturday so tomorrow starts a whirlwind of activities! :) I am totally excited for her! She has waited a VERY long time for this day, and now God has provided for her, her hearts desire!! I have only been friends with Angela for about 2 years, but she has become very dear to my heart!! She has so much joy and zest for Christ, she is such an encouragement to me!!! I can't WAIT to share in her special day with her!! More to come later!! :):)

My Little Helper!

Yesterday my Maddie took a shorter nap, so she got up waaay before brother bear! After we snuggled for a little bit, she asked what I had been doing!? I happened to be cleaning the bathrooms at that time so I told her that and she looked up at me with her gorgeous blue-green eyes and asked if she could help! Of course I said, "YES!" I LOVE her willing and helpful heart, she ALWAYS wants to help and she isn't afraid to try anything!! And she just loves working next to me! PRICELESS!! :) She asked me what she could do and I gave her very simple instructions which she followed perfectly!!! She cleaned our bathroom SO PROUDLY and met daddy at the door when he got home so he could see her handy-work!! My Maddie is so much like me! She is a people pleaser and a lovey!! She just LOVES to love!! I pray that she will ALWAYS have a pure and innocent heart, and that she will continue to be a Light to those around her!! I love you Maddie Joy!! :)

Monday's at the Park

This summer we have decided that Monday will be our park day...no, we will not be going to just ant ANY park, I have a list of all the parks I want to take my kiddos to this summer!! I am SO EXCITED!! :):) All during the winter we "found" parks hidden here and there, but, since it was winter, we didn't get out to explore! So, NOW is our time to EXPLORE! We will be exploring a different park each Monday and we are SO EXCITED! We have had this list on our refrigerator for several months now and my Maddie and Zack know EXACTLY what the list is! :) Of course, we will also visit some of our FAVORITE parks, but I am excited to go to some new parks! We are going to take a picnic lunch and enjoy the morning there! So yesterday we started our park outings! We headed to Phelps Grove park around 9:30 a.m. and enjoyed the morning there!!! My kids just LOVED hanging out and exploring the new-to-them play equipment!! It was a BLAST and I can't WAIT until next week!! :) Next up on our list is "Griffin's Park!" We named it that because it is right next to our Griffin's house! It is a BEAUTIFUL, NEW park that has the "latest" swings and slides! :) Whoo-hoo for our summer Monday's!

Our Weekend

We had an AWESOME weekend!! I can hardly believe that it is over, but it ROCKED!! Here is a run down of our weekend! :)

Friday:
* We met Amber, Maddox and baby Brody to garage sale at 8 a.m.! We found some good deals and then headed to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast! It was FREEZING and we needed a place to warm up! :) After some playing and a few hash rounds... we felt better so we headed off to the mall!! :) The Gymboree there was having a sale $12.99 or less for EVERYTHING in the store!! Oh yes, it was a gooooood shopping trip! However, our excitement over the sale, meant we were a bit late to meet our husbands at Q'doba for lunch!! :):) Thankfully they got there at the same time and were able to hang out for awhile!! :) So thankful for Travis, he is such a good friend to my husband! :) After a wonderful lunch Wyatt surprised us and came home with us!! It was SO good to have him home for the whole weekend!! While the kiddos napped we just hung out and talked!! I LOVE to talk to my sweet man, for sure!!! :):)

*That evening we met back up with the Griders and enjoyed dinner with them!! Our kiddos get along so well, it is an awesome blessing!! :) After dinner we headed back to the mall for a few more shopping minutes for mommy at Gymboree!! :)

Saturday:

* OUR GIRLS SHOPPING TRIP TO BRANSON!!! Whoo-hoo!! :):) Maddie and I have been looking forward to this day for a looong time!!! Wyatt and Zack loaded up and headed to MArshfields to spend the day with my Grandparents and my mom came to pikcus up!! She had already done some shopping so she brought with her 4 gorgeous Princess dresses from Dillards! She had found them on clearance for $15-$19!! Needless to say Maddie (and I:)) were beside ourselves!! :):) We loaded up and spent the whole day in Branson together!! It was just the BEST day!! My mom is such a cool lady!! She is so loving and giving, so thoughtful and compassionate, SO patient and kind... and she loves my children (and Wyatt and I) totally unconditionally!!!! Sometimes it is overwhelming!!! :):) I am just so grateful for the amazing woman in Christ she is!!! She is an amazing example for my children and I!! I LOVE you mom!! :)

Sunday:

We LOVE our church and were so excited to go and worship there on Sunday! Our minister talked about family and respect! It was SO what we needed to hear!! Wyatt and I had a GREAT conversation about it on the way to my parents house and that afternoon out by the pool! (YES!! Summer is here!!:)) We spend most Sunday's at my parents house and we LOVE it!! It is such good time for our kiddos to get to hang out with their Ga-Ga and Mze! I truly believe that the investment of time we have spent out at my parents has made ALL the difference in my relationship with them, with Wyatt's relationship with them, AND with my kiddos' relationships with them! What a BLESSING!!!! This Sunday was pretty special because it was my parents 35th wedding anniversary!! My dad is always out of the country on May 29th, so we usually try to make it special for my mom!! So on our way there, we stopped by Sam's and picked up a cake!! M and Z were SO excited to surprise her with it!! :):) That afternoon Wyatt and I mowed for my mom and then we spent the afternoon poolside!!! Ahhh, it was BLISS! :) Later, my sister and Brother-in-law, nephew and two cousins and Grandparents came over for dinner!! It was SUPER FUN family time!!! I LOVE my family!!!

Monday:

*M and Z were SO EXCITED to have daddy home when they woke up!! They both shouted "DADDY!!!" :) It was presh! :) Then daddy surprised them even further with our day of plans!! We got dressed and hopped into the car to go to Krispy Kreme for breakfast, a TRUE treat!! After enjoying a doughnut (SO NOT on my "diet" but delicious none-the-less!!!:) we headed to the park! Yesterday started our summer of "Monday's at the Park" (more to come on this topic later!:)) so we played there for a long time! Then we took a long walk around the Phelps Grove park neighborhoods!! This was especially fun for me since I grew up around these neighborhoods!! Wyatt and I looked at houses and dreamed about what our next house will be like!! I love dreaming with him!! For lunch we had pizza! YUM-O! :) When we got home it was nap time...for ALL involved so we all enjoyed a 3 hour nap!! After our nap we played outside and enjoyed the gorgeous day!!! We ate a quick dinner and then headed out for a drive and ended up at Braum's for ice cream!!!! It was a great weekend!!!

