Happy 7th birthday Will!!

My son Will just turned 7 this past friday. So to say that October is busy with two bday parties in two weeks would be an understatement. Yet what a great gift to be able to celebrate my two healthy children. For Will's party we decided at the last minute to have it Magic Mountain. They had this great special going if you had your party this past weekend, which of course worked out perfectly for us.

Will invited 12 boys and 7 were able to come. They had fun playing laser tag and running around in the huge play gym there. Mike helped out so much as we tried to keep track of everyone. The boys were all sweaty with red cheeks by the end of the party which in my book means they had a great time and hopefully burned off the sugar they had at the beginning of the party.

Will is so enthusiastic about life. He will talk your head off if you let him and he has a tender spirit that I think is contagious. Mike and I feel so blessed to have Will as our son and we know he will do great things.

The best birthday gift was this Sunday in church Will prayed the prayer and asked Jesus into his heart. While he as done this with Mike and I before it was so encouraging to know that when they were presented with the opportunity to do it at church he went up and told his teacher that he prayed that prayer. Thank you for this gift Lord!

Here are a few pics from his birthday



Here is Will reading the book all his classmates made for him on his birthday. They each made a page of the book and said where they would take Will on his birthday. His teacher is so awesome!



Here is Will standing on his chair at school while they listen to a special birthday song. It is the one time they are allowed to stand on their chair!

School Days!

Well school has finally started and I find myself with a first and third grader. It was very weird to have the whole day free today, and I can only imagine how it will feel next week after a whole week away from the kids. I know there will be some adjustment for all of us but in the end I believe it is going to be a great year. I absolutely love both the kids teachers and feel like they are both in the right class.

Abby got her hair cut last night and it looked adorable today for school, she also got two feathers put in her hair which are all the rage in our elementary school. I love that Abby loves to wear a dress on the first day and the past two years Target has really come through with some cute vintage style dresses. How you see Will is probably the most dressed up he will ever get, he loves his sport shorts and tee shirts.

I can't wait to see all that my kids will learn this year and I hope and pray that they represent their God well as they do it.

What's your mood?

Abby must have been seriously adorable the day I let her not only shop at Justice but purchase blue nail polish that supposedly changes color depending on your mood. Whatever the case I let Abby give me a manicure today and I now have blue nails and so does she. Yes I am that desperate for a manicure that blue nail polish painted by an 8 year old sounded perfectly normal!

I am so glad that I have a daughter to share fun girly stuff with. I am glad that she still wants to hang out with me and enjoys spending time with me. I am glad that she seeks my feedback on her clothing(and nail polish) choices. I pray so hard for this daughter of mine, that she falls in love with her Christ, that she gets her value from him and that he is always at the center of her life.

So right now my mood is happy, content and grateful no matter the fact that my nails are still blue!

Hello blog, remember me!

Wow have I neglected the blog for a while. Once summer hit we have been super, crazy, fun busy and I have had a hard time documenting it. I also got an Iphone recently and with that came the app Instagram which has been great for taking pictures and posting them directly to facebook and twitter but not so good about posting them here.

We had a great time in July at Ruggles beach as always. We feel so blessed to have such great friends and family there and the memories created are so special.

ABBY TUBING FOR THE FIRST TIME


MOM AND WILL GIVING IT A TRY


MY MEN!

I also have started a new job which has consumed a lot of my time. I am now an independent CAbi consultant, a great clothing line and company that sells designer clothes in the home. Mike and I have prayed about this decision and I know that God is leading me to try something completely outside my comfort zone. Yet I know that when I stretch myself or even fail(of course I hope I don't) that it keeps me dependent on God and that is always where I want to be. I got to to travel to California for the first time for training which was fun, exciting and tiring, i flew my first Red eye!

So now we have a month or so before the kids go back to school, my little Will is going to be in first grade and my beautiful Abby in third. I will have both kids in school all day for the first time ever, that is going to be an interesting transition I am sure.
I hope that once the kids get in school I can focus more on keeping up on the blog and putting in writing the simple blessings that God places in my life daily. I never want to stop recognizing them or thanking him for them.

