What Makes You Beautiful

Areyna, you turn 4 years old tomorrow.  I can't believe how quickly it goes by.  You used to need me for food and sustenance, now you can feed yourself.  Heck, you can get your own drink out of the refrigerator now!  You used to need me to change your diapers and now you shut the bathroom door and tell me "Mommy, I'm gonna be private now".  You used to need me to pick out your clothes and put them on you and now you walk out of your room in the morning with an outfit already on, ready for the day.  You used to need help remembering your ABC's and now you are teaching them to Zeke, along with the colors and numbers too!  How quickly time goes by.

This past weekend Josh and I played for a Father/Daughter banquet and they did something really special.  They wrote each other love notes telling each other what made the other beautiful by defining the beauty from the inside.  It reminded me of this post and now I want to tell you just a few of the character traits that truly make you beautiful...

• You are an encourager.  Always the first one to tell Zeke, "Good job buddy!!!" or "I like your cool suit daddy!"
  
• You are such a good helper.  I love how you always want to clean and help me cook dinner.  
• You want your little brother to succeed.  You try to teach him everything you know.
• You are learning what it means to be thankful.  When we get something you are quick to ask who gave it to us and say "We should write them a thank you letter."
• You are learning more and more how to share.
• You are very sensitive to other's feelings and want to make things right.

I am so proud of you.  Happy Birthday my sweet Areyna Joy!

Love, 

Mommy

SOP - Part 4

Lack Of Observation

Josh and I stopped to fill up on gas and take the kids potty on the way home yesterday.  I took them inside and found the bathroom.  Walked inside and got them both situated to start the process.  It was only then that I realized that I was looking at a Urinal on the wall.  I had walked right into the men's bathroom, completely oblivious.  Thank goodness nobody was in there.  I walked out VERY QUICKLY praying that nobody had just seen what had happened=)

Love Is

I was having "a moment" the other day with my kids.  The morning had gone fine but as soon as Areyna walked in the door from school the war began.  The kids were bickering over every little thing, Zeke wasn't allowing Areyna to finish her new song she had learned, Areyna wanted what Zeke had...you know what I mean.  

It was a pretty nice day outside so I moved us all outside hoping that the fresh air and change of scenery would change our bad attitudes (yes, mine was quickly going from bad to worse).  It worked for a good 2 minutes.  I had had enough!  It was close enough to nap time that I went ahead and put them both to bed, threatening them with their lives if even a peep came from their room (just kidding...well, sort of;)).

I felt completely spent.  I would normally go directly to busying myself around the house or checking my e-mail but that day I went straight to my room and pulled out my Bible.  I needed some REAL wisdom (I promise this is not the norm for this quick-tempered, easy irritated mom although I believe it should be!).  I did a quick word study on "Patience".  I decided to just write all the passages down and really try to meditate on each verse, even if it didn't seem so relevant to my own circumstance.  

I was directed to I Corinthians 13:4 from the Love Chapter.  I began reading "Love is patient..." and couldn't go any further.  I've read these verses a hundred times, I've even memorized them, but I never realized that the very first act of love, according to this passage, is patience.  I think it's because it doesn't come naturally.  It is something that we continually have to work at, especially with those that we love the most.  I pray daily for patience and still fall short of the patience that my family needs.

I say I love my family, but do I have Patience with them?  God is such a perfect example of patience for us.  We bicker at every little thing, we don't allow God to get a word in during our prayer time, we want what everyone else has...you know what I mean.  Yet, He completely and wholeheartedly waits patiently for us.  

Lord, please calm my heart to wait patiently for my children, Your children that you have entrusted to me to mother and nurture and LOVE!

We Knew We Were In Georgia When...

...we drove past this gas station FULL of ONLY pickup trucks=)

(ok, so there was one compact car in the parking lot but I can't even count all the trucks)

Welcome To Gerogia!