We are so looking forward to all that this week will hold! Play dates, lunch with my mom and extra time with Wyatt!! WE LOVE THE SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!! :):)

Zack's new favorite phrases!!

I LOVE my son! He is HILARIOUS and absolutely cracks me up!! His two new favorite phrases right now are: "LET'S SMASH IT!!!!" and "What sister says?!" or "What daddy says?" and on and on!! I LOVE that he is ALL boy and isn't afraid of ANYTHING!!! He will pretty much jump off of anything with complete and total joy! He loves to find critters and dig in the dirt and he LOVES TO RUN!!!! He is absolutely the most adorable thing EVER!! :):) What a blessed momma I AM!!!

The Best Day!

I had the BEST day with my kiddos today!! I LOVE hanging out with my M and Z! I never thought that being a momma could be so wonderful and fun (it is definitely hard at times, don't get me wrong! :) BUT, it is SO totally worth all of the tough days!! :)) We have been going less, and hanging out...just the 3 of us, more!! I can definitely see that it is making ALL the difference in the world!! We try to have 1 to 2 play dates a week and the rest of our time is spent together!! We are just having a BALL!! I know that with summer comes a certain fun busy-ness so we are just enjoying our time together!! Wyatt gets off from work really early now, so our evenings are spent together playing outside, reading, going for walks and playing hide- and- seek!! BLESSED!!

So today was a beautiful day, so we loaded up in "our car" (whenever our kids refer to our Highlander it is OUR car. When they talk about the Saturn it is daddy's car! It is very hard for them to understand that we share our cars! So cute! :)) and met my sister and nephew at the Nature Center!! The three cousins RAN the whole way!! It is so much fun to see their friendships starting!! My sweet Maddie has lots of little girl-y friends, but my precious Zack would always just rather be with Maddux!! They are BUD's and it is pretty sweet! We took the long trail around the nature center and enjoyed the beautiful morning, talking all about God's beautiful creation! After our morning at the center, we headed over to Chick-Fil-A for some delicious lunch and some more play time!! :) After we left lunch, we headed home!! I love our time in the car together! We have some really fun cd's that we like to sing together! But, when we aren't singing we are talking about letters and different words that start with different letters! I must say, my kiddos know their letters very well, and we have a LOT of fun coming up with words that start with each letter!! After 3 hour nap's they got up, so happy and full of joy!! We played outside for a long time and soaked up the sun!! Then my friend Angela came over and we talked through her wedding, while M and Z watched Milo and Otis! They love that movie so much, they start laughing before their favorite parts even start! It is hilarious!! :) After Angela left, we ate dinner together and then just played all together! What a blessed evening! My favorite part was during bath time, we were once again talking about letters and I asked Zack how you spell the word "Stop!" (He is in LOVE with stop signs right now!!:) And he looked at me and said, "S-T-O-P!" I thought Wyatt was going to fall over!! We are SO proud of our little man!!! :):)

While I type this, Wyatt is cleaning up the kitchen! He is such an amazing man, he often cleans the kitchen after I have made dinner!! SO blessed!!! Now... for some snuggle time with my man!!

Critter Keepers

My kiddos are so much fun!! They entertain me all day,every day!! I am so thankful for their sweet and fun personalities! :) Maddie is totally a girly girl! She loves to have her nails painted (fingernails AND toe nails:)) She loves to play dress up and have her hair fixed!! She is so much fun! :) Zack is certainly ALL boy!! He is so sweet and funny and he loves to get dirty and catch critters! He loves to go on adventures and jump off of anything tall! :):) For Easter my mom and dad gave Maddie, Zack and Maddux "Critter Keepers!" So last week, on a bright, sunny day we got out our Critter Keepers and crawled around our back yard looking for treasures!!! I was a little worried about what we would find, but they were both SO EXCITED, I couldn't say no!! We looked everywhere...by the fence, in our very wet sand box, but we weren't finding any "satisfying" critters!! THEN we hit the jackpot!! Maddie and Zack squealed with delight as we found rolly-polly's, slugs, worms and even a beetle!! We picked up each critter with our tweezers and blasted them into our keepers to keep them safe until daddy got home!!! When Wyatt rolled in, Maddie and Zack raced towards him SO excited to show him what they had found!!! I think he was almost as excited as they were! He quickly changed clothes and off the three of them went looking for more critters!! :) I love my little family!!!

My Ring

Wyatt and I took my wedding ring into Justice Jeweler's on Saturday to get it checked and cleaned! We LOVE Justice Jewelers for a variety of reasons, but we love that as long as we get my ring checked every six months, if any stone ever falls out, they will replace it for FREE!! As we were talking earlier that day we realized that it had already been since months since we got it checked (and CLEANED, my favorite part!:)) So we made a quick stop by there before we met one of our two favorite graduates for lunch that day!! Within a few minutes of checking out my ring, the jeweler called us back! She had noticed that several of the stones were loose, so she asked us to leave it with them for 24 hours so they could secure each stone! Of course we were so thankful that I hadn't lost a diamond and happily left it with them so they could carefully check each diamond!!

Almost immediately after we left, my left hand felt totally naked! I am one of those ladies that wears her ring, ALL THE TIME!!! It never leaves my finger!! I LOVE my ring...Wyatt worked so hard to buy it for me when we were so young, and I take such pride in the beauty of it and of the marriage covenant that it holds!! Even more than its beauty, my heart swells with JOY at the fact that Wyatt loves me so much, he wanted to buy me something SO meaningful!! When he presented my ring to me as he was proposing, I will never forget the amazing words he said to me as he placed it on my finger...and then on our wedding day when he gave me my beautiful wedding band, he promised to love me and honor me and cherish me!! He has honored all of those words he spoke to me on those two special days!! What an amazing husband I have!

My ring is now back on my finger and it is more special to me than ever!! It is my dream ring and I LOVE it!!

Graduation!

We are SO excited for two graduations this weekend!! (WOW, I hope my family feels better QUICK!:)) Two of Wyatt's sisters are graduating, one from college and one from high school!! We are SO proud of these two girls!! They are number 4 and number 6 in line (Wyatt has 9 siblings, 7 biological and 2 adopted) and they have worked so hard to get where they are!! We are looking forward to taking Tiara out for lunch tomorrow...just her and us! We always have the best conversations! :) She is just so full of JOY and peace...she radiates God's love!! She is beautiful , and her life is a living reflection of God's grace!! She seeks Him in every situation in her life and her heart is so full because of it!! She is leaving for Sweden on Monday and we could be happier for her!! This fall she will head to Boston, MA to get her Masters degree!! We are SO PROUD of her!!!!

