A Few Miscellaneous Pictures

 We had a few snow flurries recently, so the girls couldn't wait to head outside in their new owl hats and play.  It didn't stick and it didn't last long, but they had fun!  Lily had her magnifying glass out to study the snowflakes as they landed.

 Lily made a pretty good snowball to throw!

The girls love the cowgirl boots and hats that Grandpops and Grandma Jan gave them at Christmas.  They made horse faces and taped them to the end of broomsticks so they could be "real cowgirls" and gallop all around the house. 

 To brighten the girls' day after both were so sick recently, Ryan surprised them with Stompeze slippers.  They have been asking for these for months, so they were thrilled to receive them.

 These are my snapped picture of the professional pictures Ryan and the girls had made at the Daddy Daughter Valentine's dance at our church.  I thought that was easier than figuring out how to scan them in.  I thought both pictures turned out really sweet.

 Lily loves to make people cards.  She made one recently for Mia congratulating her after Mia went to ACCA for admission testing.  Today though, she made this adorable one for Mia.  I love the superhero she drew on the front.

 I can't get these pictures to turn sideways, but this was the inside of the card.  So precious.

 Life is pretty hectic right now as we're in tax season countdown mode at work (just under three weeks now!).  Ryan is working very hard in his seminary classes and is getting ready for an upcoming Alaska mission trip.  The girls are growing so much, having fun at school and love going to gymnastics each week.  Life is good!

ER Visit

Last Friday, I left work in the mid-afternoon.  I was feeling a little burned out at work, and I thought "I just want some time to feel normal again."  So, I ran some errands and then came home.  The girls and I almost immediately turned back around to pick Ryan up from the office and then we headed over to dinner at Pollo Tropical.  On the way, Mia was telling me how badly her stomach was hurting, so I called Liz to see if she had been complaining about this before.  We talked about it for a few minutes and decided it made sense to just watch and see.  At dinner, Mia barely ate which is pretty unusual for her.  We went to the bathroom which I thought might help her, but she still complained her stomach hurt.  We decided to press on with our plans to go see The Croods at the theater.  Mia sat in my lap most of the movie, and I could tell she was feeling pretty warm.  Several times throughout the movie, she whispered "My tummy is hurting again."  With less than 5 minutes to go, she said "I have to go to the bathroom now."  Thankfully, we made it to the bathroom in time, barely, and she again was complaining.  As we left the movie, Ryan and I decided it made the most sense for me to drop him and Lily off (it was already just past bedtime), and then turn around and take Mia to Scottish Rite's ER.  I was very nervous she was in the beginning stages of appendicitis.

 

When we arrived, and I told the check-in nurse her symptoms, she asked me to go to the "Fast Track Waiting" area instead of returning to the regular waiting room.  They came to get us within 10 minutes which was nice.  We walked back where they took a few vitals; sure enough, Mia was running a 100.2 fever.  Everything else seemed pretty normal though.  Mia was not happy about changing her shirt into the gown though as you can see from this face.

 The NP checked Mia's stomach and thankfully Mia gave no indication of pain in her stomach when the NP pushed on it, so that pretty much ruled out appendicitis.  Next theory up: UTI.  The NP asked me to have Mia pee into a little cup.  For the record, that is much easier said than done with her.  We spent about 10 minutes in the bathroom with Mia wailing that she did not want to this.  I seriously considered opening the door so passersby could see I was not actually harming my child because I'm pretty sure they would have thought I was by how loudly she was screaming.  I knew it was almost 10:00 and she was exhausted (bedtime is around 7:30), but her hysteria was unbelievable.  Finally, I called Ryan and he made the brilliant suggestion to see if the nurse could give us something to drink to help her have to go to the bathroom.  Sure enough, they produced some blue powerade which Mia immediately, for some unknown reason, declared to be "magic juice."  You can see from the picture below she was quite happy to have this magic juice.

She had barely had a few sips when she quickly declared "The magic juice worked Mommy.  I need to go tinkle in the cup now!"  We went back down to the bathroom and sure enough, it worked!  One quick culture test later it was confirmed the poor little thing has an UTI.  She has started on 10 days of antibiotics (after being off the ear infection antibiotics for less than a week).  She was still pretty miserable on Sunday and most of Monday but thankfully today she is feeling better.  I don't know what germs have possessed our house, but we have all been sick for awhile now; I'm ready for this phase to move on!