New Workout Video

Hey ya'll.  Check out my new workout video.  And that's just the first song!  It doesn't look too tough but by the time it gets to the last chorus and you haven't skipped out on any of the motions I promise you'll be huffing and puffing for breathe=)  You can check out the whole DVD HERE.  Our kids LOVE it!

BooBoo Glue

We spent the morning at the Pediatrician's office after Zeke had a run-in with a sofa table at Lindsey and Fred's.  He got a cut between his eyebrow and eye.  I didn't freak out or anything because I'm so used to him falling and he is so tough, but after her came over and pulled his hand from his bloody eye I decided that maybe we should get it looked at.  We took him to Lindsey's pediatrician friend and they ended up having to glue it to keep the bleeding down.  He was so brave that the Doctor said that Zeke was the easiest kid he'd ever glued back together.  He was a champ!  Now all is well and ALL the kids are down for a nap=)  We've had a GREAT time here in Georgia!

Areyna took it upon herself to take good care of him when he got home=)

What's Under Your Couch?

Somehow we lost the playing board for our Candy Land game yesterday so we figured it was time to do the dreaded "get all the junk out from under the couch" technique, thinking that maybe it had slid under the couch.  One of the joys of having wood floors I guess=).

You would have thought that Christmas arrived in our household again last night with the squeals of glee and the excited jumping around that occurred after we swept it all out in a pile.  It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...but we still can't find the playing board.

Here's what we found:

• Pens
• Crayons
• Matchbox Cars
• Stickers
• Playing Cards
• Hair Rubberbands
• Candy Corn
• A Plastic French Fry
• Army guys
• Stickers
• Hair Clips
• A Remote Control for a DVD player that we no longer even have
• A Couple Pennies
• A Coloring Book
• Some Of Areyna's "art"
• LOTS of dustballs and other nasty"ness"
  
• The BLUE playing piece to Candyland, but NO playing board=)

So, what have you found lurking under your couch lately?

I Was Supposed To Be Packing

Last night I had a whole list of things to get done so we could leave for Georgia this morning but I was exhausted from the day and Josh could sense I needed a break.  He told me to go get a couple of strawberry slushies from Sonic and get a movie.  He must have been CRAZY!  The night before we leave is always utter chaos making sure we have all the set lists and chord charts in order for the band, directions to the various venues, packing clothes, instruments, cables, road snacks, etc. ... but he knew I just didn't have the emotional capacity to get those things done last night.

So, I hopped in the car to run my little errands and came home with 2 mouth-watering slushies and the movie Fireproof.  We've heard so much about this movie and have wanted to see it for awhile now.  So we popped it in and I was crying 14 minutes in.  It did have some cheesy acting but we LOVED the overall theme of the movie!  

After the movie Josh kept cuddling up close and telling me that the movie kept making him just want to do sweet things for me=).  As a matter of fact, I got out of the shower to a nice, warm towel, fresh out of the dryer this morning!  Hmmm, I think I'll BUY him this movie for his birthday=)

Georgia On My Mind

Well, we are headed to Macon, GA tomorrow morning.  We'll be leading worship for several events at Ingleside.  Have I ever mentioned that I love what we do?!?!  This is like a paid vacation for us.  Yeah, we'll be busy but we get to spend 4 days with some dear friends of ours from seminary.  Fred is the youth pastor there.  Our ministry has allowed us to reconnect with so many of our friends and join together in ministry opportunities with them.  We are so blessed!  

You can shout out a quick prayer for sanity for all of us.  There will be 5 kids (Areyna will be the oldest) between me and Lindsey=)  You can also pray for the band that will be coming for part of the week to play with us.  

"When I Get Bigger..."

Zeke is following in his daddy's footsteps.

When I get bigger...

      ...I will like to drink coffee.

      ...I will have a mustache. (which is what he calls ALL facial hair)

      ...I will like bras! (don't ask=))

      ...I can wear a ring.

      ...I will go to meetings.

      ...I will have a tattoo.

