Daddy Daughter Dance

I love my husband for so many reasons but one that stand outs is the way he expresses his love to our children. He truly is the most incredible dad. He thinks of ideas and does special things for all of our children that make my heart pound with love. He continually pours out love and affection onto our girls and truly treats them like precious princesses. I know that with each day as he lavishes his affections upon them he is building treasured memories in their minds while provided them with the example of how they are to be loved by a man. There was no greater display of this love than a few weeks ago when he escorted both the girls to a Daddy/Daughter Dance. The girls and I went shopping one snowy night for beautiful cream colored dresses with matching bows. They were so excited as we tried on dresses and chose matching ones. They wanted the dresses to stay hidden in the dress bags until the night of the dance so that they could surprise their daddy. On the day of the dance my friend Sara was visiting so we gave them some spa treatments and dressed them in their gorgeous dresses. Mike presented each of them with wrist corsages and off they went to dance the night away. They had a grand time and I know they both felt like Cinderella's as they danced, had some snacks played games and made a craft. They were so beautiful and even caught the attention of a local reporter from our neighborhood newspaper who wrote a feature article about them. I am so blessed and thankful that my girls have a daddy who loves treating them like beautiful princesses and is willing to pour out his love upon them in such physical ways. Here are "just a few" shots of their night.

Daddy and his girls before the dance

One of my favorite shots

I love this one because it shows the beautiful dress from the back and I keep thinking I want to cut Grace's hair seeing this I realize that I don't really want to do that

So graceful

Ready for a twirl

Can you tell they are having fun?

FRIENDS FOR LIFE!

The next shots were taken by Sara...she is such a great photographer and captured some beautiful photos. I could have posted every one but here are just a few of my favorites

These next pics are of spa time. Grace was so uncomfortable being photographed in her robe but she agreed to a couple of photos.

Awaiting the next treatment

Soaking their feet in the sink

Beautiful nails are a must...compliments of Miss Sara (Sara, don't hate me for posting this pic...couldn't resist)

Catching up!

Here are a few shots of our visit at Panera Bread with some blogging buddies.

Mya, Emily, Ava and Ruby

Jammie pictures...wasn't planned at all. Mya and Emily love to have matching clothes.

It has been over a month since I made the blog private and it is still going to be private for a little while longer. I had planned on waiting for new posts until I opened it up again but with it staying private longer than I had expected I decided to go ahead and update with a few events so that I don't get really behind. But before we get to our fabulous month of February I wanted to touch on the reason I am private. If you are reading this post I am assuming you have read the welcome back post I plan to write once the blog is open again. In addition to a terrifically cute make-over compliments of Danielle you will also notice that we have a new name (I will explain the name in another post) and another little face that has been added to our family.....yes our family has grown. We will be returning to China to bring home another son and we all are beyond excited although it seems like we are going at a snails pace in getting our paperwork complete.(you can check out details about our newest member here.) As a family we had decided to keep this adoption quiet until we were DTC which at this time seems like it will never happen. There have been a number a hiccups with documents that didn't happen with Emily and although I worked as fast as I could getting things together we still are not at the point of submitting our I-800. It has been 4 months since seeing our little guys face for the first time and I will have to tell you that there are days that the wait to bring him home is excruciating. But I trust in the Lord and wait patiently on Him knowing that He can accomplish great things with perfect timing. So now onto what we've been up to......

The beginning of February brought the welcomed sight of my precious friend Sara and her daughter Mya who came for a visit. I have not been shy in telling everyone how much I miss her since she moved and when her man called me in December with the news that he was surprising her with a trip to see me I started counting the days. It was a wonderful weekend of just simply being together. Don't you love it when you have a friend that doesn't require anything but your presence. That is how we are....Sara and I don't have to do anything special other than be in the same room to be happy. We really did nothing but "hang out" and eat during the weekend. The little girls had just as much fun as the big girls. Including preparing for a Daddy/Daughter Dance (more about that later). We even got a chance to visit with a couple of old and new blogging friends at Panera Bread and I got to watch the SuperBowl with a true football fan while pigging out on Pioneer Woman's Jalapeno Poppers. During the dead of winter when the blahs were threatening to consume us this visit was like a trip to a warm sunny beach in the Caribbean. Can't wait for the next time I see her face.

Webcams, Basketball, Computer Viruses, Laundry, Dirty Dishes and More Laundry!

So what do all these things have in common.....absolutely nothing other than they sum up my life over the past couple of weeks. Yes, I know, my life is so glamorous. (Hee Hee!) Speaking of glamorous check out my glamour girl sporting my sunglasses. I found this picture while going through some of my pics the other day.