We are also very proud of Teal! She is graduating from high school!! We all know that high school isn't an easy time in life, but she has persevered!!! :) We can't WAIT to be a part of her graduation tomorrow night and celebrate with her!!

We LOVE our family, and although we don't always agree, we are thankful for their presence in our lives!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The Hostess

I LOVE being the hostess, really I do!! I have almost forgotten how much I like to have people over and host parties!! On Monday night I had a 31 party and it was a BLAST!!! 14 of my "closest" friends came over for food, fun and really cute bags and purses!!! :) A couple of girls came over early to help and I enjoyed our time together SO much! There is nothing better than serving with good friends!! And they came over to bless me!! Their help just brought me such JOY! :) And then everyone else came and my heart was so full of JOY!! :):) I love being surrounded with friends... dear old friends and sweet new friends!! It was awesome!! :):)

When Wyatt and I got married, we knew that we loved to be hospitable!! We had an 1,100 foot townhouse and we had ALL kinds of parties there...wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties, an ornament exchange...you name the occasion...we had the party and we LOVED IT!! Then we moved to our beautiful new house and had even more people over!! We have several groups of friends and we really enjoyed gathering everyone to do what each group likes to do! Some of our friends are game players, so we sat around and played games for hours! Others just liked to eat and talk...so we made a BIG meal, everyone brought something and we just sat and talked!! One of our groups of friends always splits off boys and girls!! It is kind of funny, but that is how we know they are, so we made sure to have plenty of chairs outside on our deck so the guys could hang out out there!! We just love to be hospitable, and what makes it even better is that we BOTH like to have people over!!

Once we had kiddos our days of BIG parties kind of died down, we still had a few people over, but not quite like we did before!! This has been hard for us, but I think it has been really good!! We have re-prioritized and we still really love having people over, we are just more strategic about it now!! (I think!:)) So Wyatt and I had a big discussion about this topic over the weekend and set some new goals for ourselves! :) This summer, one of our goals is to have at least two couples/families over a month!! :) We are REALLY excited about this and pray that God will bless the friendships we are about to make!! :):) Whoo-hoo!!

Mother's Day!

We had a jam packed weekend last weekend!! It was wonderful, but CRAZY!!! We enjoyed a day off with my mom on Friday, had a garage sale all day on Saturday, attended the CCH Branches Banquet on Saturday night (and brought all of the fresh center pieces) and Mother's day was Sunday! Whew we are worn out, but it was awesome!! :)

Zack and Wyatt woke me up with sweet kisses on Sunday morning! Zack whispered into my ear, "Happy Modder's Day Mommy! I yuv you!" Awwwww, SO PRESH!!! There is nothing better than your little son (who loves to jump off of everything, play in the mud and eat bugs:)) tell you how much he loves you!! I had several very sweet moments with my boys before they told me to get up and get ready! Wyatt told me not to come out of our room until I was ready for our day, he wanted breakfast to be a surprise!! So I took a shower and got all ready and walked out to my sweet little family with breakfast all ready just waiting for me!! We sat down to yogurt, bacon and special pastries that Wyatt and Zack had picked out the day before...AND, chilled glasses with freshly made orange juice!!! (All my favorites:)) My husband is AMAZING!!!!!!! And he loves me so much!!! I feel so humbled at his planning for a special mother's day! He is just wonderful!! :):) After breakfast, Maddie, Zack and Wyatt went and got their special gifts for mommy!! :) Oh, I felt so special, my family sure does know how to love on me!! :):) Maddie gave me a very sweet card, and a gorgeous purple Calla Lilly flower to plant in our front garden (We are working on our landscaping this summer!! When we bought our house new, there was a pretty start to our front beds, but this summer we hope to really make it look good! And, my Maddie LOVES to help her mommy, so this was the perfect gift from her!!!:)) Zack also gave me a sweet little boy card that melted my heart and a gift card to go shopping with, and then my awesome husband bought out his card and gift!! Then, they gave me a gift all together that was a painted picture of their hands!!! It is PRECIOUS!! :):) (Hmmm, my husband can be crafty!! :):)) He he!! :):) It was the perfect morning!!

For lunch our tradition is to go to my parents house for lunch! The men make lunch for the ladies and we get to talk and hang out, not touching the kitchen, for the most part!! It was SO MUCH FUN!!! My Grandma, mom, sister and "Aunt" Deb (Catrina's mother-in-law) sat around and chatted and hung out with the kiddos until lunch was ready!! Then we spent the afternoon talking and eating and enjoying each other's company!!! I know I say this a lot, but I mean it, I have the BEST family!! We just all get along so well and love to be together!!!!

We left there around 8 p.m. and came home to enjoy the rest of our evening together!! It was the BEST day!!! :):)

Remembering! :)

Wyatt and I went to London together almost 10 years ago!! :) It's CRAZY, I know!! :) Our trip actually started in Ancona, Italy with 10 of our closest friends! :) We went there on a mission trip with CCH and were BLESSED BEYOND our wildest expectations!!! Wyatt and I fell in love with Italy and hope to go back someday soon!! We got to live life as an Italian by living in an "Pensione" ( apartment), eating breakfast (of pastries and really strong coffee) in the morning on the "square" and hanging out with our missionary friends there!! We even got to celebrate Wyatt's birthday there that year! Our missionary friends had just started a church in Ancona, and we were there to help them get the word out about the new Christian church!! It was AWESOME!! Really, if you ever want to talk about it, we would both LOVE to tell you all kinds of crazy fun stories!! We really did go with several of our dear friends, and had a blast!! :) What precious memories!

After two weeks in Italy, our little group did some sight seeing in Rome, Pompeii, Pisa, Florence, Paris and London!! It was an absolutely amazing trip!! Of course with all of the Royal wedding coverage this past week, it has made me think about our time there!! We had just started dating the November before (this trip was June-July of 2002) and we already knew that we would spend forever together!!! Honestly, I even thought he would propose to me at the top of the Eiffel Tower (I mean REALLY, how many times do you get to go there!?!?!!?:):)) Alas it was not quite our time to be engaged, BUT we have SUCH amazing memories together of that trip!!! I am so thankful for all of the adventures that Wyatt and I had together before we got married!! We have been so blessed by those adventures, even today!! :) Sitting on our dresser in our room, we have 3 really special pictures of the two of us! One is one of our wedding pictures (of course, the BEST day of our lives!!:)) Then we have one of us on our honeymoon, and THEN there is the picture of the two of us that was taken to the right of Buckingham Palace in one of their beautiful garden's!! WOW!! What an INCREDIBLE place!!! It is absolutely gorgeous and RADIATES royalty!! The first monumental London icon we saw was Big Ben!! We walked up the stairs from the train station and THERE is was!! We were in awe!!

