Bullet Points!

There has been SO much going on...I keep thinking I will have a chance to sit down and write about it, but alas, life gets busy! :) SO, here is our life for the past few months in bullet point form! :)

--We enjoyed a FABULOUS spring break!! We had the perfect combination of family time, friend time, relaxing  busy-ness and FUN!! I always look forward to spring break and this one was NO different!! It was the perfect break...now we are charging through the rest of my daughter's kindergarten year!! WhaT!?! At this time next year, I will have TWO kiddos in school!! (This post to come later...I hope!!:))

--Our kiddos are now enrolled in spring soccer! :) It! Is! PRECIOUS!!! They are SO excited!! We went to "Sports" (that is what my son has always called Academy Sports") and got all of our gear...we are now READY!! If only it wouldn't snow and be frigid on the evenings we are supposed to practice! :)

--The first part of our "update" is almost complete in our house! I have a whole list of things that I would like to re-do this year! We have lived in our house for almost 7 years, so I am itching to change things up!! We started small...by painting our master bathroom and getting new fixtures and mirrors and decor for it!! It is now PAINTED...so hopefully by this weekend we will have everything else up!! :) Oh boy...!! :)

--Our days have slowed down substantially!! We still have school and other activities, but I have once again I have realized that days at home are SO precious!! I think I might have blogged about this earlier (maybe not, I will go check!:)) but my motto for this year is "What is REALLY important?" God has really spoken to me about SO many things that I need to change and being at home is ONE of the big ones!! God is so patient with me, and I am so thankful! He is always moving and changing my heart!! He is SO good!

--Maddie can now recite from her sweet little heart, 4 of her favorite bible verses!! It does this momma's heart good to hear that scripture hidden in HER heart!! She also has all of the African countries memorized and a variety of poem's! It is AMAZING how much her mind can hold! It is my prayer that we continue to challenge her in her learning and understanding of NEW things! :) I LOVE my daughter! :)

--My son will be starting kindergarten this fall (Lord, have mercy) so he is doing homework right alongside us! He is reading pretty small words and can do ANY addition or subtraction problem you put in front of him!!! I am SO proud of him and for how much he is learning! :) He is quite bright and we love watching his little mind at work! :) I LOVE having a son!!

--We got to spend this past weekend with my family in Osage Beach! It was WONDERFUL ! :) We really enjoyed our time together ! We rented a 3 bedroom condo and it was beautiful!! We shopped, we ate, we talked, we remembered! BLESSED!! :)

--We are enjoying our small group!! We started meeting at our house this past fall, and I was a little concerned about it! But, it has proven to be a blessing to Wyatt and I!! We are very thankful to have such a loving group of friends!!

--Baby shower's! :) (Not for us...yet!:)) We have 6 sweet friends that are expecting babies so we have been knee deep in baby showers!! I LOVE to par-TAY, so it has been a LOT of fun!! Although if you come over and there are still some decorations out, DON'T judge!! :)

Oh my, there is so much more, but this will have to do for now!! I hope you all are enjoying your year so far! It is going by, SO quickly!! ENJOY it!! :)

One of "those" wives...

Have you ever told someone that you need to discuss something with your husband, and they give you the  "You are one of THOSE wives," look?!? This has happened to me several times over the past few weeks and I have been so surprised!! I will admit that I do make most of the plans for our family...I am more likely to chat with our friends throughout the week and I have a pretty good idea where our calender is most of the time!! But, I always, ALWAYS run it past Wyatt before we make any decisions!! Is that old fashioned?! I know that Wyatt works really hard for our family every single day of the week, so I think it is totally respectful to make sure that he is ok with the activities that we do on the weekends!! (This includes family outings and girls' nights out, and really any plans that we make!) Almost always, he is totally agreeable (I have the sweetest husband,) but there have been a few times that he has made a specific request to stay at home, or to plan something different and I am totally ok with that!! I love my husband and I want to honor him in every way I can possibly think of!! There are times we are SO busy that we can hardly juggle our weekly plans, let alone additional plans!! In these times, Wyatt reminds me what is really important and we re-evaluate our plans! I am so thankful for a Godly, loving and wise husband!! :)