      ...I can play a silly guitar.  (that's what he calls electric guitars because they have different shapes than the normal acoustic)

Hmmm, I wonder who Zeke wants to be like when he grows up.

Moving And Other News

No, we're not moving (Are you crazy? IKEA just opened up in Charlotte today!)...the baby is!  I've been feeling little flutters for a few weeks now off and on but there was NO denying the twists, turns and summersaults that this little one was doing last night right before bed.  It is so crazy how quickly we forget that feeling.  I'm just as excited to be feeling these sweet little movements as I was with my other 2!

I went to the doctor today and the heartbeat was a healthy 155ish.  They scheduled my ultrasound for March 11.  That day is the day we get to find out if we're having another little boy or another little girl.  I've never really cared either way before and the same is true for this one.  I'm just excited to see which the Lord will bless us with this time=)

For a few moments there, and I mean a very brief few, I thought about not finding out this time.  I mean, I have 1 girl, 1 boy and everything I need for baby #3.  We aren't decorating a nursery or anything but something inside of us just wants to be able to call "it" a "him" or a "her", not just "our little peanut".  Besides, we are pretty positive that we have a first and middle girl name and a first name for a boy picked out=)

Did you, are you going to or would you find out?

It's For Everyone

I was reading in Crazy Love this morning about what a Lukewarm Christian life looks like.  Yeah, I was just a little convicted.  Anyway, Francis gave a GREAT analogy at the end of the chapter about when he wanted to be a Marine, you know "The Few, The Proud, The Marines".  He said the one thing that he always hated about those commercials was that they were always running...and he hated running!  He never once thought to ask them if they would ever look at his situation and lessen the miles he had to run or the number of push-ups he had to do.  That would have been absurd.

Christianity is the same way.  God didn't give an exception when he said "Take up your cross and follow me."  Or when he commanded us is Luke 14 to give up everything or we couldn't be a disciple.

"Jesus asks for everything.  But we try to give Him less." Francis Chan

Your Friendly Neighborhood Kirby Guy

Now, I know that he was just doing his job, but he should have gotten a clue when he came to our house with toys strewn all over the living room at 3:45 in the afternoon with NO KIDS IN SIGHT that the kids might be sleeping!!!

The first mistake - walking up to the door and ringing the doorbell.  The front door was open so he could clearly see our living room through the front glass door.

The second mistake - talking like he had just finished 5 espressos and yelling like Dora does through an entire episode even though I was less than a foot in front of him.

Dearest Kirby Man, please calm down and never come back! 

Do these guys EVER come to your doorstep and how do you get rid of them???

Shoes But No Shoes

Josh and I were getting the kids ready for an outing last night when we realized that Zeke's shoes were too small.  Zeke kept saying, "My big toe hotes!"  So, I went under his bed to check out the bin of hand-me-downs ready for the taking.  I pulled out a pair of shoes and tried them on to no avail.  Then, we tried on another pair with STILL no luck!  We found out he has 2 pairs of sandals for the spring/summer and FINALLY found 1 pair to finish out the winter.  I think he must have skipped a whole size during that springy week last week.  

Now, if only I could get ahold of this laundry crisis and find some "gender-friendly" socks for him=)  (I hope nobody noticed his purple socks in the grocery store today!)

Gig-Butt

Gig-Butt (gig-butt), noun - a word commonly referred to among the worship leader circle describing the feeling of exhaustion in the lower buttocks region of the body which passes on down the legs into your feet (depending on what kind of shoes you have worn of course) after leading worship for several hours on end, leaving your body feeling like you just finished an intense workout session.

Yup, I've got extreme "gig-butt" this morning!

Happy Heart Day

We have a fun tradition in our house for Valentine's Day.  I got it from my mom from when I was growing up and I have carried it on with our family.  We make our own conversation hearts and put them around the house.  

I usually just think of cute little sayings like on the candy hearts that you find in the store and put them around but this year I did something a little different.  I started with one heart that says "I love it when..." on Josh's alarm clock, and then on all the other hearts around the house I would tell him some things that I love about him.  