I think tonight we will have to get out our photo albums and remember that trip!! We both took a ton of pictures so it will be fun to go back to that time together! :) I love my husband and all of the sweet memories we have together!!!

Sweet Husband

On Sunday afternoon after we put our kiddos down for their naps, I took off and went shopping for Easter outfits!!! I am one of those crazy women that LOVES for her whole family to match!! :) I take great JOY in finding coordinating outfits for the 4 of us and of course this year is no different!!! :) Ha! :) We bought Maddie an Easter dress back in March, but as I was looking at it over the weekend, I realized that it was going to be too hard to match...so here we were back at square 1! :) So off I went to the mall...with about a million of my closest friends! :) He he!!

I looked high and low for the perfect outfits for over 3 hours! I found a cute dress here, and a handsome dress shirt there but nothing that I was totally excited about...and then I went into Old Navy!! :):) I found the cutest dress for Maddie, and a coordinating dress for me! :) YAY! :) Then I found a linen dress shirt for Wyatt and remember that I had seen a similar shirt for Zack at the Children's Place! I was totally stoked!!!! Everything was salmony/corally and I thought it was the PERFECT color for spring, not too girls but not too boring either! :):) Unfortunately then, my "Tina Tightwad" self checked in, and I decided I didn't want to pay full price for each item of clothing! So I left the store empty handed and broken hearted!! I continued to shop and eventually headed home!!

After dinner on Sunday night, we all loaded up and went for a long walk...as we were walking Wyatt asked me what I had found!! I described my exciting findings finishing up with the fact that everything MATCHED!! Wyatt didn't say anything for a minute and then told me to go back and get everything! Well, of course at that point I was a bit emotional, so I told him we could just find something else!! :):) Sooooooo what did my husband come home with last night!?!?!?!??! My dress, Maddie's dress his shirt and one for Zack!! He had gone to Old Navy during lunch and searched the store, trying to find the pieces of clothing that I had my heart set on!! He even went back to Children's Place for Zack's shirt (he bought one from Old Navy AND one from Children's Place to be sure they all matched!!:)) WHOO-HOO!! :):):) What an incredibly thoughtful husband I have!! I was totally humbled by his thoughtfulness and love for me!! I know he thinks it is crazy that I like to match, but he loves me SO much!! I was blown away (and still am!:))!! I am so thankful for such a sweet man!!!!!!

A Blessed Weekend!! :)

We had the best weekend! :) We LOVE weekends like these, full of relaxing and time together as a family...and we always enjoy some friend time too!! Friday night we had the Scott's over for fajitas and we had a BLAST!! We talked and laughed and just encouraged one another all night! We were having such fun, they didn't leave until well after 2 a.m.! :):) Wyatt and I had had so much fun, we wound up talking until almost 3 a.m.! :) Ahhh, dear friends are a blessing!!!

On Saturday morning everyone slept in until almost 9!! Yes, I DID say 9!! It was glorious!! I made a BIG breakfast and then we headed out for a looong walk!! Since gas has gone up here, we have really committed to using less gas...sometimes we get caught up in running here or there, but what we really love to do as a family is just be together, so that is what we did! We took a long walk, and then played at the park! We saw some friends there and ended up chatting with them for a bit while our kiddos played together! :) It was so fun!! Then we came home and I made lunch and we sat out on our deck and ate!! Following lunch we ALL took naps!! Now, if you know me, you know I am not a napper!! Well yesterday...I was!! We were so sleepy!! After our 3 hour nap (my kiddos are amazing sleepers:)) we got up and ran to Wal-Mart to get some flowers to plant...Maddie and Zack had a blast getting to pick out their favorite colored flowers and Wyatt and I were quite pleased with their selections!! :):) When we got home, I started working on the dozens of cookies I had promised my dad I would make for the CCH Motocycle ride!! M and Z and Wyatt planted all of our flowers in our planters and set them out to surprise me!!!Oh I LOVE the JOY our kiddos have!! They love all things beautiful and they LOVE to surprise the people they love! It was awesome!! :) After the kiddos went to bed, Wyatt and I sat out on our deck and just talked! I LOVE time with my man, I love talking with him and dreaming with him! I love being with him on our porch surrounded by the people we love!

This morning we all got up ready and excited for church!! We LOVE our church, it is such a blessing to us!! After a quick lunch with some dear friends, we came home and snuggled our kiddos!! While they napped I ran to the mall to look for cute outfits for our family for Easter!! Don't judge...I like for us to match, so I was quite happy with my purchases today!! :):) When I got home, everyone was waiting for me, so we loaded our 2 J's up in the double stroller and went for a long walk!!

Now the house is quiet and I am looking forward to hanging out with my husband out on our deck!! We are SO thankful for a blessed weekend!!!

I LOVE this verse!! I "found" it when I was reading my Bible a few days ago, and it has resignated in my heart and filled me much JOY ever since!! It gives me GREAT encouragement to know that when we pray, GOD HEARS US!!! :):) Sometimes it feels like He doesn't hear us, or that He doesn't pay any attention! :) But this verse says that when we ask in His will, God hears us!! :):) I LOVE THIS!!

1 John 5:13-15 "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

A rant...kind of!! :)

Have you ever been around a woman or a group of ladies that are always trying to one up each other!? You know, one of them is bragging about how brilliant her children are, so the next woman starts talking about how her kids are involved in this gifted program and her kiddos are even too smart for that group! Then another woman chimes in with how much money her husband makes, so then the other two have to talk about all of the expensive things they own or their hugey-big house or the extravagant vacations they have planed for this summer!?

WOW!! That's about all I can say!!! I have been around a few of these ladies over the past few days and weeks and months and it absolutely makes me SAD!! GOD has BLESSED us all in COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ways, so it is absolutely not fair to compare ourselves to others!! We are ALL different because GOD MADE US THAT WAY!!! God made us uniquely different because He has a specific purpose for each of us as women, as wives, as mommies... as daughters... as friends!!! ! Trust me ladies, this is something I have to pray against also! I am pretty proud of my family too, but I want to be JOY-filled for others!!! :) I want my husband to know that I am proud of him for how hard he works for our family! I want to be full of JOY for him when he gets home each day! I want my kiddos to know that I am always excited for them whenever they are excited about something!! I want to be the friend that people talk to about new stuff, because they KNOW I will be excited for them!!

This verse kept coming to my mind this afternoon as I was praying about this and asking God to rid my heart of selfish ambitions!!

