Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday was a glorious day. The sunshine was outside, the girls were happy and in good moods, and both Dave and I were craving some serious chocolate. So with that in mind, we packed up our girls and headed out to the annual
Easter Egg Hunt at church. It was amazing. The weather was so nice and cooperative compared to last year. The girls were so excited and quite frankly, so were Dave and I.

The girls got plenty of eggs for their baskets and had a blast counting and sorting their candy. I'm not going to lie, Dave and I have had fun raiding their baskets after bedtime. Happy Easter everyone. It is an amazing time of year.....

As you can tell, they had their game face on. They were not screwing around. It was all business once the green light was given.

Got Milk?

Well, we have been one busy family lately. If it hasn't been school, swimming, traveling, etc it has been a fun filled trip with friends to none other than the dairy farm. You heard it right - Mattea's class was fortunate enough to visit a dairy farm. And Paloma and I were lucky enough to accompany her. In the above picture, they met up with Mattea's best friend Ella and they walked excitedly into the barn.



Here are the ladies hard at work. Kind of brings back memories from the old nursing/pumping days huh? I remember plenty of times feeling like a cow up for milking....



She was all smiles.




Catching a photo with a newborn calf.

Mattea's kindergarten class. It is so sad to think that the year with these kids is almost over and we will working our way to 1st grade. My how time flies...

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies......

(on a side note -this post was written awhile back and I'm now just getting around to editing and updating. I have since finished the entire book and highly recommend it to any married couple.)

Closer - Right. The well known statement "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." I'm here to argue that statement. After a week of enlightenment, reflection, and a whole lot of soul searching, I'm here to say "Keep your friends close and push your enemies far." (Or at least one enemy.)

I'm not going to lie, I have indulged in many self-help books over that last few months. Many involving marriage, but several have included parenting books as well. Let's face it, marriage is an up and down roller coaster. Some days are good, and some days are not so good. We have definitely had a few "not so good days" around here - but the good thing is God is here, He knows about it, and He is in control of it all. I remember back in pre-mariatal counseling, our pastor had said marriage is about awaking each morning, rolling over and consciously making the decision to love your spouse whether you feel it or not. Love is a choice, not necessarily a feeling. I guess I never thought I would be one of those people who would ever have to make that choice - boy was I wrong.

But, not to diverge too much from what my original post was about, I will sharply turn right and veer back on course about enemies. To tie things together, because Dave and I have had to endure some rather difficult trials, I am in the process of reading a book entitled "How to Act Right When Your Spouse Acts Wrong" by Leslie Vernick. Some wonderful and interesting ideas have been taken from this book and I'm only on Chapter 6. The one idea/concept that has totally thrown me for a loop and really changed my entire outlook this week came from Chapter 3. I am dying to share it with you all and challenge you to read the words and really take them to heart.

"remember who your enemy is. It is not your spouse. Satan might have your spouse, but don't let him have you. "

These words have resonated through my mind on several occasions this week after originally reading it on Tuesday. Can you even begin to grasp the concept of what Leslie Vernick is saying? When our spouse speaks or acts unkindly toward us, perhaps acting in an unChristlike way, inflicting pain upon us - he or she is not our enemy. It is Satan. For our spouse has allowed Satan access into their hearts and have acted in a sinful way. BUT that does not mean that Satan can have access to us. Just because we are wronged, we do not have to wrong back. We can deny Satan access to our hearts and counteract that pain and hurt with love and kindness. Oh how hard this can be. Our natural reaction when we are hurt is to hurt back. Our natural tendency is to fight fire with fire BUT that is not what Christ has called us to do. Our goal in life is to live like HE lived.

"...it is God's will for us to be conformed to the image of Christ. Therefore, God will allow difficulties in our lives so that we might be shaped and molded into his character. If we keep this picture in our mind, we can see that it is not our task to mold our spouse; that is God's job We need to search God's Word and pray that he would give us the wisdom to know the right response in each situation we face. Then by faith, we must do it."