Presbyterian Village Visit

Last Wednesday, both kindergarten classes from ACCA took a field trip to Presbyterian Village.  Can I tell you how much I love that their field trip was going to spread joy to an elderly group?  Once there, the kids recited their ABC Bible verses A through R (that's as far as they have gotten this year; we'll have the rest completed before the school year ends) in front of the whole group.  They also sang a couple of songs and recited a few poems.  Here's a picture Ryan snapped from behind a group of residents who were watching the kids.

 After they finished, the kids and chaperons went to visit with the residents.  Most of them were overjoyed these precious children were visiting with them.  I was so impressed with several of the kids too.  As I stood by Meme most of the time, a few kids would walk right up and say "Hello, my name is ___, and I'm six years old.  What is your name?"  Several kids even stuck out their hands to shake hands.  I loved seeing this.  I know this visit brought joy to so many of these older adults.  I overheard many people say "please come back soon!"

 

Lily was happy to introduce her friends to Meme.  Sweet Callie walked right up and gave her a hug which made Meme smile.  Love that little girl!

 Lily also made Meme a special card and delivered it to her which she appreciated.

 Ryan also snapped this picture of the four of us.  I was so glad Dad was able to take a break from work for a little bit to come see them perform.  Lily was so happy to see him too.  I'm glad to have this picture of four generations.

What a wonderful experience for the adults and kids alike!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My 34th birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  Hard to believe!  Since I had been sick with strep the week before, I was working overtime to get caught up the week of my birthday.  On my actual birthday though, I took it pretty easy.  At the office, everyone surprised me with all sorts of yummy treats.  I especially loved this cookie cake.  Mary, Larry and I all have birthdays within 5 days of one another, so this cake was definitely appropriate!

 At lunchtime, Mom and I continued our tradition of her bringing Chinese food to the office for us to enjoy.  Since my birthday is the day before the corporate tax deadline, it's difficult for me to actually leave the office for a long lunch, so Mom brings it to me.  Love that we do this!

 

I left just before 5 to head home.  Ryan, the girls and I then headed over to Presbyterian Village to visit with Meme for a little bit which was nice.  I don't get to see her as much as I would like right now.  After that we headed to Steak and Shake for dinner which is where this picture was taken.  It was pretty chilly outside, but the girls really wanted to bring the milkshakes with them.

We hurried home because I was supposed to have a Board meeting that evening, but it ended up being cancelled at the last minute.  So, instead of running off to that, I was able to be home with my family.  We played the Disney Headbands game which is so much fun and just enjoyed being together.  It's a rare treat these days it seems like.

 

A couple of days later, on Saturday evening, we went out to dinner with some great friends: Brian and Jill Henderson and Chad and Sonja Powell.  We went to Rathbun's Steaks which is far and away my favorite steakhouse, ever.  Delicious doesn't even begin to describe their bone-in filet.  Oh my goodness.  Add wonderful friends and fun conversation to this amazing dinner, and it was the perfect way to end my birthday celebration.

A Spring Break to Forget

This past week was Lily's spring break at school.  We didn't have anything big planned and expected it to be just a calm, normal week.  We were wrong.  Liz and the girls started to feel badly at the beginning of the week.  On Wednesday, Liz felt awful and needed to take the day to rest; thankfully her doctor from Birmingham was able to call in a prescription to help her start to mend.  Ryan took Mia to the doctor Wednesday morning because her ear looked terrible; yep, another ear infection so we started her on antibiotics and drops.  On Thursday, I couldn't even get to work my throat was hurting so badly.  Ryan took me to urgent care where I was diagnosed with strep throat and told to stay away from others for 24 hours while I was contagious.  That's not a good thing this time of year!  I still felt pretty miserable most of Friday too so I stayed home from work that day.  I took a penicillin shot on Thursday, so thankfully I am much better 48 hours later.  Lily gave complaints here and there throughout the week but just didn't seem like herself.  On Saturday morning Ryan took her to the doctor, and sure enough, she was diagnosed with strep and an ear infection, so now she's on antibiotics.  Wow, what a week!  This is a spring break for the record books, and one I would like to soon forget!

Mia Pictures

A few random pictures of Mia from this month...

 

Captain Hook showed up to help Bama made blueberry muffins one morning.

 She was so proud of herself from drawing this flower!  She couldn't wait to show it to me when I got home.  She has really improved with her coloring and drawing over the last few months; it's fun to watch. 