Philippians 2:1-11

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the GLORY of God the Father!"

I feel like this is pretty cut and dry!!! I will be the first person to admit that I don't always think of others first, but I try! I want to live my life for Christ!! I want HIM to be glorified in all that we do as a family!! I want to glorify Him in all that I do as a woman, wife and mommy!! I want to set a Godly example for my children, especially my daughter! I want her to listen to others with a happy heart and be JOY-filled when something awesome happens for one of her friends, instead of being jealous and pouting!! I think it is RIDICULOUS that grown up women POUT!! COME ON LADIES, put on your big girl panties and GROW UP!!!! Life isn't always fair and sometimes hard things happen, but we have a God who LOVES us and takes care of us...He NEVER loses sight of us, and if we are praying His will for our lives we will see Him in everything that we do!

P.S. SO sorry for the rant...I am not usually so grumpy, but sometimes things just get to me!! :)

*Blessed!*

I love the relationship that my parents and my husband share! :) It is so special to me that they love each other so much and that they get along so well and always have!! I never have to worry about what they are going to say to him, or what he might say to them...we all just get along so well and enjoy each others company!! We spend each Sunday at my parents house (which some people think it crazy:)) but it fits really well with our family right now!! Our kiddos LOVE their Ga-Ga and Mze and they have such a special relationship with them, because, of the time we spend together! It is not a forced relationship at all, but one of love and uncondtional-ness on both sides!! :) Ah, I love Sunday afternoons!!

I love that my dad talks to Wyatt about things that are on his mind, and that Wyatt talks to my dad in a very similar way! They are bud's! :) I love knowing that my dad will A-L-W-A-Y-S give my husband sound Godly advice and always advises him to take the higher road, no matter what!!! My dad and Wyatt spend a lot of time talking about Wyatt's job change!! It was a hard decision for us! If Wyatt would have stayed at his then-current job, he would have made a ton of money and had a lot of prestige, but, he would have missed out on so much of our life together! Money is so not worth losing family time together! I praise God that Wyatt and my dad were able to have such deep conversations about what the Bible says about money and family!!! Of course Wyatt and I made the ultimate decision together, but guys also just need someone outside of their box to talk to about important things!!

My grandparents have started coming to our Sunday lunches which sweetens the day even more! :) My Grandparents are AWESOME, they love God and it is apparent in the way they have chosen to live out their lives!! They are so humble!! I could sit and chat with my Grandma for hours, she has such amazing stories to tell!! :) My Grandparents inspire Wyatt and I to live a simple life, full of the JOY and LOVE of our little family!! I am so thankful for their influences on our life!! As I was watching them all yesterday, I just felt so blessed...we have a pretty special family and I am so thankful for each of them!!

4

4 months from today my daughter will be 4!! That is CRAZY!!!!!! :):)

"I Will Follow!"

Today we were riding in the car when one of my favorite songs, "I Will Follow" By Chris Tomlin came on 88.3 The Wind! I LOVE THIS SONG! So, of course I turned it up and started singing quite loud!!! Well, behind me I heard a little Zack voice SINGING ALONG!!! :) It instantly brought tears to my eyes! He was singing with almost as much intensity as I was!! My precious little son is a son of God...how often do I forget that!?!? God has BIG things in store for him and I can't WAIT to see how My Zack will honor and serve God all throughout his life!! I LOVE my son, I didn't know that I needed a son, but I am SO THANKFUL that God knew better than I!! He is my precious little man, he loves his mommy and I love him!! We have an unbreakable bond!!! I love the way his face lights up when he see's his daddy and I! I love his snuggles for us and his passionate heart for his sister and his little friends!! I love my son!!!

Oh God, it is the desire of my heart that my children will come to Know You and LOVE YOU with their entire little beings!! Please help me to know how to teach You to them in a very real and understandable way!! God, you are so real to me, my heart is Yours and I live my life for you! Please help this song to be the cry of our hearts...we want to love like You, serve like You and follow You in every part of our lives!! Please give us wisdom and knowledge every single day!!! We LOVE YOU God!!

Thoughts

Today I am feeling so thankful and so sad all at the same time!! Our dear friends, the Owens family lost their dad in a horrible car accident almost 4 years ago, and today is his birthday!! There are six kiddos and they are truly 6 of the coolest people I know!! They are all SO much alike and also totally different!! Its actually hilarious to watch them all "in action!" :) I have been so blessed to be a part of their lives for a long time, it is a true blessing to have lifelong friends and to be friends with the whole family!! As I talked with Amber this morning (she is second in command:)) we just talked about some of her favorite memories of her dad!! He was a Godly man, very strong and passionate about God and His Word! He raised his family to know, follow and love God!! He has left quite a legacy behind and he is SO missed!! Not a day goes by that at least one of the Owens clan talks about him, or references something he said!! They are an AWESOME family and I am SO thankful for their presence in my life!! I REJOICE with them that he is now in heaven and I too look forward to seeing him someday! But I am SO saddened by the loss of his life!! I guess it is a good reminder that life is so short, you never know when God will call us home!! I struggle with this...there is so much I want to do and see! Mostly I long to watch my children grow up and become amazing adults!! I long to live life with Wyatt forever...to celebrate birthday after birthday and anniversary after anniversary together!! I want to enjoy family vacations and watch my kiddos excel in all of the areas that God has blessed them!! I want to stand for God, loving and serving and honoring Him in every aspect of my life!!

Today also reminds me how thankful I am for my family!! They are so loving and kind, and they have shown me Jesus my whole life! On days like today, it seems ridiculous that I get so annoyed with them at times!! What is my problem?!?! My family is a tight knit group...we love each other a whole lot and we know one another pretty well! :) We are a family that loves to hang out together, we have family night every single Thursday night! Thursdays are our nights to just be together!! It doesn't really matter what we are doing or where we are at... we just want to be together!! My kiddos and I eat lunch with my mom every Tuesday!! She calls me each Tuesday morning and we decide where we are going to go...M and Z and I LOVE Tuesdays!!! We are so blessed by our family, who lives life for God! My mom and dad are awesome examples of His love and grace, and I will forever cherish the time they have invested in my little family and I!! I am SO thankful!!!!

