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.