John 3:16

"FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE." JOHN 3:16

About two weeks ago was Will's last wrestling tourney. Mike took Will there for warmups and Abby and i joined them later. When I saw Will he was pale as a ghost and on the verge of tears. HE WAS SUPER NERVOUS!! This was the league championship and there were so many people there. I felt sick to my stomach, I didn't want my baby boy to be scared about wrestling or competition, I wanted him to have fun. I start thinking in my head, how do I handle this. Then I look down and I see this written on his hand.



In wrestling the kids get put in brackets and this was Will's for the day. So I told him the importance of that Bible verse and how God loves him so much. I was so grateful for the opportunity to share scripture with Will as comfort. His first match ended in a forfeit and he lost the next two. However he wrestled great despite the fact he had to wrestle the #1 and #2 wrestlers.




Mike got to coach a few of the kids because they were short coaches. Mike is on one knee by the table and Will is on his knees looking a little bored.



Here Will is sitting on Mike's lap as they await his next match. What great Daddy/son bonding:)




Lastly this was God again letting his presence and comfort be known. Abby and I attended church before we headed to the mat. I saw that she got a red heart ornament but I did not read what it said. When we got home after the tourney I looked at it and wouldn't you know it said GOD LOVES YOU on one side and JOHN 3:16 on the other side. Only God could orchestrate the events of that day and how gracious of him to reveal his love to my family.

This makes me happy

I have been reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, it really is an amazing, perspective altering book. I just finished Chapter 4 and am getting ready to start my list of 1000 things that bring me joy so I can recognize the gifts that God is giving me every day. There are so many great points in this book so I encourage you to check the book out for yourself or head over to (in)courage and get caught up. You will be blessed.

So as I start tonight thinking about what brings me joy, I remembered this photo I took on my cell phone last May. I was driving through an unfamiliar neighborhood and I see this cute older couple out for a walk and they are holding hands. It just warmed my heart to see their affection and so I snapped a picture in my sideview mirror. This is what I want Mike and I to be like when we are 80+ and out for a walk. Thank you Lord for the blessing of companionship.

Howdy Partner

This past week the theme at church for the kids was Western. Abby created her own outfit, I love the brownie vest. We borrowed cowboy hats from Mike's cousins and I helped Will with his outfit. He has been dying to wear ripped jeans so this was a highlight for him. Abby actually won best cowgirl and she was very excited about that. I love that Abby wanted to dress up and took ownership of her outfit. I love that Will still lets me help him and that simple things make his day. I am thankful for God's blessing of children, that he would honor me with being a parent. Feeling very fortunate to be called Mommy.

Hearts Melting!!

Today is just one of those days where you take the time to realize how blessed you really are and how much I absolutely adore my kids. Here our a few pictures of my favorite little people.

Here is Abby eating her chinese with her fancy chopsticks. She is so easy going, so thoughtful and so caring. I love her to pieces and she could not be a better daughter or big sister. Her cheerleading is coming along great, she is throwing her back handspring by herself with a little encouragement. Hopefully she will be completely ready to go when competition starts in one month.



Here is Will last night as he crashed on the couch. What a sweetie. Mike has been out of town(he is on his way home as I type:) so Will has been my little bed buddy, he loves to be with his Momma.




Lastly this picture brought tears to my eyes. Will brought this home from Kindergarten today. They just celebrated their 100th day at school and this is what Will thought he would be doing at 100 years old. God is so good. I am so glad Will's tender little heart gets it.


In case you can't read it, Will's answer is: up in hevin with my savyor

Our Sunday

This Sunday was great. We had a great sermon at church about parenting our kids, which I touched on in yesterday's post. We headed to Will's wrestling match and then out to dinner at the Rusty Bucket. We usually head to the Rusty Bucket in Dublin but since the wrestling tourney was in Upper Arlington we went to the one there. The have this great patio with a fire pit, the kids checked it out before we left and thought it was uber cool. Will has decided to resurrect his peace signs I guess in his pictures, we will see.