My girls absolutely love accessories especially the sunglasses. Funny thing is they seem to only like mine. Well, back to my glam of a life. We entered the world of Skype last week and my kids love it although I am not so sure I care for having to sit in one place while I am talking. But I have to admit it has been wonderful seeing faces of my mom, dad, sister and neices and nephews when we talk and Cody had a blast seeing and chatting with his friend Cole last night. We took a break from webcam fun to take in our first Denver Nuggets Basketball game. They were playing The Orlando Magic so guess who we cheered for? Of course, THE MAGIC! Although, we quickly realized that since we were seated in the middle of some very verbal and shall I say passionate Nugget fans we better cheer silently. Emily loved her first NBA game and affectionately referred to the Orlando players as "the Magic boys". The game was a fun outing but I have to say that my kids got an ear full of filthy language and an eye full of barely dressed "cheerleaders". Double UGH!!!!

Back at home left us computerless as a virus decided to attached itself to my computer so I was out of commission for a few days as it got some well-deserved R&R at the computer hospital and all the while the laundry multiplied along with the dirty dishes despite my bravest attempts to end the cycle of multiplication.

So that's about it for us. Not too thrilling on a daily basis but there are some exciting waves flowing through the life of our family that make those boring days of routine mixed with large doses of chaos worth the ride. Some excitement for me is that Danielle will be working her magic once again on a new blog design for Emily Makes 6 which will include some additions that are sure to make our blog more complete. I can't wait to see what she does but while she waves her wand of creativity over our blog I have decided to make our blog private. I really don't know how many visitors we have but for those of you who do stop by and check in on our family I wanted you to know that we will only be private for a short period of time. When Danielle completes her work I will make it open again. As always, thanks for spending a little time with us, I am so glad you stopped by. See you again soon!

Marriage is a Beautiful Thing.....17 years of Beauty and Many More to Come!

Tomorrow I will celebrate the anniversary of the day I became the wife of an incredible man. Little did I know 17 years ago when I walked down the isle of a beautifully decorated church on the arm of my father, wearing the wedding dress of my dreams, surrounded by friends and family that I was embarking on a life’s journey with someone who would escort me places well beyond all my hopes and dreams. Mike and I have walked a road full of some of the sweetest moments coupled with some of the most deeply painful times. It hasn’t always been an easy journey but one that I wouldn’t have missed or traded for ANYTHING! We have laughed together, cried together, engaged in ‘highly emotional’ discussions but most of all we’ve had fun together. There have been crazy adventures along the way with lots of dreaming together about our hopes of what the future would become. He has weathered many years of my moodiness, impulsiveness, indecisiveness, and many other ‘nesses’ that I am sure have just about drove him batty and through it all I have rested in the strength, wisdom, vision but most of all commitment of a man who loves me far deeper than I could have imagined being loved 17 years ago. Sharing one’s life with another person is something that God so beautifully designed from the beginning of time and as I sit here remembering that day when I left my singleness behind and became one with this man I call my husband I am so humbled that God would have given me this blessing of having such a passionate man with whom I might share my life. My days are much sweeter, deeper, more fun and far richer because I spend them with Mike. And so I will celebrate the day that I became a wife but much more is the celebration of God’s goodness in honoring me with the gift of beautiful man with whom I have the joy of spending the rest of my life.

I just had to sneak this one in...it is my mother and father in law cutting a rug...I LOVE IT!!!

Happy New Year 2010!

Happy New Year to all of you! I have always loved the beginning of a new year. Having a chance to start fresh with new hopes, dreams and ideas always refreshes me and frankly this year I desperately need refreshment. My body, mind and soul is so weary and dry and it is my great desire to build some old and new things into my daily life that bring fun, excitement, depth and happiness to my life. I long to have my life to be a reflection of God’s great love for me and have the overflow of HIS tenderizing of my heart to touch everyone I encounter. I continue to have my heart burdened with the fact that God is so desirous to complete a work within me through the soil in which HE has planted me and I want to be a willing servant to allow HIM to perform that work. I am ashamed to admit that I have been so sporadic in giving HIM my heart and attitudes and I spent most of 2009 grumping and complaining about life as opposed to living in the fullness of joy through HIS calling. Each year I try to create a focus for myself in many areas of my life. I don’t necessarily like to use the term “goals” but would rather refer to my ideas in the terms of hopes and dreams. For 2010 I want desperately to live with purpose. Does that sound familiar? I did read that popular book a few years ago and loved it and will probably dig it out of my library for a refresher course but mostly I want the direction of my life to be much more proactive. I do not want to simple react to life as it comes at me with lightening speed but I want to engage, plan and purposefully embrace all that God has waiting for me in the upcoming days. I know this year will be one of exciting new adventures filled with some incredible opportunities and I want to have an attitude of submission and willingness to soak up every moment. So here is just a sampling of my hopes and dreams for 2010. Some are very practical while some have a little more meat to them…….