My Son

I pretty much think that my son is the c-o-o-l-e-s-t dude in the whole wide world!! He is sweet, spunky, adventurous, hilarious and SO full of love for his family..oh, AND he loves to snuggle!!! He is the perfect little boy for me!! Yes, he is very ornery and quite FULL of mischief  but I cannot imagine my life with him in it!! On Saturday night we had dinner plans with friends, but they had to cancel at the last minute due to sick kiddos, so Wyatt and I decided to go out on a family date night!! We try to spend quality time with our kiddos both individually, and all together as a family, as much as possible!! So we decided to look at the movie list!! The Palace had "Wreck it Ralph" playing so off we went with the plan to SURPRISE our kiddos!! They were quite surprised and SO excited!! I stood in line for the popcorn and drinks and Wyatt and the kiddos went into find out seats!! I was SO excited and surprised that once I got into the theater I found that my SON had saved me a place to sit RIGHT NEXT to him!! (He loves me, and I never question that, but when daddy is home, he loves to buddy up with Wyatt and hang with him being "boys!" Thus my excitement!!:)) I asked him where I was to sit, and he patted the seat right next to him and said "by me mommy!" :) MY HEART overflowed with JOY!! :) I love my little guy!! As soon as the movie came on, he gave me his "I'm worried" look and slipped his hand right into mine, where is stayed for the majority of the movie!! I can't tell you much about the movie because my heart was SO happy!!! I spent most of the movie praying for my little Zack, for his life and for the people that would enter it and leave it all throughout his life!! I prayed for his heart and for God to take it over every single day! I prayed for joy and contentment and obedience!! I prayed and prayed, and it was wonderful!! I am SO blessed to be the mommy of a little boy and a little girl!! :)

Yesterday

Yesterday, my mom and dad and sister and I attended the visitation of a very good friend!! The visitation was for the daddy of one of my sweet childhood friends!! She and I, along with another girl hung out from the time we were 5 year's old until we got to Jr. high! Even after settling into different friendships and taking time to figure out who we were, we were all still very dear friends!! We were the 3 C's! Courtney, Chrystal and Christina!! :) My friend Courtney was an only child...it was SUCH fun to go to her house because we had the run of the place, her mom and dad were very laid back and just enjoyed hearing us laugh and giggle!! They had a three story house and we would run up and down those stairs like lightening in our crazy dress up outfits, our outrageous make-up and our music blaring!! :) Courtney's mom and dad always took us to McDonald's and then over to TCBY, but Joyce would ALWAYS say she needed to "...Count her pennies before we could go!!" I LOVE that phrase, and she always said it with a sweet gleam in her eye!! Courtney's mom, Joyce died about 8 years ago, and now her dad, Larry is gone as well!! I can't stop thinking about her! I am SO thankful for my mom and dad and I couldn't imagine life without them!! I am SO thankful to have a sister, and even though we don't always agree on everything, I know she is always there!! I am thankful for health and for life and for my family!! I am SO thankful for God who loves us and takes care of us at ALL times! I know my sweet friend Courtney is going to be ok, her parents both loved God very much and you could tell that in the way that they lived every day, and she loves God!! Today I am VERY thankful for the life that God has blessed us with!! We have a healthy family, a family who LOVES to love and a Heavenly Father who loves us SO much!!!

Meals

I am not a very good cook!! I know it and I am ok with that!! My mom and sister are AMAZING cook's, they can create just about any gourmet dish out of about 5 ingredients!! I got the crafting/baking gifts, and for them I am SO THANKFUL!!!! I love to be crafty and to make NEW decoration for our house out of the simplest of things!! I also love to bake and measure out ingredients and then enjoy the finished product!! However, since my little family cannot possibly live on decor and dessert alone...I have started really challenging myself to make new meals and enjoy the time I get with my kiddos when they want to help!! There have been some really delicious meals, and some that are not so great!! :) However, meals for my family is not what this post is about!! :):) Gotcha! :)

  Have you ever made a meal for a family that is in need, or that has been through trauma, or even that is just having a rough time!?! God has just recently brought several of these situations to my own families hearts and we have ENJOYED making food for these families in need, together! I would not say that I enjoy cooking, or being in my kitchen all afternoon several days in a row!! Actually I dis-like it greatly, BUT, when God calls you to help, you cannot say no!! God has recently showed me the blessings in helping to provide for these families!! God laid them on my heart and asked me what I was going to do to help!? If, I ask them "How can I help?" I need to be willing to DO something to help...not just ask because it sounds nice! We are all really good that this...it is almost like the "how are you" question that many of us immediately follow up with the quick and easy answer... "Fine!" However, the question often tends to be "If there is anything I can do to help...let me know!" And then we go on with our business and forget about those families in need!! I am here to tell you friends, there is ALWAYS something we can do to help, even if it is something as simple as cooking a meal!! This is a way God stretched me this past week...!! Never ask "if" ALWAYS ask "how!!??" :)

What Matters?