For the kids I made a heart path for them to follow when they woke up and decorated the kitchen for our pancake breakfast.  I also decided to put a reminder on the fireplace of things that Jesus loves so we can work extra hard today on those things like "sharing" and "obeying with happy hearts", etc.

I also confiscated Josh's blog today.  You can read a few reasons why I love this man HERE!

Just The Beginning

Today was just the beginning of the weekend's festivities!  

First, Areyna had all her Valentine festivities at school.  Complete with cupcakes, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.  Then, we picked her up a little early to head over to a friend's house for a double birthday party.  They are 2 sisters whose birthdays are very close together so we celebrated together.  It was really cool because this is the very first birthday party Areyna has been able to attend because of our travel schedule.  All 4 of us went so Josh and Zeke could keep the dad company=)

Ya'll, the dad cracked me up throughout the whole party.  He's a pretty particular guy and he was wiping up spills left and right, picking up sand to put back in the sandbox and walking around like all the little chocolate-covered fingers were germs themselves.  It was hilarious!!

Well, we just got home and put the extremely tired, overly-sugar-fed little munchkins to bed.

On to round 2...we are kid swapping tonight and tomorrow night with some friends.  They're bringing their kids over tonight so they can have a date night and then we're dropping our kids off tomorrow night so Josh and I can have a night out on the town together=)

OK, I gotta go to the store to get some red, pink and white paper for our Valentine's Day tradition.  I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

What are your Valentine's Day plans?

Adam

I finally finished Ted Dekker's book, Adam.  This is my favorite Dekker book by far!  It is the most realistic portrayal of Satanic warfare and possession.  It's a real eye-opener to what can, and does, go on in the spiritual realm.

There are plenty more Dekker books that I haven't read but I'm fresh out of them.  If I read a little quicker I'd check them out at the library=)  At least I'm reading though!

Now I'm moving on to Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  I'm already a couple of chapters in and LOVING IT!  I'm getting SO much out of every page...

Another Reason Why We Do What We Do

I just watched this video on Heather's blog and my heart ached immediately.  This is just another reason why we do what we do.  Josh  & Tasha Via Ministries partners with Arise Africa, a mission based organization in Uganda, Africa.  We have had the privilege to go there personally many times and Josh's parents take a team every summer.  When you buy ANY merchandise, whether it is a CD or Josh's Devotional Book (all linked on the sidebar) the proceeds don't go in our pockets.  A portion of it goes to buy more merchandise and helps fund other projects and mission trips but a percentage of everything YOU buy goes directly to Arise Africa to help their pastors and orphans like you just saw in this video.  Wow, you have to watch this.  Your life will be changed!

Words Of Wisdom - Lovin' The Ladies

We just had to get out of the house so I took the kids to Target to pick up a birthday present for a friend and I got each of the kids a Kid's Meal for $2 each while we were there. You can't beat that!!!

Anyway, the lady serving us was being really sweet to the kids. After she went to go retrieve our order Zeke looked up at me with googly eyes and said, "I LOVE ladies!"

Then...

While we were sitting down and eating he shouted out to the lady workers, "I love you ladies! Mommy, I told the ladies 'I love you'.=)"

Man, I'm really in for it if he's already hittin' on the women=)

Facebook Fast

Okay, I'm going to be brutally open and honest here.  I have decided to partake in a Facebook Fast.  "What the heck is that?" you ask.  Let me explain.

The only reason Josh and I got a Facebook account was for our ministry.  This was before I figured out how to make a Josh & Tasha Via MUSIC page so we just went with a joint "Personal" page.  We soon found out it is a GREAT way to get and stay connected with people.  All sorts of people from past, present and even future people we may meet.  

For me this has become a bit difficult during these hormonal pregnancy days.  As a women one of my biggest struggles is playing the comparison game.  Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about...

I might see one of my good friends hanging out with what appears to be all my other friends and it makes me a little sad that I can't be there.  