 I loved this sweet project she made at school. 

Love this sweet girl!

Valentine's Day, 2013

A couple of weeks before Valentine's Day, Lily made this note about fun things for our family to do together.  Included on this list: have a valentines party.

 I shouldn't be surprised.  Valentine's is one of Lily's favorite days of the year.  We decided to it would be fun to have a little party at our house that evening, so we invited the Henderson's over.  Liz and the girls decorated the houses with some cute finds, the kids made cards for one another and Lily made these fun decorations.

 The kids were thrilled with our menu.  Ryan grilled sliders and made mac and cheese; we also had strawberries and heart-shaped strawberry jell-o.  The kids were excited about the heart-shaped ice cubes for their pink lemonade too.  For dessert, we had vanilla cupcakes that I put white icing on.  Everyone then put their own pink icing, sprinkles and sugar galore.  It was a really fun evening!

 The girls also exchanged cards with their friends at school.  One of Lily's 4th grade friends at school, Ashlyn Kelly, gave Lily this sweet card at lunchtime.  Lily was so proud of it!

More Bike Riding

The girls are really getting into bike riding these days which is great.  I posted recently about going out and realizing that Lily's bike was way too small for her.  We started to search for a new bike, had to order it online, it arrived with a bent piece so we had to get the replacement part.  When the replacement part came, it didn't work very well either.  We were so frustrated, we decided that Lily and I would just go out and find another one to replace this one.  That's harder said than done!  We visited six different stores without luck.  Finally, we got in touch with one of our friends who manages a chain of bike stores.  He said they could totally adjust a bike to fit her, so we stopped by and they had one she loved.  Soon after, we headed over to my parents' house because they have a great street for bike riding.  We have been around our neighborhood too, and they are loving it!  It's really fun to watch them learn this skill!

Daddy Daughter Valentine's Dance

Friday night was the Daddy Daughter Valentine's Dance at our church.  Both girls are now old enough to attend, so Ryan had a double date!

They were very excited and looking forward to this.

 Practicing their courtesy.

 Ryan giving Lily a corsage.

  Mia also got a corsage.

 Daddy with both girls. 

They had a lovely time though everyone was worn out when they got home!

The Leotard

On the way to gymnastics on Wednesday, Mia said out of nowhere "Mommy will you please consider getting me a leotard today?"  I didn't think much about it and just said "we'll see."  When we arrived at the gym, I saw that most of the little girls were in leotards, so I walked over to look at them.  They are all...umm, let's see...how to say this...bright...and....interestingly-designed.  I pulled down two in Mia's size (one red and blue, one pink and purple), and then I pulled down a third one.  She immediately said "That one Mommy.  Can I please get that one?"  I said "Are you sure you want this one instead of one of these others?"  Her eyes were big and she replied "No thank you. I want that one please."  How can I say no to that precious girl?  So we went to try it on, and it fit just right.  She was so far past excited, especially when we put the matching scrunchy in her hair.  She ran out to show Lily and dance all around.  I heard her tell three kids in the waiting room that "this is my first time to wear a leotard!"  After her class, she told me how the leotard helped her to do such a good job.  She didn't want to take it off all evening!  I know it's not "things" that are important in this life, but I'll be honest, it made me happy to see how thrilled she was.  The ear to ear grin was absolutely worth it!

Holiness

Yesterday, Lily's came home with a "wow" ticket for going above and beyond at school and a behavior page that said "Wow Ticket :-) Could have given her multiple today!  Lily looks for ways to help when she is finished with her own responsibilities."  I told Lily how proud of her I was; that's so great to hear!  I wrote the teacher back on there (we have to sign the page each day) and noted "Thanks so much for letting us know! She was so excited about her wow ticket!"  Mrs. Worrell then wrote me back again today with a note on the behavior sheet that said "Lily does many praiseworthy loving things each day. I love to 'catch' her doing them."  When I read this to Lily, she asked what that meant.  I said "Basically that you're an awesome kid.  You're developing a heart like Jesus and you help others; that's fantastic."  Her eyes got really wide, and she said "You mean I'm holy like Jesus?" to which I replied "You're getting there because you're learning to live like him."  Mia overheard this conversation and started singing "Holy holy holy! Lord God Almighty!"  It was precious.