Quick story

Tonight Maddie and I went to a baby shower for a friend from church and it was a BLAST!!! I LOVE having my little girl to go do fun, girly things with! AND, I love that she wants to come with me! :) She is my sweet little best friend, my little mini me! At the shower they had treats that, of course she was excited about! :) I told her she could choose one, and she did happily and never asked for another treat! :) At the end of the evening we were getting ready to head home so we started saying out good byes, and our sweet hostess Sarah offered her another little treat! She asked me if it was ok and I told her it was...so then she asked if she could have anther one to take to her "brodder!" What a sweetheart!! :) She is SUCH an AWESOME BIG sister!! She always takes good care of her brother...whether it is check in on him after he has fallen or, helping me get him up in the morning! She takes her role as the big sister very seriously and it just melts my heart!! On the way home, she asked if we could give "brodder" his treat tonight! I told her he would probably be in bed by the time we got home, so she said "Ok, I will give it to him in the morning right when we wake up! I just know he is going to be as excited as I was!!!" Ahhh, SO PRECIOUS!! Thank you God for the blessing of my daughter!!

Words!

First I have to say thank you SO much for all of your words of encouragement and love and e-mails over the last few days!!! I was SO blessed by each of your words of wisdom and love, thank you for being such dear friends!! Mostly thank you for praying for me! I have felt your prayers deep into my soul and I am SO very thankful for how God is moving!!

Last Sunday morning our minister preached a sermon that totally changed my heart!! He preached about words and your tongue and how they can affect EVERY single aspect in your life!! I have heard about the "Taming of the tongue" my whole life, but something that Wayne said on Sunday truly touched me!! I love my little family and I praise God for them everyday, but also each day, I find myself losing patience and say something to one of them (usually my precious husband:)) that I immediately wish I hadn't said!! Please don't get me wrong, I am not a yeller! :) I don't scream at them or say mean things to them, or demean them in any way...but at times I do take a harsh or impatient tone with them, that they absolutely don't deserve!!

In the sermon on Sunday, Wayne shared with us Matthew 12:36-37 "³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

This verse states that on the day of judgement, I will be held accountable for every single careless word I say!!! HOLY COW!!!! I say a LOT of careless words...probably totally unintentionally, but if I don't take my thoughts captive and make each word truly COUNT, someday I will stand before the Throne and He will ask me about each of these accounts!!! WOW!! That is certainly something that I need to think about every minute of the day...and every time I open my mouth!!! Eeek!! :):)

I have thought about this verse over and over again this past week! It has held me accountable for many conversations that I have held with several friends! I only want Truth and love to pour out of my heart and my mouth, but that is going to take me being intentional about what I think about and what I say!!! I pray that God will continue to use His Words to resignate in my heart and change me!!

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalms 19:14

A Heartache

Have you ever just had a heartache? Yep, I did say "heartache" and not "headache"?! :):) My heart just hurts and I am not exactly sure why! I know God has been working in my heart A LOT and really dealing with me on some things! I know it is all good, and I am so thankful that He is so patient with me and lets me catch on to His plan before He whacks me over the head with it! :) But... it is also kinda hard!! God is really stretching me and growing in areas that I didn't know I needed to be stretched in!! :) Funny how He does that sometimes, right! :) I'm not mad or even frustrated by my heartache, I more long to know what God is about to do next, I feel that something is about to change...but I am not sure what!! So, if you are reading this, please pray that God will relieve my heartache and that He will reveal to me what is next! And that whatever it is, He will just give me peace and wisdom!! Thanks!

"Look at HIS tu-tu!"

YES! Those are the words that rang out of my 3 1/2 year old's mouth yesterday as we were leaving Arris' Pizza with some friends!! :) I had seen him coming, he and his wife! She was dressed in jeans and a sweat shirt and HE was wearing kahaki kilt!! :) Well, my sweet little daughter, that didn't know any better, had caught a glimpse of him from far away, then came to stand beside me to get a better look!! She couldn't believe her eyes, and she was so pleased to be able to share!! :) ""Look at HIS tu-tu!" she shouted...she was SO EXCITED!!! "DADDY!!! LOOK AT HIS TU-TU!!!! I have one too!!!!" They passed us looking mildly annoyed, but all we could do was laugh!! It was so innocent and so sweet and she was so proud of him!!!! She is my precious little girl...she is ALL GIRL and I LOVE IT!! Ah, such special moments to remember!!!

Picture Perfect

As I was downloading new pictures today I realized that we have a LOT of pictures of our two cuties in front of our beautiful fireplace! I LOVE our fireplace, it is one of my favorite features of our house!! But... little did I know how much fun it would be to pose my two kiddos in front of it on the days that they look SUPER cute, or on the days that they are being so sweet and even on the days they are just being THEM!! It is also awesome to watch them grow in front of our fireplace!! Their heads are getting closer and closer to the TOP of it! :) We of course have pictures of our M and Z as tiny babies in front of the fireplace...we also have pictures of them on their first birthdays, at Halloween, Thanksgiving and in front of our stockings at Christmas!! What FUN pictures to have!! :):) I think it might have become our tradition without even knowing it! :) So stay tuned for more pictures of the Jenkins' 2 posed cutely in front of our fireplace! :):) Whoo-hoo!! :)

"Love Notes"

This morning at our ladies Bible study at church, our little group of ladies exchanged love notes! :) I had been looking forward to this meeting for quite a while! I LOVE the ladies in my group, there are several "older" women and lots of younger women, and we all have such a special bond!! I have been working hard on my "love notes" to pass out to my friends, and this morning I woke up with JOY, knowing that I was going to get to see each of them today!! :) I hope my notes were a blessing to them, as theirs were a blessing to me!! I will treasure their words forever!! It is amazing to know that these sweet precious ladies are praying for me all week!! :) I feel so blessed!

Writing these notes reminded me of the books that I have for both of my children!! I try to write in them almost everyday, but I have been slacking for the past month!! I want them to know how much I love them and how joyful their little lives make me each day!! :) I also want them to know how I felt on the hard days...discipline is NOT fun, but it is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL!! I hope they know when they get older that we disciplined them because we love them and want them to be obedient children who love and respect us and the other adults around them!! Mostly, we want them to know that we loved them unconditioanlly, because that is what God calls us to do as parents!!

These love notes also got me thinking about all of the notes I should be writing to Wyatt!! He is such an amazing man and I am SO THANKFUL that he is in my life!! Today he met us for lunch, and it just brightened my WHOLE day!! :) I LOVE my man!!!

I hope to send out some "love notes" to some other dear friends this week! I am so thankful to have some sweet, precious friends close to me and far away, I just want to share my joy with you all! I am so thankful for unconditional friends!!!

Connections!

