February Date Night: We Were Here Tour

This year, my husband and I committed to dating one another. We had another date scheduled for this month but when opportunity knocks, we answer. This past Friday we went to the Jason Aldean concert. If you get a chance to see his We Were Here Tour, do it! I do however suggest you not go if you are battling a double ear infection accompanied by a major sinus headache. The volume level is almost lethal (but hey, it's Jason Aldean so I suffered through).

Despite the ear infection and headache, everything was perfect. My husband is a firefighter for the city and was offered special tickets...for FREE! Talk about a blessing. We would not have been going otherwise since concerts, no matter how awesome, are currently out of the budget.

We began the evening by grabbing a bite to eat at Moe's Barbecue.

It is one of our favorite places. I must recommend their smoked chicken wings and macaroni and cheese. Their complimentary jalapeño cornbread is also amazing...really you can't go wrong with anything there. *I was not compensated in anyway; it's just that good.

Afterwards, we walked back to the stadium where we waited for quite some time in the cold. Despite having tickets in our hands, the search process made for a long wait. Upon making it into the warm of the building, you could sense the level of excitement.

We found our seats among several of my husband's fellow coworkers and enjoyed the show as it began.

All of the performers were excellent. Thomas Rhett is such a cutie and puts on a great show. He had gotten so caught up in the excitement that he even took a little tumble off the stage.

My medic friend standing to the right of Thomas sent this to me after the performance.

If you follow him on IG you may have seen this picture. The guy checking him over and the medic next to him are two of our really good friends that were working that night. Lucky ducks.

The remainder of the concert was incident free. I can't speak for all of the highly intoxicated folks around us, but the show was definitely memorable. Admittedly,  watching some of the sloshed viewers around us was almost as entertaining as the concert.

We headed out right before the end to relieve our sitter. I'd say this month's date, minus the accompanying illnesses, was one for the books. We're already looking forward to March!

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Snowman Toddler Craft

The last handful of weeks we've finally experienced some real winter weather. As a teacher, this means snow days! I savor this extra time with my babes, especially since I pay dearly for the days we are out when we return. My oldest is coping with a nasty cold and despite her begging, I've kept her inside. To keep her from getting cabin fever, we've been building with play dough, coloring, enjoying a Disney movie from time to time, baking and getting in extra cuddles. 

To mix it up, I decided to pull out a toddler friendly craft. G loves snowmen. Perfect! 

Here is what you'll need:

Construction paper

Glue

Cotton balls

Crayons or markers

Sidewalk chalk

I began by drawing the outline of a snowman on her paper.  She then took her glue and began smudging large dots on her paper. 

(pardon the packing boxes in the background...we're slowly but surely getting this house packed up)

On top of each dot, she placed a cotton ball. This continued until she could no longer see the outline.

She then drew (with some assistance) the eyes, nose and buttons.

She used the chalk to add "snowflakes" and snow to her paper. I love the look of chalk. It has a snowy soft texture.

Afterwards,  we hung her masterpiece on the refrigerator. She couldn't have been more proud.

Valentine’s Day Weekend

Friday was a little rough. I didn't feel well thanks to an ear infection and my mood wasn't as cheery as it usually is. I was frustrated with a lot of things and quite honestly,  I felt in need of a good pout session. Then, as the Lord sees fit, my mood was lifted...in the sweetest of ways.

A student whom I totally adore, came and gave me a spontaneous hug in the hallway. His sweet smile never fails to warm my heart. Later that same day I received a special "turtle-rific" surpise valentine. The kids could pay to send these little goodies to their friends. I received one from one of my former students. Despite having been out of my class for 3 years now, she still takes the time to make me feel appreciated. 

After a long day, I came home to a sweet surprise. My husband had gotten me flowers! Mind you, we said no gifts this year. He's just sweet that way. He had to work on Saturday and was not sure if he'd get to come home on Sunday so he gave them to me early.

On Saturday,  G and I headed out in the bitter cold to her friend's birthday party. The kids had a blast and I had a good time catching up with my adult friends.

We came home and warmed up the rest of the day. G came down with a cold and quickly became a pitiful mess.

Sunday was a creature all of its own. My earache was still going strong and G's cold (i.e. runny nose and congestion) had gotten worse. We didn't go to church since she had been up almost every two hours the night before. She had thrown up because she gagged on the mucus and she just couldn't get rested. Of course this means Mommy was up too. I'd do anything to help her feel better. She and I ended up in the living room on the couch. We finally slept a solid 3 hours before N woke up ready for the day

Eventually my hubby came home and I made our Valentine breakfast. We loved on the kids, gave them their goodies and celebrated N's first Valentine's Day. 

My husband surprised me again, only this time I felt awful. Grateful and in love, but awful. We said no gifts and he gave me this!

Of course he had a super sweet explanation that made me fall in love with him all over again...but I still felt bad that he only got a card.

I did make up for it some baking the meal he requested. I began cooking around 2pm and finished around 6pm. Things like this take lots of prep...a true labor of love.