Then, I see one of my high school buddies out having a good time and drinking way too much but having what seems to be the time of their lives.  Still single, with no attachments, and a huge smile on all their faces.  Am I sad that I can't be there?!  No way, but something begins to tug at me.

Then, I'll go to a fellow musician's page where they have all these HUGE events lined up and all these awesome gigs to play.

Then, I'll go to yet another friend who is a mommy to adorable little children.  She is hugging on them, kissing on them, and playing cute games with them.  She appears to be the perfect mom.  Then I totally feel like a failure as a mother...

Okay, you can see where I'm going with this.  It appears that everyone always feels like they have a ton of best friends, it appears like their life is more fun or better, it appears like their ministry or career is taking off better than mine, it appears that she is a better mom than I am...

You see, you can make your life look however you want it to.  Is it a bad thing to post pictures of you and your friends having a good time?  No way!  Do I think Facebook is a bad thing?  Absolutely NOT!  Do I ALWAYS get these feelings when I hang out on Facebook for more than 5 minutes?  Not at all!  It's just when I start to dwell on other's lives and blessings instead of my own.

So for me, right now I am working on being content with where God has placed me, being content in who God has made me and being content with how God has blessed me and it's hard for me to do that while I see just the appearances and the surfaces of other's lives.  When my heart is ready then I'll jump back on the Facebook train but for now Josh will just have to take my messages for me=)

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is

honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - 

if there is any moral excellence and if there is

any praise - dwell on these things."

Philippians 4:8

What We're Having - Easy Beef Goulash

Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE All Recipes?!  All you have to do is do a search with the ingredients you want to use and a whole bunch of recipe links come up.  It's awesome!

Well, last night I did a search for "stew meat" and "noodles" and chose this yummy, easy, healthy recipe for Easy Beef Goulash.  I didn't have a few of the ingredients but it turned out really good anyway ... and filling!

You Should NEVER...

...wear purple undies with a sheer pink princess dress!

Unless you are THIS cute and funny of course=)

Taking The Time

Zeke and I had a rough night last night (I think it had something to do with hot sauce and red pepper powder on his thumbs=)) so he was pretty cranky this morning.  I was feeling a bit nauseous so I was a bit cranky.  That's when I decided it was a perfect day for an exclusive Mommy and Zeke Morning!

After I took Rainy to school I came home and took Zeke for a long walk.  Again, it's been beautiful outside today=)  We saw some kites in the sky, played with ladybugs and watched the pretty birds.  We also found some "perfect" rocks to bring home and show daddy!

I've also gotten some GREAT ideas from my friends Kelly and Jenn about "school" at home and decided to do a lesson with Zeke today.  He was thrilled to "go to school" today!  We learned about the color ORANGE!  We colored with ORANGE crayons, put on an ORANGE shirt, went throughout the house looking for ORANGE things, and then we completed our lesson by finding ORANGE things to eat for lunch=)  

Sometimes we just need to stop and take the time to enjoy our kids.  Not one time during our morning together did he throw a fit or whine.  We both needed this time together.

Diaper Free ... Well, For A Few Months Anyway=)

We are officially diaper free!  

Areyna has been out of pull-ups at night now for a week, accident-free, yippee.  I was talking to my friend last week about how it usually happens; the parent sees that the child has been "accident-free" for months while wearing a pull-up at night.  So, you decide to try big-girl undies and save the pull-up just to have accident after accident in the middle of the night.  It must be a mental thing.  But, last week when we went to pick up the kids after CharlotteONE the people that kept the kids couldn't find a pull-up for her so just kept her big-girl undies on but we didn't know until she woke up dry the next morning.  Shew, that could have been disastrous.  We decided we made it one night so we'd try it again.  She has done excellent.

Moving on...

Zeke has been a champ through this whole potty training experience.  We weren't even thinking about potty training him yet.  He just did it on his own.  Now, he'll go all by himself and bring us his undies to put back on him afterwards.  Wow!  He's even been in big-boy undies for nap times with NO accidents..  He just wears a pull-up at night time now.  

