Happy 9th Birthday Abby!

Abby turned nine this past friday October 14th. It hard to believe that the baby girl born 5 weeks early is now one year away from the double digits, dare I say she is approaching the "tween" age!! For her birthday she wanted a fancy dinner at home with a few girls. She wanted her dad and brother to wear suits to serve her and her friends. Then the girls slept over and enjoyed a pancake breakfast. It was fun, they laughed, got silly, played games, got silly some more and then managed to wind down and go to sleep.
Happy Birthday Abby! Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces!!


Here is the birthday girl and me before the party got started.


Here she is as her friends and family sing her happy birthday, notice her little brother Will is the blur in the background.


Our lovely waiters for the evening.

Here is how the dining room looked before the girls arrived. I brought out the fine china and all things pink!

For party favors I found these adorable zipper pouches from RKEM designs Etsy and placed a lip gloss in each. The girls also got monogramed zebra print tissues from Michaels to take home as well. It was a fun way to celebrate my special girl.

I feel truly blessed to have the family I have. Thank you Lord for creating are little family, we are truly grateful!

Love my kids!

Well tonight was parent teacher conferences for Abby and Will. I am always amazed at my kids, how God is using them in their classrooms. So much focus is on academics these days and I agree it is important. However tonight the first words from each of my kids teachers was about their hearts and their character. How blessed do I feel. Now am I saying my kids are perfect, no way! Am I saying I am proud and want to give God the glory for the work in their lives, FOR SURE!!!

Both kids are right where they should be for their age and I left feeling confident in their teachers and the school they attend. Most of all I felt confident in my God and how he is shaping their character at such a young age. I am grateful for the positive feedback my kids received, I am grateful for the areas the teacher identified where they can continue to improve. How cool as a parent to witness the transformation of your children. To watch them grow into their own personalities, see them bloom where they are planted. I am excited in what God is doing in their lives and consider it a true privilege to be their mother.

I don't want to be boastful but I want my kids to know how proud of them I am. I tell them often but having it written down for them to look back on when they are older I hope will be very encouraging.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

All of creation!!

My husband has been out of town for the past few days on a golf trip with his dad. I am so glad that he got a few days to relax and hang out with the guys. While he was gone we headed over to Glacier Ridge Park in Dublin for some observing of God's creation. We saw all sorts of bugs, frogs, turtles and my kids favorite... a wooly worm!!



What a beautiful fall day it was here in Ohio. Fall is my absolute favorite season and I am so excited for the changing of the temps and leaves. God is so good to give us so many beautiful things to look at and share with each other.

Teacher/Neighbor Christmas gifts and just a general update

I love the blogging world, no where else can you find such wonderful people willing to share their creativity with those of us who simply are not gifted with it. I love having unique and personal gift ideas for people and this homemade vanilla extract idea from WhipperBerry is awesome! Check out her fabulous blog for more great ideas, I just ordered my vanilla beans tonight and can't wait for her next post that tells us all about her cute packaging!! Stay tuned for the final product!!

Speaking of gifts, both my kids have birthdays this month. I still have no idea what I am getting them yet, I usually get their Halloween costumes as part of their gift and then something small. We are not having any big parties this year, Abby might have a few girls over for a sleep over and Will might take a few friends to do laser tag. I have been so busy lately filling in at a PT clinic, doing my CAbi job and volunteering at the kids school that I am so happy my kids are totally okay without a big birthday party. Abby is loving the Third grade and has the best teacher, the Math homework is a huge step up from second grade. I don't remember having this hard of homework in third grade, all I remember is playing around the world with our multiplication facts. Will has enjoyed first grade, being gone all day from me has been a little tough on him but he is adjusting well and his teacher is so nice and patient with him. I absolutely adore our kids school.

I am so excited to be studying the book of Acts this year in BSF. I know God has many things to teach me despite this busy season. I will be sharing more about what I learn as I go.

Lots of random thoughts in this post but that is what happens when I wait a month to blog!!

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.