WOW!! It has been a LONG time since I have posted!! :) I have several drafts typed up, but could never perfect just what I wanted to say...so apparently I didn't post them!! Ha!
 
  Of course we have been in the New Year of 2013 for 12 days now which is SO exciting! :) I hope you all rung in the New year with lots of JOY and love!! We got to spend some time with some dear friends and their family (this will hopefully be another post!! We LOVE our New Year's Eve tradition:))

  The week before Christmas I was pretty sick so I had A LOT of thinking and praying time... and there is something that God kept laying on my heart!! I would pray for wisdom and guidance in several different things and He kept bringing to my heart...."What Matters?" "What matters Christina...do any of these things bring ME Glory?" I am constantly thinking about all that we have on our plate as a family, and all that I am doing as a wife, mommy, sister, daughter and friend!! Is what I have committed myself to and my family to for these next few days, weeks, month and possibly years...do they MATTER for God's Kingdom!!?? I desperately want to shout "YES!" but I know that probably wouldn't be true!! I suppose that we all struggle with this, it is kind of our nature...God WANTS us to choose Him!! God wants our attention, our affection and our GLORY to be focused on Him!! One of our BIGGEST goals as a family for this year is to make everything that we do, matter!! Trips to the store, our time at school, time with friends and family...we want that time to MATTER!! :)  I am very excited about how God will lead us this year!!!! :)

Homebody

For anyone who knows me, or our little family, you KNOW we like to be on the GO!! :) We ran around ALL summer long going to different pools, going to SDC and having a variety of play dates here, there and EVERYWHERE!! :) We had the BEST time!! :) But, as we are settling into a school rhythm this fall, I have realized that I LOVE being at HOME with my kiddo's!! Does that sound CRAZY!?! Not at home, like I never realized that I like being a stay at home mommy, I have always enjoyed that, but I have also really enjoying having places to GO!!

   Two weeks ago our sweet little girl started "school!" She goes to school on Monday's and Wednesday's and then I home school her on Tuesday's and Thursday's!! It is going SO well, we both are enjoying having such special time together!! She is my little mini-me so we are the best of friends! :) Today, we made a book of "A's"! We got all crafty creating this little 6 paged book, and as we completed her book, she gave me a huge hug and told me that she LOVES being crafty with me!! It was pure BLISS and made my heart so happy!!! I enjoy SO much having leisurely morning's with her and Zack! We usually start her homework around 9:00 a.m., and we are usually done by 10:30 a.m. or so! Then, we have the whole rest of the day for FUN!! Although we could get out and GO, often we have decided that we would rather stay at home!! I have gotten SO much cleaning done and the kiddos have re-found their favorite toys! We have gotten some extra snuggle time in, and Maddie is leaning to READ! :) When you are on the GO, we often forget about all of the fun we can have at home! We have just had the BEST few weeks!!

  Starting school for Maddie and for Zack and I has been a little bit of an adjustment, but I am SO thankful for the way this year has worked out! I love being at the same school as my daughter and my son...it is a wonderful blessing!! God has His hand in our lives, and it is apparent in SO many ways, but I feel extra blessed by the way He has worked out school for us!

  So, these days I am a homebody!! You are welcome to come over, we LOVE to have company! I will bake for you, and we will have a nice chat!! (I have started making a new Pinterest recipe every week! Some weeks it is a dessert, and sometimes it is dinner!! I will post about this later...but it has been a TON of FUN! I have really gotten out of my cooking routines! My husband is SO pleased!!:))

JOY!

  I have been VERY blessed by a variety of friendships during my lifetime!! Several friendships have come and gone...they have moved, or their season of life has changed!! Many friendships don't stay around forever, but I am thankful for the time I had with these friends!! :)  Although I really dis-liked it when my parents told me that "we can learn from EVERY situation" I totally agree with it!! I have learned SO much about grace and forgiveness from these people! However, some of these friendships are lifelong...I might not get to see these friends all the time, a few of them don't even live in this country, but I know as soon as we see each other, or get to chat, NO time has lapsed between our friendship!! These friends mean the WORLD to me and I am forever thankful for their investment of time in me!!