Today has been crazy with the ice that came over night. The kids were out of school and the driveways and sidewalks are crazy icy not to mention our cul de sac is like an ice rink. We are in for some additional winter weather tonight and tomorrow so we will see what tomorrow brings. Hope everyone stays safe!!

Hedbanz

Will got the game Hedbanz for Christmas so we decided to play it the other night. It really is a cute game and was fun for ages 6-adult. It was fun seeing the kids have to really think about the questions they need to ask to discover what object they were. It was also nice to see them helping each other out when they needed a little hint. I love that we can have fun together as a family and that the kids crave spending time with us. I know someday I won't be cool enough to hang out with according to them, but right now I am going to savor every last bit of it. I am so blessed to have the family I have.

Darn You Perkins!!

Well this morning my grandparents were headed out the door as it was the last day for 20% off at their Perkins in Springfield. As my grandpa stepped off the porch he hit a patch of ice and slipped, falling to the ground. He ended up breaking his L hip and will have surgery bright and early tomorrow morning. Tonight I headed over to visit him in the hospital and am so glad I got to spend time taking care of him and just talking.

As I have gotten older it has been harder and harder to see my grandparents as my own family's schedule has gotten busier. We just saw them two weeks ago but barely got to visit as the house was full of people. I am so lucky to have three living grandparents at my age and really need to get better about making time to see them more often. Life is such a balance, I feel like you are pulled in so many directions, trying to please your family, your parents, your in-laws and carve time out for yourself as well.

Even though I am fortunate to have family that really does not put pressure on me, I continue to stress about pleasing everyone. I am sure God would love for me to spend less time stressing out about pleasing others and more time pleasing Him. So even though I would much rather have my Grandpa walking around right now and this to have never happened, I am so grateful for the blessing of spending time with him tonight. Only God can provide a blessing in such unwelcome circumstances. I am grateful to have a husband who so willing let me drop our plans today and go spend time with him. I am praying tonight for peace for my Grandparents, for the surgeon to be well rested and have no difficulties during the surgery tomorrow, as well as a full recovery.

What if funny about this story is when my grandma got the chance to step out of the hospital today to get a bite to eat, guess where she went....PERKINS!!!

Christmas 2010

Well Christmas this year for the McGraw family was a month long celebration. We of course remembered the reason for the season all month long and are so grateful that God sent his son to be our savior. It started by celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with Mike's side of the family and ended with Christmas with my side of the family. It was great having most of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving and it was nice for the kids to have all their presents spread out so they could appreciate them more. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas celebrations.


Abby and her new lap desk



Our family after Christmas Eve Service as my parent's house



Will is a little excited about his new metal detector

What a great time of family fun we had. I got a huge surprise from Mike as he got me a new MacBook. I needed a new laptop badly but we decided, or so I thought, to hold off. I am so grateful that Mike wanted to do something special for me this Christmas.

We are looking forward to 2011 and all the God has in store for us. We have been so blessed.

Thanksgiving Program

Will's kindergarten class did an amazing Thanksgiving Program. I never knew so many songs existed about Thanksgiving. Abby did the same program two years ago and it was just as cute the second time around. Here is a video of my little Indian.

We had a great Thanksgiving up at Lake Erie this year. Also for the first time we celebrated Christmas as well. This made it more hectic in November in terms of getting my shopping done, but now I am so far ahead. We love spending time with our families over the Holidays. Abby and Will had a blast with their cousins and of course we had an amazing Thanksgiving meal. We have so much to be thankful for and I want to keep that spirt of thanksgiving going all year long in our family. Now onto CHRISTmas!

It's that time of year!!!