I think we all know the destructiveness that Satan can cause - if we let him. We have the free will to invite or deny him access to our heart. We must be on the lookout for the enemy for he lurks at all times, planning his next move and ultimately his next attack. I have realized in my own life, and more so just recently, that if I simply blink Satan has bombarded me with lies, deceit, and wrongful thinking. If my guard is let down at all, he attacks. That is why I must reiterate, "keep your friends close, and push your enemies far." Satan can't hurt you if you don't let him. If he has gotten ahold of your spouse that does not necessarily mean he has gotten ahold of you too. In those difficult and trying times, remember Satan is your enemy, not your spouse. Your spouse is God's special gift to you. He or she was handpicked especially for you. That does not mean that that person will not make bad choices, say mean things, act inappropriately, or even inflict pain. I know I have toward my husband on more than one occasion. What it is saying is that we must be held accountable for our actions aside from and separate from our spouse.

I'm sure you remember the old saying "two wrongs don't make a right." There is something to be said about that. Because an individual may have wronged you or hurt you, I highly encourage you to turn your face to Christ. Do as He did. Turn the other cheek and pray for those who persecute you. It is not an easy task especially when we are hurt or angry at the ones we love the most. But I challenge you to deny Satan access to your heart but instead let Christ steer you forward. And as for your spouse, well at the end of the day they are accountable for themselves. If I spend too much time worrying about the speck in his eye, I do not have time to concentrate on the plank in my eye.
Enough said.......

Spring Break Fun Continues

And the fun continues.....

Today's fun was none other than ice skating. After running 4 miles this morning, I decided my glutes needed a workout so the kids and I packed up and headed to the ice skating rink - met some friends, talked, exercised, ran off some energy, and enjoyed another leisurely spring break afternoon.

The girls have ice skated before and loved it. We must say the local ice arena does not compare to ice skating at Sea World - sigh.....but we had fun nonetheless. What an absolute perfect family affair. We just happened to be missing daddy in the equation. But I will say that we will be heading back soon. It was so fun and such a good way to get exercise. What could be better?

Tomorrow's events - - -REST!

Spring Break Craft Day

Yesterday - Tuesday - we decided to head down to the local watershed where the educators and staff are devoted to providing a fun filled, learning opportunity for the kids over spring break. They have various talks and seminars planned not to mention crafts and activities galore. The girls spent the morning painting with plant based paints.

Paloma was painting with raspberries and blueberries while Mattea stuck mostly with carrots and paprika. How fun is that? The colors were surprisingly very vibrant. The girls then moved into making wind socks, making their own paper, constructing bird

feeders and even making candy buildings with which they got to test out whether or not they were "earthquake proof." Of course the girls didn't really care about the presentation as much as they did about the candy they got to eat off their buildings.

The girls were exhausted at the end the end of the day but came home with some very nice arts and crafts. After a quick jaunt to the gym, the girls and I headed to bed early so that we would be well rested for tomorrow's activity - ice skating! Can't wait for the photo op. Stay tuned....

And the Fun Continues.....

As promised, more spring break fun. Today, the girls and I decided to take in the new Yogi Bear movie at the cheap theater. Oh my goodness, what a ridiculously stupid movie - but the girls laughed and laughed. And, the whole movie seemed very appropriate unlike some of the other movies out there. So tonight, the girls quoted the movie over and over again to their daddy who happened to be working his fanny off today at the office while we got to play and have fun at the theaters (thanks pappa.) Stay tuned for tomorrow's excitement....What is on your spring break schedule?

Just Call Her Brilliant

So my little Paloma has always been a rather "passive" learner. Fighting me every time I pulled out flashcards or a letter book, she seems to rather pick up on learning through other means. I remember one time even believing she was "slow" because she REFUSED to learn. But to our surprise, she is not slow but rather - ummmm - brilliant. No not really. But her preschool teachers have mentioned they expect so much more out of her because she is "so smart" and "so advanced." Yikes. She will read sentences in Mattea's book that Mattea struggles with. She will recite her sister's Bible verses and even finish Mattea's math homework. No joke. The other day as I was working "actively" with Mattea, Paloma was "passively" doing her homework. I gave her a dry erase board and told her to LEARN. She sat down and wrote all of her numbers from 1-10. Just prior to that she wrote the entire alphabet. I have never sat down and worked with her on writing. I just give her a book. If I tried to guide her the way I did with Mattea, she would throw the pencil down in protest. So, I guess we will stick with what works. Not too bad huh?