Physical

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ICor. 6:19

I want live out this scripture through what put in my body and how I treat my body. So often I ‘react’ to the clothes getting a little tight or my face looking fuller in the mirror by going on a restrictive diet. Ultimately, I will lose the weight only to lose motivation and gain it back once I fall off the diet and fitness wagon. This year I want to act out an attitude of willingness to treat my body as it should be treated….a temple of the Holy Spirit. I want to eat healthy foods and carve out consistent gym time not because they will make the number on the scale decrease but because I want to be pleasing in the Lord’s sight. I also want to build into my day’s times of rest and relaxation. I go non-stop from the moment my feet hit the floor until I fall into bed at night which most of the time leaves me exhausted, stressed and foggy in my thinking. I plan to find some activities that bring about a calmer inner spirit. I have never tried yoga but I would love to give it a whirl. Here is the eating plan that I have followed in the past and hope to make it a part of my permanent lifestyle.

http://bodyforlife.com/

But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. 1 Cor 14:10

I desire for my home to be more orderly and function more effectively. I realize how much of my stress is associated with the disorganization of my home. We live in chaos much of the time and then when it gets too much for me to bear (or when we have guests over) I will go on a rampage, making everyone in my family miserable trying to bring about order. I want to work on building principals into my life and the lives of my husband and kids to organize our home in such a way that we all do a little every day to make our home function better. Here are two things that I am doing right away:

http://www.flylady.com/pages/flyinglessons.asp

and I am going to hear this lady speak at my kids’ school next week

http://www.amazon.com/Too-Much-Stuff-Cluttering-Heart/dp/0834122561


Emotional

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Phil. 4:8

Oh this is a biggie….I want to have better control over my thoughts and want to think about things that encourage me to walk in the ways of the Lord. I have been so convicted in my thought life this past year as I have entertained ideas and attitudes that ultimately are displayed in my actions so I want to dwell on goodness and make it a point to record good thoughts and lifes blessings in my journal every day.

Spiritual

Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

I know that I need to engage The Word every day. It keeps my heart and mind in check and blankets my entire life with proper perspective but I have to admit that it is often the first thing to go when life gets stressful and busy. So I am jumping back into my ladies bible study. This does two things, it gives me a night out with some fantastic girls who make me laugh and encourage me as well as giving me “homework” every day that keeps me in The Word daily basis. I will be doing Beth Moore’s study Breaking Free this spring and oh I can’t want to get started. I have heard that it can be life changing and I am praying that I will allow the Truth to create in me a clean heart and a pure spirit.

Family

Don't you see that children are God's best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth.Oh, how blessed are you parents with your quivers full of children enemies don't stand a chance against you; you'll sweep them right off your doorstep. Prov. 127:3-5 MSG

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Col. 4:6

Finally, I want to be more purposefully in enjoying my husband and kids. I am so guilty of getting so consumed by the endless chores and duties of life that I let precious moments of fun pass me by. I don’t want to lose the valuable playtimes that Mike and the kids enjoy. I often decline offers to join in on family time in order to clean, do laundry, pay bills etc….. As a result I miss out on many opportunities to just have fun with my husband and kids. I also want to be more playful and joyful with my kids in everyday life particularly in the way that I speak to them. As I have taken time to listen to myself I realize that I have gotten a little nasty in my verbal expressions. Since we started homeschooling our kids and my husband retired I have grown weary of wearing so many hats when it comes to their daily lives and I have found myself in a constant state of nagging and fussing. I have determined to have more joy and build their little spirits throughout the daily duties.

WHEW! That was a lot and if you made it through this post you I admire your patience and thank you for taking the time to read my rambling and pray that somehow they encouraged you in your dreams for 2010. It is my greatest desire that by confessing these hopes for the year in print that I will be more determined to make them real in my life. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me this year. I know that He has already begun the work of orchestrating some incredibly miraculous things in the life of our family and I am looking forward to all that is expected as well as unexpected as HE unveils HIS plans for me. I wish for all of you a fabulous year filled with happiness and fun. Here are a couple of pics of one of my girls being silly. I was hoping to get some more comtemplative shots but she had other ideas. Oh how I wish I had her hair!