I love College football but more importantly I love the Buckeyes. Tonight is the beginning of a great season and my whole house is pumped. Abby and Will went to school wearing their buckeye gear today and we will definitely be watching tonight. It is funny how weekends become more exciting or planned around Buckeye games in the fall. We are planning on going to the OSU vs Ohio game and are fired up to watch all the games we can from our home. So I am grateful for the simple blessing of college football but also that I get to live in Ohio and be an Ohio State Buckeye fan. GO BUCKS!!!

Jasper

Our trip to Jasper was too beautiful not to put some pictures up. We stayed in a lovely cabin at the Fairmont Jasper. It was spacious and beautiful and so rustic.

Here is the beautiful lake we got to look at every morning. It was so cute in the early mornings as Papa would head down to the deck with some of the grandchildren with his coffee.

One morning we took a 45 minute bus ride to see Maligne Lake. Then we went on a boat tour and saw God's beauty up close. I know the picture doesn't fully capture the color of the water but it is the most beautiful aqua/teal color.

Another day we rode a tram up Mt. Whistler which is @7500 feet. We had great views of the mountains. The tram ride was beautiful but also a little scary being suspended mid air, but the end result was worth it.

We had such an amazing trip, our travel was safe and smooth. We got to experience so many new things together as a family, I am so grateful for the wonderful memories.

Lake Louise

We were blessed this past week to travel to Canada with Mike's family to celebrate his parents 40th wedding anniversary. What a blessing to witness Mike's parents commitment to God and each other and of course an added bonus to visit Canada. We started our journey by spending one night in Lake Louise. To say God has made some beautiful things is an understatement. When you read about God's creation in Genesis you can not even fathom what he really created until you get out there and see it. What a blessing to show my kids what our God has created for us to enjoy.

As we were driving to Lake Louise we say a rainbow, what an assurance of God's promise and that his presence was with us.

Here is Abby and Will with their two cousins Libby and Marie as we wait at Calgary airport to get our rental cars.

The view of Lake Louise from our hotel room

On Lake Louise cayaking with our family, it was a crisp and clear day.


More pictures of our stay at Jasper to come, the pictures do not capture all that we saw but they are pretty close.

May was Crazy

Wow did May fly by. I have so many things to talk about and can't believe it is over. I am going to post little bits at a time and hopefully I can cover everything. I will first start with Abby's first grade program. They practiced really hard in Music class for weeks to give a performance and it did not disappoint.

Here is Abby, back row fifth from the left, as they get ready to start. Abby, Will and Mommy after the program. They also gave us Mother's Day gifts, a cute handpainted pot with a flower. It is still alive one month later, YEAH!! Proud Daddy and his little ones! Grandma is here to enjoy the fun. Notice Will decided to do the peace sign in each photo. He has been into this for about a month. I am not going to be picky though because he looks happy in all the photos.

Happy Mother's day

I am so blessed to be the mama to to these two kids. I took them to the zoo on Thursday as the new polar bear exhibit opened. I had a wonderful Mother's day with my family. We went to church, had brunch and then planted some flowers and then I got a great gift from my hubby-a gift card to Pottery Barn to buy some things for our home. As joyful as I am that I get to be a mommy I can't imagine the loss others feel today as they wait for their chance or they mourn the loss of a child. I pray that they felt God holding them close today and I pray that they will soon recieve the gift they have been so longing for.

I am so grateful for my Mom and MIL as well. I have a wonderful relationship with each and they are so helpful to me as I raise their grandkids. I would also be remiss if I didn't give my wonderful hubby a shout out. He really is such a great partner in this journey of parenthood. Thank you Lord for the privilege of motherhood!!

Soccer and Family

This Saturday my mom and dad came up to watch the kids soccer games. We were so lucky that we only got a little wet even though the forecast predicted rain all day. Here abby is snuggling with grandma during Will's game. Will was on fire today and scored like a bazillion goals. It is so fun to watch the kids his age, all the boys kept falling on the ball or trying to grab it with their hands, it was quite entertaining.