Homemade...Bacon Wrapped Green Beans, Bang Bang Shrimp, and BBQ Ribs. 

We ended the evening by putting the kids to bed and cuddling on the couch. He had to leave for work since the weather was going to get bad. He left a little after 9pm and I was in bed by 10pm.

I am so thankful for all the love in my life. Above all, I'm thankful that God loved me enough to send Jesus in my place, to forgive my sins, and to provide a light when all seems hopeless. He is truly Love.

Why We Celebrate Birthdays

Birthdays. 

I feel like you fall into one of two categories.  You either love them or don't. You may say you are indifferent but that means you don't "love" them, so...I am one who loves birthdays. I do not forsee a day when I will want to stop celebrating them.

Here's why we celebrate birthdays:

Gratitude 

This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it.

Ps. 118:24

Life is such an amazing gift. We've struggled with infertility in our attempts to grow our family. Our children our truly our greatest joy and we feel that our words and acts of thankfulness will never be enough.

Our daughter

2013

Our son

2015

We celebrate our birthdays as an act of thankfulness. We rejoice in the gift of life and want our children to know that our lives deserve to be celebrated. God did an amazing and humbling thing by placing us in this world and we honor Him during the celebration.

Family, Food, and Fun

Next to God, our family is the most important thing. Birthday celebrations give just one more excuse to get friends and family together. I love hosting and this gives me a rare opportunity to bake and share the things that make me happy with others.

Aging Gracefully 

I turned 30 last year. While I know it's one of those milestone birthdays that many dread, I welcomed the coming of age. It made me feel like a "real" adult. Something about leaving my 20s was both exciting and sad...bittersweet. I've always said that I want to age gracefully. I don't want to worry about gray hairs or wrinkles. I want to earn every single one of them. I look at each birthday as a time to reflect on the past year(s) of my life and how I want to live the next. I'm also reminded how short our lives actually are in the grand scheme of things and I want to make my moments count.

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”
We are merely moving shadows,
    and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
    not knowing who will spend it.
Ps. 39:4-6

It's Just Silly Not To

If for no other reason, it's an excuse to eat cake!

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Baby N: 7 Months

 

 

 

We watch in awe as you change right before our eyes. So many wonderful things have happened with you over the past month. It's hard to believe how quickly you are growing. You are seriously one of the happiest babies in the world!

Weight: 18+lbs

Height: TBD

Clothes: 6-9m

Eat: 8oz of formula every 4 hours and 2-4oz of baby food twice a day
You enjoy lots of different food combinations and you now eat your green beans without complaint.

Sleep: You have been consistently sleeping through the night (7pm to 4-5am. There are rare occasions that you'll sleep until 6am and that is complete bliss. When you wake up in the mornings,  your big sister wakes up with you and you two chat until she comes to tell me you're awake. Your "conversations" are the sweetest things to listen to over the baby monitor.

Play: You continue to love music and movement. You love to bounce in your exersaucer and your bouncer. You and your sister continue to be best friends. She loves to make you laugh.

I promise...they really are best buds

You are still so ticklish. We get those giggles out of you any way we can. You continue to play well on your play mat and you scoot around on your belly to get where you want to go. It is almost impossible to keep socks on your feet. You are constantly pulling them off and playing with your feet and toes (which occasionally make their way into your mouth). You are always so happy!



Odds and Ends: You are sitting up so well on your own! You are still a little wobbly but you'll be independent before we know it.



You definitely have teeth on their way. Your drooling has continued to increase and you gnaw on everything. We can now see a couple of indentions on your bottom gum. These were indicators for your big sister so we'll see if it is the same for you.



You experienced your first snow...and loved it!!!

We had several snow days which meant extra snuggles.

You babble so much now. There are times it definitely sounds like you are saying "da-da". Your daddy is so excited. I'm still holding out for mama to be your real first word ;)

Watch him grow...

When It Snows...

It's a well known fact among my circles that I love snow. Most folks call me nuts and I'm ok with that. I've loved it since I was a small child growing up in northern Indiana. Even now it all seems so magical.

This past December was unseasonably warm and I desperately wanted to share some snow play with my littles. We've gone through January with a couple of dustings...that was until Friday. As predicted,  winter storm Jonas hit our part of central Virginia. We were stocked up with food and wood for the woodstove. We were ready to be homebound for a few days.

As I mentioned,  the snow began Friday. School had been canceled in anticipation of the storm. It was the perfect opportunity to make homemade hot chocolate and play in the fresh falling snow.

It came down so quickly.  We were gaining 1-2 inches an hour.

My little lady did not want to come in but the increasing winds eventually forced us inside.

Saturday was spent inside. The wind and snow were fierce. 

Sunday was much nicer. Our roads were not safe so we stayed home from church. My hubby had gone into the fire department on Saturday night so it was just me and the kids. The sunshine was such a welcome sight so we took full advantage of it.

N's first snow

Monday was more of the same, except we made our way down the road to the grandparents' house for some snow fun.

G built her first snowman (she added hair).

She also had her first sled ride.

Overall it has been a blast. I wouldn't trade these moments for anything. 

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