This past weekend we were blessed to be able to hang out with some of our "old" friends...Todd and Paige Ferguson!! :):) WE LOVE Todd and Paige, and were so sad when they loved away about 3 years ago!! However God has blessed us with some pretty special time with them here and there in the past few year! This time, our time together was no different...it was short, but wonderful! :) The Ferguson's have been present for some of the most precious moments of our lives! They were one of the first couples we told when we found out we were pregnant with Maddie!! (It is a HILARIOUS story, if you want to know how they re-acted, I would love to share!!:)) We got to be a part of weddings on both sides of their families, we spent some good time with "Dad" (Ben) Ferguson during the ice storm of 2007 and were blessed to see a chapter of the Wall's family end at their auction and a new one begin two years later at Crystals wedding! We are so thankful for these two people and for their family!!

We are also SO blessed because we feel like we have a special connection to their whole family!! Have you ever felt that way with your friends' families...that you just fit right in?!? It is one of my favorite feelings! :) So this past Saturday, we went to a get together at Paige's sister's house! Pretty much everyone met us at the front door and welcomed us in! :):) It was WONDERFUL to see everyone and love on them, and be loved on in return!! It is so awesome to feel that connection to people...you love each other because you share a bond with each other!! I love to have conversations with Paige about her family, because I KNOW them...I've hung out with them and I know where they have been and where they are headed! Priceless!!

I hope to be this kind of family for my kiddos and for their friends...starting now!! My parents were awesome about letting us invite our friends over so we could hang together!! Of course I know now that they wanted to keep tabs on us... Ha!:) But it is so cool that I can talk about pretty much anyone that I grew up with at my school, and my parents know exactly who I am talking about!! They got to know some of our friends' parents also which made life more fun! So today I am thankful for all of the sweet family connections we have!!!

Traditions

I LOVE traditions!! I don't think I really realized that until I got married and had my little J's! :) I love knowing that with each holiday, comes a special tradition...some of our traditions are new and some of them are old!! Wyatt and I wanted to create our own traditions for our little family, but we also LOVED many of the traditions my family had created!! I was reminded of one of my favorite traditions just yesterday! :)

My dad is a wonderful man!! He has worked SO hard his entire life doing what God has called him to do! He doesn't have a fancy job or a million dollars... but he sure does love his family! When my sister and I were in high school, he started the tradition of bringing all of his girls flowers! He would take flowers (sometimes he brought roses, sometime it was a mixed selection, but it was always some type of beautiful flower!! :)) to my mom wherever she was, and he would bring roses to my sister and I at our high school!! Sometimes he would bring them in, and the extremely-sought-after-note would be sent to our classes stating that we had something in the office! (WHOO-HOO!! It was always SO exciting to anticipate what was there, waiting for us!!:)) Other times, he would leave a rose with a note on our car (we shared a car throughout high school!) It is just his sweet, loving was of showing us that he loves us!! I LOVE this tradition, it just makes me feel so loved and thought of! Even though I have my own family, I LOVE my mom and dad and sister!! I feel so blessed that they live here and can be a part of our every day lives!! SO blessed!!! (By-the-way, yesterday was no different! A half a dozen roses are now sitting in the center of my table...not from my husband, but from my dad!!:))

I think the relationship between a daddy and his daughter is SO special!! The relationship part is SO necessary!! Daddy's and daughters must spend quality time together, doing special things! They must have good conversations and be able to talk about the FUN stuff AND the hard stuff!! I pray that Wyatt and Maddie will have as special of a relationship as my dad and I have!! I can already see it happening!! She loves him and wants to show off for him! She loves having his special attention!! She loves to sit and snuggle with Wyatt and she likes to play and tease her daddy!! I am SO thankful for a man that can step in a BE a daddy!!!!! I am so thankful!!

Valentine's Day!

I LOVE Valentine's Day!! I LOVE...well love!! :):) I love loving on my husband and showering him with sweet notes and doing special things for him all day long!! I try to love on him all year around, but Valentine's Day is just special, there is something so sweet in the air! :) Last year I filled the mirror in our bathroom with big red construction paper hearts telling him everything that I loved about him!! I dropped another note into his briefcase for later and I made him a quick breakfast on the go!! That morning, I called him a left him a message, I e-mailed him an e-card and I texted him proclaiming my love! It might have been a little over the top, but I LOVE him SO much, I want him to know that Valentine's day for me...is show him how much I love HIM!!! I don't expect it to be all about me!!! I am excited about the day we have planned for this year!! :):)

I also love to love on my Maddie and Zack!! They are so precious to me and I don't think you can ever tell or show your children that you love them too much!!!! This year we are going to make pink and red pancakes with sprinkles and have pink milk for breakfast!! I made them each a Valentine's Day card and I can't WAIT to see their faces when they open their special gifts!! :):) Wyatt and I decided the year that Maddie was born that we wanted to spend Valentine's Day together as a family!! We get to go out for special dates a LOT throughout the year, so we wanted to make sure our kiddos know that we LOVE them and enjoy spending time with them also!! So now Valentine's day is about our family!!! I LOVE this family tradition!! :):) This Valentine's Day will be extra special because we get to spend it with our extended family!!!! On Monday evening we are having a family Valentine's Day party with my mom and sister and sweet little Maddux! We have been hard at work making Valentine's decoration's for our party and we are SO excited!! I am stoked about making dinner for everyone, having a special dessert and enjoying our Valentine's Day GAMES!! :):) We are going to have a BLAST!!!!! Make sure you show your beloved how much you love them TODAY!! :):)

Projects!

I can't WAIT to get started on some home projects this week!! With all of the craziness that was Thanksgiving and Christmas, our projects kind of got pushed off!! But NOW, I am ready!! Here we go!! :):)

First, we are going to paint our master bathroom!! It is a beautiful purple color now, but now that our bedroom is brown and turquoise, it doesn't really match!! So, I think we are going to paint it a taupe color and accent with turquoise and brown!!!

Next we are going to paint our hallway and change all of the decor on each wall!! I am excited about our "Family" wall!! This will have all of our family pictures framed in the same frames (style, shape and color) and will just show off our family and how it is growing and changing!! :) On the wall across and down, we will make our wedding picture wall! We have SO MANY beautiful wedding pictures I want to show them off!! After all, our family started with us...right?!? Then on the other two walls and I want to hang fun pictures of our kiddos and our family and friends!! I hope to keep all of the frames black, but these frames won't match (like the ones on our "Family" wall)!! I just have found cute black frames here and there ,some are round a few are rectangle and then of course I have a few square frames! I have been "collecting" them all fall so I am excited to see them all up together!!

