The End is Near

I was just looking at our family picture at the top of the page, and thinking about how small my belly looked then. It is amazing what just a few months can do to change a person. Back when we took the picture I was still a little apprehensive about having another baby. She was rather unexpected, and it took me a while to wrap my head around the idea of another baby. Even a few weeks ago it seemed unreal to me, even with all the heart burn, sleepless nights, and swollen feet. But this last week has changed everything. We set up her dresser and crib. I washed and folded all the tiny baby clothes. I put up the bassinet in our room, and stocked it with diapers and wipes. Being surrounded with all things baby has really gotten me excited. I am so looking forward to meeting this new little girl who would not be stopped from being apart of our crazy family.

I have this image in my mind of what she looks likes. Since we are naming her after the Italian side of the family I picture her looking Italian, with dark skin, dark hair, and deep brown eyes. Nothing like the other girls, a look all her own. I'm most likely wrong, but its fun to imagine.

I think I am finally ready to have a baby. Now its just a matter days, and a few sleepless nights.

Confessions of a Wall Scribbler

This morning at breakfast Addie had a confession for me. It went something like this...

"Mama, last night I colored on the wall."

"You did? Where?"

"No, don't see it!"

"Why not?"

"Cause you be mad at me."

"Oh, was that a bad choice?"

"Yes, I sorry."

"Are you going to do that again?"

"No, never ever."

"Okay then, I love you."

"Thanks mama."


I love that the guilt was too much for her. She is so sweet, and tries so hard to be good, but those 3 year old impulses just take over sometimes. Now I just have to hunt down where the scribbles are, since she still won't tell me!

My Sweethearts

I used to dislike Valentine's Day. In fact Jason and I never celebrated it because our anniversary is only 2 weeks before. But for the last couple of years I have really been enjoying celebrating it with the kids.

Last year I made a Love Note box, and starting one month prior to the big day, we start writing each other love notes. I provide pretty little papers and markers, and when we get the whim we start writing. We even did it a couple times as part of our family home evening lesson.

Then for FHE the week before we decorated Valentine Boxes and set them out for decorations.

On the Actual day, which this year just happened to be Monday, I filled the girls boxes with treats and new stuffed animals. Then for FHE we opened our boxes and passed out the Love Notes. We had so many notes this time! Some were sweet and some were funny, and Ivy gave several to herself. Addie's were cute little scribble pictures. We had a great time reading our notes out loud and telling everyone how much we love them.

For dessert (as if all the candy wasn't enough!) I made Valentine sugar cookies. We had such a great night, and Jason keeps telling me it was the best Valentine's Day he's ever had.

I just love the love!!

All our recent goings on...

I have been feeling like I don't have any cute Valentine's Day decorations, so I decided to fix the problem. I started with some paper crafting. I made the LOVE banner to hang on the walls.
I also found some cute picture frames in the Dollar section at Target, and added a little somethin, somthin to spruce them up. I'm happy with the results, and all three projects only cost me $2.50 since I used scraps I already had.

The wooden hearts my mom gave to me years ago and I never decorated. I found them in my craft bin during last weeks snow days, and Addie and I got to work. I painted the blue and light pink one. Addie painted the bright pink one. She did a pretty good job at it, only made a minimal paint mess. I used some foam stamps and black paint I had on hand to cute them up, and added the sparkly pink ribbon to Addie's. I love a free project!

Now this here is Elmer. The new addition to our family. We found him as a stray out at Jason's parents house this Christmas. He is a German Short hair Pointer, and a super sweet dog. We checked with the local pound to see if anyone was looking for him, and Jason took him to our local animal shelter to check for a microchip. No on both accounts, so I guess that means he's ours. Well, Jason's really. He follows Jason around like well, a lost puppy! He waits at the front window for Jason to come home from work, and whines every time Jason leaves. Except for his propensity to run away he is a great dog. We have had to chase him down 3 times now, but recently found out he will come home when he is good and ready. All we have to do is leave the front door open, and when his is done with his run, he comes right in. The girls, and our other dog Penny just love him.

We have recently been having some crazy winter weather out here in Texas. Last week we had 4, yes that's right 4, snow days in a row. It actually worked out well for us since the kids were sick for most of the week and didn't end up missing any school. But that also meant that Emilie was the only one to really enjoy the snow. On the last day, Friday, she and I finally left the house to do some picture taking.

Emilie took this one of me. Not too bad for her first time using the "big" camera.