Man, I hope #3 is as easy as Zeke was and PRAY he's not as difficult as Rainy=)  So, we start the stockpiling of baby diapers.  We decided to keep getting the really good deals on diapers to stock up now so we aren't breaking the bank when the next one arrives.  

This is the first time in 4 years that we don't have someone in diapers, Praise The Lord!!!

A Sunburn In February

God has really blessed us with some BEAUTIFUL weather this weekend and today!  We went from snow on Wednesday (the kids were still eating the leftover chunks on the ground 3 days later...gross!) to in the 70's on Sat., Sun. and today.  You'd think we were in Colorado or something, right mom?

Yesterday after church we ate a picnic outside before we put the kids down for a snooze.  Then, Josh and I went back out in the backyard and took a nap on a blanket.  It was SO nice.

Today has been even better.  Josh took the day off  and did yard work this morning/afternoon while the kids and I worked on Thank You cards for Christmas on the deck (better late than never, huh=)).  We were literally outside from right after breakfast until they went down for a nap at 2pm.

I must say that my nose (and Josh) is suffering though.  I have been sneezing, sniffing and snotting so bad that Josh just ran out to get me some Claritin.  I must have been really grossing him out=)

I didn't think to put sunscreen on in February, and now my back has the beginnings of a sunburn.  Not bad, but I wasn't planning on working on my tan just yet!

Make A Covenant With Thine Eyes

Josh and I have an awesome opportunity.  Our ministry has just been approved as an affiliate of Covenant Eyes.  It is an internet-based accountability program.  

As a female, I never really understood the challenges that guys face on a day-to-day basis until I started dating Josh.  I'd heard people talk about it a lot, but nobody, especially a boyfriend, had ever changed the channel while we were watching TV because a provocative commercial would come on or ask me ever-so-politely to go change into a different shirt.  I don't think I will ever completely understand what goes through a male's head or why God made our men so visual but I do know how much I appreciate and respect my husband for striving to be above reproach in this area.  See, he knows that he is not above this temptation and that it could come knocking at anytime.

That is why, last year Josh set himself and his 3 brothers up as a group with Covenant Eyes and they do this together.  As a wife I feel blessed that my husband would take this step to stay pure.  There is so much out there that can become a temptation but if you know that others are checking up on you to see where you have been on the internet you are less likely to "go there".

If you, your family, or your church are interested, you can get a free 30-day trial using our promo code "joshandtasha".  If you sign up with our promo code it actually helps support our ministry as well - so we can keep on making music, leading people into worship and taking mission trips around the world.

Josh said it perfectly when he said:

"So, think about it.  I highly recommend it.  And really, you can't afford not to have accountability.  Your wife (or future wife) and kids (or future kids) will love you for it!"

Set The Standard High

Josh has this knack for setting the parental standard high in this house.  There is nothing that I love more than watching him interact with our kids.  

-I love his creative way of "helping" them be obedient.  

-I love the way he turns EVERYTHING into a wrestling match.  

-I love how he makes everything fun and exciting for them.  For example, after bath time tonight he was putting lotion on them and held the lotion bottle way up in the sky so that it "flew" down to their tummy's before he tickled them to death while rubbing it in.  

-I love how crazy his nighttime ritual is getting.  

When we are both here to put the kids down for bed Josh is the one to tell/read the stories and do little, silly things in the dark to "wind them down" before we say goodnight.

But when he's not here to tuck them in I just can't compete.  Areyna even tells me "Mom, you aren't good at making up stories.  You can just read one."  And, after several attempts to recreate one of daddy's right-before-bed stunts the kids just tell me I'm not doing it right and hop in their beds=)  

Nothing makes me more proud of my husband, and more in love with my babies daddy!!!

I'm Trying

I've heard so many moms say "I was the healthiest when I was pregnant".  I'm just NOT that mom.  As hard as I try I just cannot acquire a taste for the "good stuff", especially during the first trimester.

