~ Sledding ~

Jaidyn and Addy went down for their naps today without argument as Wes had promised them as soon as he got home from work they could go sledding. Here they are all bundled up. And of course I am standing on the porch, just stepping outside long enough to take some pictures.




Our yard has a nice little slope, but it is nothing like the hill they found over at the park. I could see them out the kitchen window and was able to watch them while cooking dinner. Wes got a great workout in and was sweating by the time he got back to the house. He would push the girls down the hill and then jog down to get them and bring them back to the top just so they could do it all over again.

Nice & Toasty Snow Fun!

I have to admit, my mom made me feel somewhat guilty today. On the phone this morning she was trying to persuade me into bundling the girls up and taking them outside to go sledding. With the nice wintry ice mix we had overnight we had a perfect day to test out some slippery roads. I just hate cold weather...have I mentioned that I really, really hate cold weather? All day, I kept thinking that I should take them outside, but just the thought of dragging out their coats, boots, snowpants and gloves for probably only a 15 minute time period as I would be lucky to last that long had me keeping myself busy with household chores just so I could use the excuse that we just didn't have time. I even started working on our taxes paperwork. Not to mention that I would have another entire load of laundry to do after we came in with wet clothes.

Tonight around dinner time, we had a beautiful light snow. Check out the big fluffy snowflakes decorating our deck.


After dinner, I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and found the most genious idea for all of us that hate cold weather. Amy of Mom Advice shared her inside snow activity.


I laid out white towels to look like snow and then brought in tubs of the newly fallen snow from outside. The girls played for over an hour with their Littlest Pet Shop toys, spoons and measuring cups. They were quite the little chatter bugs as they laughed and played. They even put on their snow boots.






Jaidyn started out in her pink "cowgirl" dress-up outfit and boots and as time went on she stripped several articles of clothing as they got wet and before you know it she was only in her birthday suit. Who can honestly say that they have enjoyed snow in the buff. And at one time, I hear Addy yelling "snowball fight" and jump up in time to see her chucking a handfull of snow across the kitchen.

Tonight we had the best of both worlds. We stayed nice and toasty and still had some snow fun! Mom, I think that you would even be satisifed with this one. :)

Oh, and I just have to share this cute little picture of Addy "Annalise" (this is who she calls herself when she wears the pink dress) and her tea party this afternoon.

~ Winter Storm ~

Not much going on here. We are preparing to be inside for the next couple of days as we are in the middle of an ugly winter storm. We already have a nice covering of crunchy ice this evening. Hopefully, the bad stuff will stay south of us as the news reporters are prediciting lots of power outages. Even though Wes was scheduled to have the day off tomorrow he has been called to work. I am guessing he will be called out early as we have already heard ambulance and fire deptartment sirens on several occasions this evening. The roads became slick in a hurry. The girl's preschool hasn't been called off yet this evening, but I am sure tonight by the 10:00news we will hear what we are already planning. I really wish Wes would have the day off as it would probably be a great day for sledding tomorrow.

Earlier this week I ordered the girls' Valentine cards for their preschool classes from Wal-mart's photo department. Jaidyn picked out the Tinkerbell themed cards for herself and Disney Princess cards for Addy. Here are the pictures that we used for their cards. I think they will turn out pretty darn cute!

"Out of many, we are one"

Out of many, we are one."


As I sit here glued to NBC's Today Show this morning, my heart is filled with joy as I am excited about witnessing (even if it is through the TV) an extraordinary historical American event. Yesterday, I thought about how our country has come along way since the days of Martin Luther King Jr.

As a country we need to be brought together and I think that Barack Obama has the capacity to move our country forward. I believe that through this election, our country is going to experience the blessing of HOPE and CHANGE.

While I wouldn't want to be him or be in his shoes, it is so nice to see someone who is willing to take on the challenges that our country faces with a sense of calamity and a winning smile.


God Bless Barack Obama and his family!


On a side note...I am so in to the fashion of the 1st Lady. I am looking forward to the revealing of the inaugural dress that Michelle Obama will wear tonight for the Inauguration Balls this evening. Sad to say, but she will probably be my focal point this evening. I love her sleek and simple yet FIERCE sense of style. I am sure whatever she picks will be stunning. :)

Cupcakes and Airplanes

Jaidyn has been bugging me all week to bake something with her and you all know how much I loooovvvveeee to bake. So tonight I dug out the only box of cake mix I had...Pillsbury Moist Supreme Reduced Sugar Lemon. Not my first choice as I would rather have something with chocolate in it. I measured and the girls poured and stirred. Of course we had to jazz it up a little and add pink sprinkles to make the muffins pinkalicious. Daddy will be surprised tonight when he gets home from work and has this setting out for a midnight snack. (Wes, if you eat anything crunchy, Jaidyn cracked and put in the eggs).






Jaidyn and Addy only ate the tops of their muffins. Maybe I should have mixed sprinkles in the entire mix.

Yesterday we spent the day at Papa JR's and Mama LaLa's house. Jaidyn loved getting to spend some time with her cousins. When we got there, Haven had colored a picture for both Jaidyn and Addy and even made this airplane for our upcoming family member. She wrote USA and PHILIPPINES on each side of it. The best part...when you open it up she has our entire family "flying back from the Philippines". I love that all of us have blond (yellow) hair. :) Won't she be surprised? Pretty thoughtful and inquisitive for a Kindergartner.

Money in the Bowl

I just have to share a funny Jaidyn story. Earlier this week, while I was in the kitchen trying to get something together for dinner and Wes was sitting at the kitchen table reading, Jaidyn enters wearing only a grass skirt and a purple sequin top from her dress-up box. She is carrying a bowl and proceeds to tell us that for a one dollar bill she will dance for us. Wes plays it off and tells her that I have all of his money and he doesn't have any dollar bills. I am wondering where in the heck she has come up with the grand idea to dance for money. Wes is of course blaming it on me and is wondering what kind of activities we are doing while I am at home with them. I ask Jaidyn about it and luckily, Jaidyn came up with this idea from watching her Barbie, Princess and the Pauper, movie. In the movie, the pauper is singing on the streets and has a bowl out hoping some people will drop in some coins as they pass by. Jaidyn settled for a dime from each of us as that is what I could scrounge out of my purse. Silly Girl!

Passports

A couple of weeks ago we received our passports in the mail. Back in December, we thought that we would go ahead and fill out the paperwork and get our passports out of the way and taken care of so it would be one less paperwork piece and fee that we would need to take care of. I have had my passport sitting on my desk for the past couple of weeks and seeing it everyday has kept reminding me that I have it, yet no where to go with it, or at least not yet. I finally filed it away in Wes's Valet so I don't have to look at it and make it be a constant reminder that we don't have a referral yet.

Happy New Year!

Here's to 2009 bringing us a referral (hopefully early in to the new year) and all while continuing to receive both love and joy in abundance from our children. We are excited about what this year may bring to us in terms of faith, family, home, and friendship.

I would spend some time coming up with some grand resolutions for the new year, but found that in the past they were usually broken about mid-January, only to make me feel incompetent in the goals that I had planned to reach. However, I would like to spend less time wishing God thought the way I wish He thought and more time figuring out how He really thinks and what He wants from and for me. The selfish part of myself knows that I would have already given us a referral by now. The patience in me helps to remind myself that our turn will come soon enough...all in God's timing. :)