  I got to spend time with one of my dearest friends just yesterday, and I am so refreshed by the time we got to spend together!!!! My friend Sarah and I have been friends for almost 10 years and our friendship has always been a blessing to me!! We are very much alike, but also very different, and it is in those differences that I am refined and challenged!! Sarah is not afraid to challenge me, in anything that I do or say!! She is always very loving in her words, but she is not afraid to stand up to me, knowing that I usually know better!! She loves Jesus and she loves her husband and I admire her SO much!! We got married within 6 months of each other and our husbands have the same career, so it has been fun over the years to chat with her about life, as we know it (as accountant wives!:)) She was there the days my babies were born and she came to help me on several different occasions, just because she knew I needed it!! Sarah helped me get the nanny job that I had for almost 8 years, and it too was a HUGE blessing to me! :) She has shared in so many JOY's and heartaches!! She is just a dear,dear friend and I cherish the friendship we share!! :)

  A lot of people ask me about friendships, and I don't really know why!!?? I, like many others have had friendships FAIL miserably, and of course they aren't just the other person's fault!! We are ALL messes, sinners saved by grace!! :) BUT...my BEST advice  is always this!! "In order to HAVE good friends, you must BE a good friend!!" Truly!! If you want to have good friends, you must take the initiative to BE a good friend!!! We are ALL busy and caught up in our own lives, but we have to make time for each other...even if it is a phone conversations once a month, or a late night "date" out together!!

 Soooooo, all of that to say... today, I am feeling overwhelming JOY and gratitude for the wonderful and Godly ladies that God has placed in my life!!!

My husband

****DISCLAIMER!!  This is kind of a mushy post, so if you don't like mush, STOP reading this!!!!****

He he! :)

I don't know about you, but I have the BEST conversations with my husband!! There is actually no one I would rather talk to, than him!! He is so loving and understanding, but he also makes me laugh and just "gets" me!! :) Wyatt and I could talk for hours about pretty much anything!! I appreciate that SO much about him!! We just "get" each other!! :) Wyatt never ceases to amaze me!! He is such a hard worker, he sacrifices SO much each day for our family!! God has blessed him with a job that he LOVES, which has made all the difference in our family!! :)

  A few weeks ago, Wyatt was offered a CFO (Chief Financial Operator) position at a bank here in town!! :) I was pretty excited for him!! :):) What an honor it is to have someone call, and ask YOU to be the CFO of their company!! :) However, after a LOT of prayer, and the Godly counsel of dear friends, he decided to turn it down!! I couldn't believe it...it sounded like an AMAZING job, one that my husband has worked VERY hard for!!! But, he told me that he felt like it would be a huge sacrifice for our family, especially at this season of life!! He felt like God has something different in store for him!! WOW!! I am SO unbelievably proud of my man!! He is so diligent and disciplined! He takes his job and our family very seriously and I cannot even believe how loved it makes me feel!! And you know, when I was younger I never thought that diligence and being intentional would make me feel so loved!! We all think that love is a fairy tale... so easy and FUN! And love can be all of those things, but love is also sacrificial and tough. It means following God, even when it is hard!! I am blessed by a husband who desires to follow God, in every area of our lives!! :)

  As we talk through our days and weeks...our activities, our friendships, etc I am very, very thankful that my husband is the head of our household! I am so thankful that he takes his role very seriously!! We are certainly a couple that makes decisions together, but he ultimately make the final decisions on many things!!  I feel entirely blessed that God saw it fit for me to be Wyatt's wife!! :) Thank you God for your unconditional love, shown to me through my husband!! :)

Thankful

As I think about our summer together, I can't help but be SO thankful for all that God has provided for us!! We have gotten to have so many fun adventures together!! We have made so many wonderful memories...it has been amazing and I am SO thankful!! :):) Since this blog is kind of like my own personal diary, I just want to remind myself WHY I am so thankful during this season of our lives!! :)

*Time together, totally un-interrupted!! :)
*Date nights!!!! :):) WHOO-HOO!! :)
*Our 8 year anniversary!! :) WOW!! :)
*3 of the MOST important birthday's in my life!! Wyatt's on June 21st! Maddie's on July 23rd, and my sweet little Zack's birthday is coming up on August 11th!!!
*Time with dear friends!!
*LATE night spades games! :)
*Family time, just our little family of 4, AND time with our families!
*Silver Dollar City
*VBS!
*Date nights out with both my son and daughter!
*Homemade milkshakes
*Rides in the Jeep! :)
*A movie at the Palace!
*NO school for 3 months!!
*Teaching Maddie and Zack to read!
*Teaching M and Z all about chores and earning an allowance!

I feel so blessed by all of these things and SO many more!! Wyatt and I both feel that God has places some very specific friends in our lives for His purpose and we are SO thankful!!

  THANKS God for your many blessings!! The 4 J's are SO THANKFUL!!! :):)

Birthday!