This pregnancy has been, by far, the worst EVER!  I had a few cravings with the other pregnancies and food that definitely sounded good, but this pregnancy I seem to move from craving to craving with no relief!  The list just keeps going and going:  steak, cheeseburger, snickers, subway, french fries, snickers, milkshakes, popsicles, french fries, snickers, frozen pizzas, slushies, extra crunchy salty chips, etc.  Did I mention french fries and snickers?!

When I finally went to the store this week I tried so hard not to give into my cravings and only buy snacks that I thought I could handle while being somewhat nutritious, like dried fruit trail mixes and frozen real-fruit popsicles.  Okay, so I gave in and bought a frozen pizza too=)

I think the main thing for me are the smells!  I've always gotten the sensitive smell issue before but this time I tend to gag over just about everything.  The smell of cooked chicken just about did me in last night...

So, I have let it go and just had realize that this is a season and it will not last forever while I just pray that I don't gain 100 pounds during this "season".=)

A Mess To Me Brings Joy To Them

This has been what my house has looked like...ALL WEEK!!!  Every room of the house.  I have slowly whittled down the piles one room at a time and now only have our bedroom to tackle.

The kid's suitcase sat in the middle of our living room until this morning.  It did make for hours of "fun" for the kids while they buckled themselves in and out as they flung their clean clothes all over creation=)  It became their car, their classroom, their beds, their playroom...oh the fun!

Guaranteed Visit From Your Friends

I cannot seem to get any of my out-of-town friends to come visit me (j/k, I know ya'll are busy)=)  But I can guarantee you that they'll come for this!

The Charlotte IKEA will be opening on February 18, 2009.  I am SO excited!

Be Jealous, Be Very Jealous

Oh, you don't see it?  Look a little closer.

Here ya go...

This is all Josh could muster up for our snowman today=)  He did withstand the sun's heat this afternoon.  Pretty impressive!

The Yard Of Envy

Good thing I didn't have any plans today because this is what we woke up to this morning to my delight.  

This is the best kind of snow.  We've been so busy and going non-stop since last Thursday that I haven't been able to keep up with my favorite obsession; watching the weather.  Therefore, when the snow started falling on our way to go pick up the kids after CharlotteONE last night I was shocked!  What a GREAT surprise=)

We've already gotten the expected doorbell ring from the neighborhood kids to slide down our driveway.  We have the yard of envy to all who see the slopes and slants of our hilly driveway and in our backyard.  Not to mention the perfect shade in just the right spots to keep the ice for the longest in the neighborhood.  Today is even better, there is a layer of ice sandwiching the snow so it makes for some cheap thrills down the hills.

*Note - You know your kids are tired when the doorbell rings at 9am and you have a porch full of noisy kids ready to tackle our driveway and my kids continue to sleep uninterrupted!=)  They are out cold this morning.  We're going to let them sleep as long as they want today.  They deserve it=)  Hopefully the snow will hold up until they get up to play in it...

After Midnight

Well, I'm sitting here after one of the best night's at CharlotteONE that I can remember going to.  I am so blessed to be a part of this awesome ministry.  I'm so keyed up tonight. I did get a Frappuccino on the way to C1 at 4pm.  Now, I know I haven't had much caffeine since I've been pregnant but there's no way that the caffeine is still affecting me=)

It is snowing outside so that is adding to my glee!

And the Lilley's, who watched our kids tonight, could only speak sweet words about how sweet our kids did.  They even thanked us for letting them watch them=)  Now that's music to this mom's ears!

I've been going NON-STOP since 8:30 this morning and just now sitting down.  Areyna and Zeke are both a little sick so we made a trip to the doctors, finally stocked the pantry (praise the Lord), and got 3 lessons in before heading to C1.

What's on my agenda tomorrow...NOTHING!  I'm taking a personal day to recoup from our extended weekend of worship.

I guess it's time to wind down and get some sleep, or maybe I'll just sit and watch it snow some more=)