The above pictures were taken at their first spring soccer game when it was sunny, Abby always has a cute little pose now when we take her picture. Then after the soccer games my sister in law came over with my nephew Colton. Colton is three months old and a pure joy to be around. My kids loved him, acutally Abby smothered him.


I am so grateful that my extended family lives only a little over an hour away. It is so nice to have them just pop in for the day.

Sanibel 2010

HERE IS HOW OUR VACATION IN SANIBEL STARTED, WE HAD A THREE HOUR DRIVE TO GET TO SANIBEL FROM THE AIRPORT SO THE KIDS SLEPT THRU THE ARRIVAL.

THE KIDS ARE CHEESING IT BIG TIME FOR MOMMY AT THE BEAUTIFUL CAPTIVA. WE HEADED THEIR FOR LUNCH AT MUCKY DUCK AND A WALK ON THE BEACH, THE WATER IS ALWAYS PRETTIER THERE FOR SOME REASON

NO VACATION WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT A PICTURE OF SANIBEL'S BEAUTIFUL SUNSET. ALTHOUGH IT WAS A BIT COOLER THAN MOST YEARS WE WERE ABLE TO GET OUT ALMOST EVERY DAY AND LAY ON THE BEACH AND BY THE POOL.

HERE IS A FAMILY PHOTO, I ALWAYS HAVE A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WIND AT SANIBEL. NO MATTER HOW NICE MY HAIR LOOKED UP IN THE CONDO IT ALWAYS TURNS OUT BAD IN THE BEACH PHOTOS.

WE TAKE A PICTURE OF THE KIDS IN THIS CHAIR ON CAPTIVA PRETTY MUCH EVERY YEAR, WE STARTED WHEN ABBY WAS ABOUT 18 MONTHS. IT IS FUN TO COMPARE HOW BIG THE KIDDOS HAVE GOTTEN

ONE OF THE MORNINGS WE HEADED TO FORT MYERS BECAUSE THE MORNING WAS COOL AND RAINY. WE HEADED TO THE IMAGINARIUM WHERE WILL ABOUT DOVE INTO THE PETTING POOL WITH THE BABY STINGRAYS

WE ARE ALWAYS SO GRATEFUL FOR MIKE'S COUSINS. THEY LOVE OUR KIDS AND PLAYED A FUN GAME OF CHICKEN IN THE POOL

WHAT CAN BE MORE FUN THEN A BIG HOLE ON THE BEACH!!

WILL GETTING SOME SERIOUS AIR TIME THANKS TO HIS PAPA

MY TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, HOW I LOVE THEM SO!

WE REALLY HAD A FABULOUS TIME AGAIN IN SANIBEL. WE HAVE MANY FUNNY AND PRECIOUS MEMORIES WITH OUR FAMILY. I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE A FAMILY VACATION TO SANIBEL EACH YEAR, THERE IS SUCH COMFORT IN GOING SOMEWHERE YOU'VE ALWAYS GONE.

WE OF COURSE ARE STILL HEALING FROM THE NEAR DROWNING WE SAW AND CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THAT LITTLE BOY. I HAVE LEARNED HIS NAME IS CAL AND HE HAS RETURNED TO MINNESOTA WITH HIS FAMILY. HIS FAMILY WAS EXPECTED TO TAKE HIM OFF LIFE SUPPORT BUT I AM NOT SURE IF THAT HAS HAPPENED YET. TODAY MIKE SAID SOMETIMES I WISH WE HAD GONE TO THE POOL AT THAT TIME SO THAT WE MAYBE COULD HAVE SEEN HIM STRUGGLING AND HELPED OUT. I KNOW IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE FOR US TO RESCUE HIM AND GOD'S PLAN FOR THAT LITTLE BOY IS GREATER THAN I WILL EVER UNDERSTAND. PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THEM IN YOUR PRAYERS AS WELL AS THOSE WHO MIGHT BE STRUGGLING WITH WHAT THEY SAW THAT DAY.