I know I have been REALLY MIA this summer with my blog and I am so sorry!!! :) We are ENJOYING our summer SO much!! We have been so busy with all of the summer time activities we had planned for ourselves!! We have enjoyed a variety of friends, lots of family time, a few short vacations, camp and SO many other things!! We have been SO blessed by this summer!!

  Today, however, has been a day that I have been thinking of ALL summer long!! It is my precious daughters 5th birthday!! :) If you have kiddos, you KNOW what a HUGE day this is for kiddos and their parents!! Maddie has been looking forward to this BIG birthday for an entire year!! And, since today is HER special day, she has gotten to choose everything we have done!! :) Soooooo, today we have enjoyed breakfast at Panera, a couple of hours at Jump Mania and lunch at Pizza Inn!! We are now back at home for naps, and will head out again here in a few hours to celebrate Maddie for the entire evening!! I can't WAIT! :)

 I can't help but think back to 5 years ago when we were waiting for Miss Maddie to come!!! Of course Wyatt stood by my side the entire day, and my family spent the day at the hospital and... and my two best friends were in and out all day!! We were ALL, SO EXCITED about the arrival of Maddie Joy!!! Finally, she made her grand debut weighing at 9 pounds and 5 ounces!! She is beautiful!!! From the very first moment I saw her, I could only imagine what amazing plans God has for her life!! She was send to us for a specific purpose and I am SO THANKFUL that God saw us fit to be her parents!! :) WOW!! What a blessing!!

   I knew that becoming a mommy would change my life, but I never could have imagined how MUCH it would change me!! Being a mommy, has made me a better woman, a better daughter, a better friend!!! Life is no longer about ME!!! It is all about my family and how I can serve them the BEST...and with a happy heart!!!  I'm not going to lie and say that I am completely selfless, I am working on it on a daily basis, and God's graciousness continues to work on my heart, refining me!!! But I do know that God has brought me a long way, and for His faithfulness I am so thankful!! God has blessed our family SO much in these past 5 years!! We have a beautiful home, two cars that work so well, food on our table, clothes to wear and 4 people who LOVE God, and who love each other SO much!!!

" The Lord had done GREAT THINGS for us, and WE are FILLED with JOY!!!!!" Psalm 126:3
 

 

Silver Dollar City

We feel so blessed to have Silver Dollar City passes!! We get them every year for Christmas, and we enjoy them ALL year long!! This summer is the PERFECT summer for SDC and we have already used our passes several times!! We went a few weeks ago with my dad before he left the county for a missions trip!! We actually got there just a few hours before it closed and we had the entire park, ALL to ourselves!!  We went on rides and enjoyed SDC Frozen lemonade...it was FABULOUS!!

 SDC is very special for me... for a variety of reasons!! My dad and my Grandpa both preach at the little Wilderness church there at the park, so my sister and I have grown up going to the park!! We can barely even believe how MUCH it has grown!! :):) When we were little, we would go down early on a Sunday morning to hear my dad preach and then we got to ENJOY the park for the rest of the year!! And, since it is SO close, we would always take a sack lunch and play ALL day!! We know all of the in's and out's of SDC and it is SO fun to go there together!! I LOVE getting to show my kiddos some of my favorite things about the park!!

  Last week we went with a group of our friends, and once again had a BLAST!!!! We got there around 11 and rode the tram to the park!! One we got the gate, we realized that it was Kids Fest!! :) WHOO-HOO!! We started riding all of the rides, but soon realized that we could ride the "big kids" rides!!!! Now, up until this point, we had really only taken our kiddos on the little rides, but WOW!! They were ready for the tea cups and the pirate ship and the roller coaster!! :):) We even went on the Lost River!! WHOO-HOO!!!! We laughed and laughed!!! Such precious memories in the making!! And, it was so fun to do with some of our dearest friends!! We took a break and enjoyed our lunch (that we had brought into the park) and then rode more rides and laughed even more!! We didn't end up heading home until 5:00 p.m.!!!!! It was the PERFECT day! I LOVE sharing part of my childhood with my kiddos, it just makes life SO sweet!! :):):)

SUMMER!!

It is summer and we are SO EXCITED!! :):) Several weeks ago Maddie and Zack and I sat down and made a list of fun activities that they wanted to do this summer!! We have two column's, one for Maddie and one for Zack!! In the past week (since we have been out of school) we have crossed off two items!!! It has been SO much fun!!! This weekend we will cross off another activity!! My dad leaves for his big missions trip of the summer on Monday, so we are all headed to Silver Dollar City as a family on Friday!! We will spend the day at the park, and then have dinner together and ride go-carts that evening!! We CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!! :):) I am especially excited for this summer, because my kiddos are at such FUN ages!! I can hardly wait to see what "trouble" we can get into together!! :) WHOO-HOO!! We praise God for His seasons of refreshing!!! :):)

I love...