Kickin' Off Spring Break

Well, our family is officially on Spring Break.
No more early mornings, no more homework - it is nothing but relaxing for a week.



I have an entire week of fun and activities planned for the girls and I. Since our weather won't be nice until the end of the week, we have indoor activities planned for the beginning portion of our vacation.



Saturday night started with a good old hockey game. Dave got free tickets to the game from work so we decided - why not?



The girls loved it - loved the excitement and the food the best. They enjoyed so many snacks. We did that in part so Dave and I could watch the second half of the game in peace. The girls started talking too much so we decided we could gain a few minutes to concentrate on the game if we loaded them up with dippin dots and popcorn. It bought us about 10 min.



Girl shot!



Even at 10 pm, they still had quite a bit of energy. Here's to the beginning of a great week....
Stay tuned, we are getting ready to embark on our next adventure soon.

St. Patty's Day Fun

Who says you have to be Irish to enjoy St. Patricks Day?



Our day consisted of green pancakes, green macaroni, and corned beef and cabbage for supper at Dave's request.



My kids were pooping green for the rest of the week but they sure had fun.

Bring on the Bling

I am a bit late on compiling this post - but better late than never right?
This is one that I have been so excited to do but just haven't found the time to sort through all the pics. I think we took a total of 190 pictures that day. It was such an exciting and magical day. We wanted Mattea to feel extra special on her "Golden Birthday." Our first born turned 6 on Feb. 6th. Happy Birthday Miss Mattea.



I decided to throw Mattea a princess tea party this year. And I also made the executive decision to have someone else do all the work - mommy was going to relax and enjoy the fun for once. So at a place called '2 B a Kid' we went. The above pictures are of the girls before all the glitz and glam began.



Quick shot of the girls before the guests arrived. Each little girl was allowed to pick out a fancy dress to be worn throughout the entire party.



Mattea, of course, was the first to get her hair done. The lady did a fantastic job of making the girls' hair look extra spectacular.



While each girl got a chance to get their hair and make up done, the remaining girls worked on a project. The project we chose was making a book. Mattea and Paloma are obsessed with making books these days, so they were allowed to design their very own hard cover book.



Aren't my girls gorgeous?



I couldn't help but capture a side view of Paloma. I thought she looked absolutely adorable that day. I have never been able to manage her hair like this lady did. It was amazing.



Paloma taking her turn getting her nails done. Needless to say she bit the polish off the next day. Oh well.



Quick shot with my beauty before the princess came.



And there she is. Our very own guest appearance with Cinderella. Mattea was so surprised. Cinderella made her way in, greeted the girls and then took them upstairs for games and story time.





Story time....Cinderella story of course.



Capturing Mattea amongst all the excitement.



Then it was back to the party room for "tea and cake."



The girls were served "tea" which was more like a fruit punch concoction with whipped creme and sprinkles on top. It was a big hit.



It went over really well with the birthday girl.



All of the beautiful princesses enjoying an afternoon of tea an fellowship.



There is my darling new 6 year old. My time has flown by....



As the party started to wind down, the clock struck 3 and the pretty dresses, shoes, and accessories started to disappear. But the company of good friends did not.



And that wrapped up an absolutely amazing afternoon. I do hope Mattea will remember how much fun we had. I know I couldn't possibly forget.

Father/Daughter Ball - 2011

Well, it is February. What a great month. During this month of "love" our family celebrates Mattea's birthday, David's birthday, Valentines Day, and of course the Father/Daughter Ball. My girls look forward to this very special night for almost an entire year. And this past Friday marked the unforgettable night.



Paloma was feeling a bit under the weather but she thought she could muster enough energy to get dressed up and head out with daddy and sister for a night of dancing, crafts, and a big chocolate fountain.



A little sisterly love.



Of course, a dance with daddy.



The girls once again had a memorable night out with their father. I am so lucky to have a man in my life who is committed to being in their lives. All of the research suggests the presence of a father in the home is monumental in the outcome of healthy, strong girls/women. Dave and I have talked at length about that. If my girls continue to feel the love of both their heavenly father and their earthly father, we are hoping that is enough to satisfy them. May they always know how much they are loved.