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!!