I love SO many things that my kiddos are doing right now!! I hope I NEVER forget them!! Here are a few of my *favorites!*


** The way Zack's little hand fits into mine when he needs a little reassuring! :)
** The way Maddie smiles me from across the room at school! She is always so excited to tell me all about her day, and her smile can always tell me what kind of a day it has been!
** The way Zack LOVES to play with his trains!! Sometimes I "lose" him in our house, but as I get close to the play room or his bedroom , I can hear him making car or train sounds and I know exactly where he is!!
** The way Maddie dances when she is excited about something!!
** I LOVE that both Maddie and Zack are snugglers! They both come and snuggle in bed with me early each morning! I am usually awake when they come in, but I jump back in bed so they will sweetly snuggle with me!! LOVE this one so much!!!
** I love hearing their sweet prayers!! Zack closes his eyes so tightly, I love to hear what is on his sweet little heart!! He holds my hand and squeezes it when he is done!!
** Maddie's heart for her family!! She is so sweet and sensitive! She wants to take care of us all, and gets so concerned when there is something that she doesn't feel like she can help with! I LOVE my daughter! 
** The way my kiddos L-O-V-E their daddy!! :)
** The way Zack calls a seat belt a "belt seat!" :) My son is the CUTEST!!!!
** The way Maddie sings her "Bear Hunt" song and the "Every Move I Make" song (Na na na na neeeeeeeee na!!:))
** The way my son and daughter love my parents!! It is the most amazing gift!! :)
** The way my daughter smiles when we talk about school, she is so JOY-filled to go to GDA next year!!
** My sweet son's knowledge about the movie Car's! :)
** The way our family is growing and learning together!! :)


Feeling SO {BLESSED} tonight!!! :):)

Baking Bread

Today is Wednesday, and our "normal" routine for Wednesday is... bible study at our fabulous church, and then lunch out with some dear friends from study!! Well, today is the first day we haven't had our fun, Wednesday routine! Last week was the conclusion of our bible study until this coming fall!! Instead of heading out to Northside, we spent the day at "school!" I had been asked to teach another class today, and after chatting with my husband and kiddos about it, we decided that I could fill in!! What was extra special about today, was that Maddie AND Zack got to be in my class!! Many people would think that this was a a bad idea, but my kiddos are the BEST of friends, AND, this isn't their normal class, so they hung out with each other and played together ALL morning!! It was so precious!!! I feel SO blessed to be able to go to school with my kiddos! They know I am there, so I think {hope} that brings them a level of comfort, I know their teachers and the other students in their classrooms...and we get to do everything together! It has been a true blessing! :)

  After school today, we headed to Sam's for lunch (DON'T JUDGE!! :) We can all eat there for $6.00!!:)) Then we decided to surprise Wyatt with a picnic tonight, so we did our shopping and got our bread and Ham and a few other items (along with a few samples:)) and were on our way!!! As soon as we got home we read some books and settled down for naps!! Often, I am very busy around nap time, there are always a million things to do! But, a few days ago a dear friend gave me a friendship bread start, and I have been working with it for several days! TODAY, is the day I  get to bake it and I am so excited!! So I started mixing everything together and now I have freshly baked bread baking in my oven!! I feel so accomplished!! Isn't that crazy!?! I've got laundry going and bread in the oven! I feel like I am exactly where I need to be!! :):) God is working on my heart SO much and I am so thankful!! :):)

  My prayer for this summer, is that we will be able to really slow down and ENJOY the time we have together!! We are SO BUSY during this season of life!! We are having fun, but we want to be sure we really enjoy the time we have with our two kiddos!! Life is always changing and moving in different directions, but we want our kiddos to know that we are always here for them, and that we love them SO much!! We have been going through our kiddos' bible books each evening, and that has been a HUGE blessing for our family!! We just love time together!! :):)

 Ahhhh, who knew that baking bread would be a blessing in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon!?! :):)