Lastly, (at least for now:)) we are going to change up our entry way by painting our little table and mirror there! Across from it, I was to hang a big family picture that is framed (that is too big for our hallway wall:)) so we are going to put it there along with a really cool "Family" stencil from Uppercase Living! I have had this "stencil" FORever, but not I know exactly where we want it!!! Ooohhh, I am SO EXCITED!! I LOVE our house SO much, and we will only move if God calls us to!! I love changing the look of it by adding decor and painting!!! We both love the colors of our house, so I think they will stay the same, but it is amazing how different rooms can look with different decor!! I can't WAIT!! I hope to post before and after pictures soon!!!:):) Wish us luck!!

Our weekend!

We had the best weekend!!!! On Friday night I got to go the CCH's girls retreat to chat with them about being Intentional!! It was AWESOME, and I had a GREAT time, in fact I didn't get home until 2 a.m.!! There is nothing better than hanging out with college aged girls!!! I totally understand why my dad likes to hang out with them! Perhaps someday God will use me to love on them and hang out more, but for now, I enjoy discipling two CCH girls and hanging out with the group whenever I can!! :)

Saturday was my birthday and I must say it was PERFECT!! Wyatt let me sleep in, and about 9:30, Maddie, Zack and him come into my room singing!! Then Zack said, "MOMMY, we got DOUGHNUTS and mine has sprinkles!!" :)) It was adorable!!! So we headed into the dining room where they had all of our doughnuts set out for us!! This was such a special treat because we don't normally eat doughnuts..really well...EVER!! But we sure enjoyed them on Saturday! Then we got ready and headed into town to run some errands, all my favorites!! Target, Hobby Lobby and Jellybeans!! :) We had lunch at Old Chicago and then headed home! About 3:00 p.m., Wyatt started mentioning that I probably would want to start getting ready for our evening out! He was so funny, I think he was as excited as I was!! About 4:30 my parents showed up to watch our kiddos and we left for our surprise date!!!! :) How FUN!!!! Eventually, we met our friends Travis and Amber at Jimm's for dinner and spent almost two and a half hours, eating, talking and laughing together there!! It was a BLAST!!! After dinner, we headed to Hebrews for more talking and laughing! Later that evening we realized that Orange Leaf was right down the way, sooooooooo we decided to end our evening (well the eating part of it) there!! Travis had never been there, so it was a treat for us all to introduce him to the BEST ever! :):) About 11:30 p.m. Wyatt and I decided we needed to head home to relieve my parents, so we started saying our good-byes, BUT the Griders decided to come home with us to continue our evening!! Whoo-hoo!! :):) They didn't leave until 3:30 a.m.!! Oh it was SO MUCH FUN!!!

I loved all of the special thought Wyatt put into making the evening wonderful!! I am so thankful that my parents both came over to hang out with our kiddos! It sounds like they had quite a part of their own!! I am also thankful to have special friends to share a fun evening out with!!! It was awesome and I feel so blessed!!!

Snow and our Weekend!

We LOVE the snow!! We are total snow bunnies! We probably should be living in Colorado, because we LOVE the cold, we LOVE snuggling, we LOVE having our fireplace turned on, and we LOVE being in the snow!!! So imagine our surprise and excitement as we woke up on Tuesday morning and had a wonder land of snow!! We were SO EXCITED!!! Wyatt had decided to stay at home with us (well..because he can now...that is the reason he stayed home!! :) I LOVE it!! This kind of freedom has never, ever been an option before, not even a little, so we are REALLY enjoying his new found freedom at work!!:):)) Wyatt and I are not at all afraid of the snow, we actually think it is a HUGE adventure to be out in it...so about 11:30 a.m. we headed into town to meet my mom and dad for lunch!! Maddie and Zack were quiet all the way into town, I think they were more worried than we were!! When we got there, they waited anxiously at the door for their Ga-Ga and Mze!! When they got there, Zack said, "MZE!! IT'S SNOWIN!!!!!" It was absolutely adorable!! When we got home everyone took naps, and Wyatt and I just snuggled by our fireplace and talked about some of our favorite time we have spent together in the snow!! We have been to Colorado several times together, but we are really looking forward to going there as a family!! I can't WAIT to show M and Z the mountains and take them skiing!! I am beyond excited!! :) After the kiddos woke up from their naps we went out and played in the snow!! The snow in our backyard had drifted quite a bit so we jumped in the snow and made snow angels!! Oh, it was the best time!!

Wednesday brought v-e-r-y cold temperatures, so Wyatt decided to have another snow day!! :):) (Pretty much everyone in his office took these two days as snow days also, so he really didn't miss anything!! What a FAR CRY from his old job!! :)) So, we got back out in the snow playing the our front yard and the back yard! We also scooped up snow to make snow ice cream, which was a blast!! Maddie kept saying, "So this is snow...right??" :) Then, before nap, they took a snow bath!! We ended our day at my sister's house for some fun play time and pizza!! What a FUN day!! What a fun WEEK!! We love having out-of-the-ordinary weeks, it just makes life a little more fun! :)

I am very excited for our weekend!! It is my birthday weekend so I am excited to see what tomorrow will bring!! Wyatt and I like to surprise each other with special dates so I am looking forward to our day!!! Today, my mom and sister and our kiddos ate lunch together at Maria's and then enjoyed cupcakes from "The Cup!" AWESOME!!! I have the most thoughtful mom and sister! They are both so good at making people feel special and today was no exception!! I am so blessed to live so close to them!! We share such a special connection! :) Tonight I am speaking at the CCH's Girls Retreat!! I am speaking about "being intentional," so please pray that the night will be blessed and that I won't be nervous!! :) :) I am looking forward to hanging out with these girls and loving on them, like I was when I was in college!! :) It will be a blessed weekend for sure!!

ENJOY your weekend!!!

"Those who love their children care enough to discipline them!"

Proverbs 13:24

Apparently this is my new favorite verse for today! :) My M and Z are just having a rough day! We had a busy fun-filled weekend, and I know they are so tired, but WOW!! :)

You would have been super impressed with my son's fit throwing skills today as I had to pry him off of the play area at Chick-Fil-A!! Our friends were headed out the door and I thought we would stop by the store in preparation of the BIG store that is supposedly headed our way! So, as always I gave the 2 minute warning! After 2 minutes-ish, my kiddos are usually ready to head out and they run over, putt heir shoes on and are ready and excited for our next adventure!! Today...NOT SO MUCH!! After much "discussing" and 2 spanks later we were in the car going HOME! They went down for naps and I fell on my knee's and prayed for them to have good restful naps!! I guess sleep is what they needed, they have been fast asleep for 2 hours and counting!!! Thanks God for great naps today! Please help them to wake up with happy hearts and listening ears!!