*Hugs and Kisses*

My Maddie and Zack are growing and changing so much!! It is hard to believe that they will turn 4 and 5 this year!! :) I Love them SO much, getting to be their mommy is the GREATEST blessing of my life!!! There are SO many things that I hope never change... their laughter, their friendship, their little personalities, the JOY they spread to Wyatt and I and SO many others!!!! I just LOVE every every little part of them! But, what I hope NEVER changes are their sweet hugs and kisses!! They melt my heart and make me desire to be a more loving mom!! I feel SO LOVED whenever they stop just to love on ME!! :) What an incredible and humbling blessing!! Today was Mom's Day at school, and it was a BLAST!!! :)When we got into the beautifully decorated gym, Zack walked right up to me, took my hand and said, "Mommy let's sit over here!!" in his perfect little voice! Then as we sat down, he leaned over and gave me a sweet little kiss and hugged me right around the neck!! Oh MAN, this mommy was a puddle oft he floor!! He has become such a LOVEY little boy!! It is amazing!! :):) Later, Maddie gave me a sweet card and gave me a BIG hug and kiss on the cheek!! PRICELESS!!!!! Thank you God for my beautiful little blessings!! :)

Spring Break Bullet Points

We have been on spring break this past week and it has been an AMAZING week!! :):) We did SO much, I just wanted to remember each day!! So here we go!!

**Last Saturday--We spent the ENTIRE day as a little family of 4! We shopped in Branson, ate a fun, leisurely and yummy lunch together at Freddy's, took a long walk...AHHHH it was PURE bliss!! :)

**Last Sunday--We spent the morning at church together!! (Have I mentioned how much we LOVE our church!?!:)) Then, we had lunch with some NEW friends which was a BLAST!! :) Then we spent the day cleaning and getting ready for the week ahead! We even went grocery shopping together!! :) It was fabulous!! :)

**Monday--We had lunch with our "Aunt" Paige!! I LOVE that she lives here now and we can see her pretty much ANY time we want!! AND, she is expecting her first child in June...a beautiful little girl!! I LOVE chatting with her about being a mommy and hearing her questions! She and her husband were two of the first people we told when we found out we were pregnant with our little Maddie!! They are our very dear friends and I love that we are going to get to see baby Kahlen grow up!! Monday evening we had dinner with our friends the Wessley family!! They have 3 sweet kiddos and are pregnant with their 4th!! Becca has been an amazing friend to me throughout the ytears! She is a very strong and Godly woman, and I cherish the friendship we share!! Our families also get along really well, so that is a blessing also!!!!

**Tuesday--We invited some friends over for a playdate and they stayed all day! :):) My friend Greta just had her second baby boy and we enjoyed hours of endless chatting while our kiddos played together!! I got my baby fix and we had a fabulous day together!! On Tuesday night, I had a super fun jewelry show with my friend Paige!! We had the BEST time together!!

**Wednesday--It was a VERY rainy day, so we headed out to Chick-Fil-A to meet some friends for a breakfast playdate!! We were blessed by breakfast (it is SO YUMMY at Chick-fil-a:)) and while the kiddos played, us girls had some time to CHAT!! It. was! AWESOME!! :) After CFA...we all loaded up and headed to Target! After a very successful trip shopping, my friend Mandy and our kiddos headed off to lunch at Q'doba!! :) It was another fun day of good and challenging chats! I am very thankful for my group of girlfriends...they aren't afraid to ask the hard questions and we always have really good discussions!! {BLESSED!!}

**Thursday--We relaxed at home, played games, watched a movie and just CHILLED! :) It was the perfectly relaxing morning! Then, we spontaneously called Wyatt to see if he wanted to meet us for lunch!! Whoo-hoo!! :) We enjoyed some daddy time right in the middle of the day!! Then that night we had a movie night at the Palace, complete with popcorn and Sprite! :) We saw "We Bought a Zoo" and everyone LOVED it!! :)

**Friday--Wyatt took the day off and we headed to SDC!! Oh, we had the BEST time!! :)

**Saturday--I got to hang out with some dear friends and enjoy a morning of crafting, then we all took a nap and headed out to meet my parents as they returned from AZ!! :)

It was such a fun week!! I didn't realize how much we needed a week "off" until we were right, smack in the middle of it!! :) I feel so blessed to be able to enjoy making SO many special memories with my sweet kiddos!! Now, we all feel refreshed and ready for the rest of the school year!! :) BRING IT ON!! :) WHOO-HOO!!!! :)

Quality Time

A few weeks ago some of my girlfriends and I got together for our monthly girls night out!! One of the girls had a GREAT idea and asked each of us to go to the 5 Love Languages web site and take the survey to find out what our love languages are!! Well, Wyatt and I took this test before we got married so I thought I had a good idea as to what my top 3 would be! Oh boy, was I WRONG! Time has surely changed my heart!! :) So I really enjoyed taking this test and re-evaluating!! :)

My TOP love language is Quality Time!! As first I thought this was surely wrong, but then it HIT me!! I LOVE to spend time with Wyatt... and with my Maddie and Zack!! I am a talker and a listener, I like CONVERSATION, of COURSE I need quality time!! If you asked me what my perfect night would be, I would totally answer that it would be an evening with my family...just being US!! And, if I think a little harder... in the days and weeks that I am feeling like I am having an off week, it is because I haven't gotten much quality time with my sweet little family!! :) I just need to spend time with them, talking and bonding and simply being together!!!The same is true for my extended family and my friends!! It is SO hard to feel connected to people that you haven't seen or chatted with in {days} or weeks! This was a really good wake up call for me!!

I am SO looking forward to this week and spending some much needed time with my sweet family of 4!! I realize that I get to see them every day, but the past few weeks have been really busy for us, and this week we have very few plans on purpose!! And NEXT week is spring break for us, so we are very excited about Wyatt taking off a few days for us to have some family "quality time" fun!!!! :)

GDA

Today my sweet little Maddie went in for her Kindergarten screening!! She was SO confident and calm, I am constantly amazed that she is my daughter!! :) I am such a {blessed} mommy!! She went right in with the director and after about 30 minutes they came out!! Maddie was BEAMING and SO excited to tell us all about it!! The director gave us the "thumbs UP" so... our daughter is now officially enrolled for Kindergarten next year!! The director said that she totally rocked the evaluation!! She was quite impressed!! Now, every parent knows that their child is smart, but we are especially proud! :):) We will be sending her to Gloria Deo Academy!! It is a part time/homeschooling school!! (Confusing...right!?:)) She will go to school 2 days a week!! Then 2 days I will homeschool her with the lessons that her teacher sends home!! I taught at GDA about 5 years ago and I loved it, so I am really excited to send my kiddos there!! I am the MOST excited about getting to spend one-on-one time with her completing her homework together!! I pray a LOT about being mommy and teacher!! But I am confident that it will be a smooth transition!! I can hardly believe that my first born is ready for school, but I am REALLY excited for her to learn more and be challenged!! I am SO PROUD of my sweet, sweet girl!! :):)

Weekend

I LOVE Friday for SO many reasons!! WHOO-HOO!! :) I am especially excited about today because we have a rockin' weekend planned!! :) Our weekends usually get busy pretty quickly, so we have had to make some sacrifices in order to insure that our little family has some time together!! :) There is NOTHING better than family time!! :):) Here is our weekend of planned events!

**Tonight we are going out on a double date with our friends the Colvette's!! We LOVE this couple SO much!! They are so sweet, genuine and wonderfully Godly!! And... we have a lot of the same interests!! :) I also appreciate that John and Wyatt are good friends!! Many of you know how hard it is for guys to find good friends, but we are SO thankful to have found a good, balanced friendship with this couple! :) They have 3 kiddos, two of which are almost exactly our kiddos' ages! And their 2 oldest just happen to be some of my Maddie and Zack's best friends!! We are so excited to get to go out with them tonight, JUST as COUPLES!! :) WHOO-HOO!! I have a whole list of things I am excited to talk to Joy about! :) So, as you can see, I am QUITE excited!!

**Tomorrow we get to have a family day...just the 4 of us!! We need to run a few errands, but we get to run errands all TOGETHER!!!! I am looking forward to making pancakes in the morning (our Saturday morning tradition:)) and then just getting to be together!! I LOVE my precious little family, and time with them is so priceless!! :)

**Tomorrow evening we are headed over to our friends, the Grider's house for dinner and games!! They came over last week and we had a BLAST!! Our normal "end time" to our evenings together tends to be about 4 a.m.!! NO JOKE!! Last Friday they spent the whole day with us at our house, and they STILL stayed until 4 a.m.!! It! was! a! BLAST!! :):) I do think we have put a time limit on our evening together this time around, we told them we had to be home by 1:00 a.m.! We shall see!! :) We don't normally stay out SO late, but it is such fun once and a while and we are thankful for dear friendships!! (It also helps that our kiddos are AWESOME sleepers, so they go right to bed while we are there! :))

**Sunday is church!!** YAY!! We LOVE our church and look forward to hearing the message each week!! :)

**Sunday evening I get to hang out with my little guy Griffin!! I started as his nanny when he was just 2 weeks old! He is now 8 years old and an awesome little guy!! :) He is moving to Texas this summer, so I am trying to spend all the time I can with him!!! I am looking forward to time with him, and his time with my family! He is just part of our family and we all love him so much!!

Can you see why I LOVE Friday's!?! This Friday especially!?!?! Enjoy your weekends friends!!!!