As I tucked Lily into bed, I said my prayers and then she began to say hers.  I wish I had recorded all of it, but here was the gist of it.  "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, me and Mia.  Thank you for helping me to be holy.  You told Solomon that if he asked for something, you would give it him and I want you to help me be holy.  Amen."  Love this precious girl!  Her class is reading 1 Kings right now which includes a study of Solomon.  I love how this school is helping us to raise her to love God with all her heart!

Random Happenings

Random happenings around our home recently...

 

Lily loves these glasses!  She thinks they are hilarious (which I admit, they kind of are!)

 Mia rockin' her cowgirl look!

 Liz, Mia and I had lunch at McEntyre's Bakery one day; Mia couldn't resist this cookie for her dessert choice.

 The girls were excited to go bike riding one beautiful day.

 Zooming all around!  While watching them, we realized Lily's bike was way too small for her.  We picked out a new one for her that afternoon, and had it shipped to the house.  When it arrived, we tried putting it together but realized one of the pieces was bent and wouldn't work; they are sending a replacement piece.  Lily, however, was devastated. She cried for several minutes in her bed and then explained to me "I was so patient for it to get here and then it didn't work!  I don't know if I can be patient again!"  Poor, sweet girl.  We're still waiting on the new part, but I have promised her it will be worth the wait.

 Mia's drawing last week of Dr. King.

 Lily is servant of the day tomorrow, and they are supposed to bring a favorite fruit/vegetable to class, explain how it grows, have a fun fact about it and bring some for the class to sample.  Lily is very excited to bring carrots and tell everyone how royalty used to decorate their hats with carrot tops.  She also drew this picture today to explain the growing process.  To explain...first a small seed is planted, then it rains which helps it grow a little...next the sun helps it grow a lot then a girl digs it out of a hole and then enjoys it with her meal.  Pretty cute huh?

 Mia painted this picture while home with Liz one day.  It's meant to look like the beautiful lanterns that light up in the Rapunzel movie.

 Don't know why I can't get this picture to rotate,but I wanted to put it in because I just love that it says "To: My Mom."  Love when Lily writes "my mom!"

I also love that she is practicing her handwriting!  Who wouldn't love coming home to a note like this?!

A Visit with Grandpops and Grandma Jan

We were so glad that Grandpops and Grandma Jan came to visit for a weekend just after the new year.  The girls couldn't wait for this special treat!  They arrived late Thursday evening, but we picked them up from their hotel on Friday morning and headed down to the Children's Museum.  The girls had been asking to go for awhile, and this seemed like a great time.  There were few people there which was nice; I think everyone enjoyed it.

Lily was stuck to Grandma Jan.  She wanted to stay right by her side.

Mia wanted to wander into different areas than Lily, so I stayed with her most of the time.  We would all circle back around to David and Ryan every so often.  She had a blast fishing, grocery shopping, milking the cow and playing in the weather center.

Both girls enjoyed the mechanical area of the museum this time.

After the museum we headed into Midtown for lunch at F20 but it was ridiculously packed, so we headed next door to a little pizzeria and enjoyed that.  We headed home for nap time, and then met up with them a little later for dinner at South City Kitchen in Smyrna.  It was a great day!

On Saturday morning, unfortunately David wasn't feeling well, so they actually spent the morning resting.  They came over later in the day though, and we enjoyed spending time together and eating dinner at home.

The girls were quite excited when they learned that we got to have another Christmas celebration with them!  The girls loved all their awesome gifts.  Lily was super thrilled with her new Rapunzel tower where you can paint with water on the wall.  Mia was beyond happy about her new Bucky boat and Jolly Roger boat (both from Jake and the Neverland Pirates).  She also got a fireman truck set that she loved.  They received several other gifts too (including the most adorable cowgirl hat, belt and boot sets); we have had too much fun the last couple of weeks enjoying all these gifts!

What a wonderful weekend!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today marks 11 years of marriage for Ryan and me.  We have a pretty low-key celebration this year; we enjoyed going to see the movie Lincoln earlier today, and we're heading to dinner at Rathbun's pretty soon.  This has become our favorite restaurant, so we're looking forward to it.  Liz took the girls to Birmingham for the weekend, so she could work at a church event which we greatly appreciated.  Ryan actually had a deacon's retreat last night, so I enjoyed a nice quiet evening and morning at home by myself.  I'm glad we're together and able to celebrate today though.  I am so lucky to be married to my best friend.  I look forward to seeing what's in store for our family this year!

New Year's Eve, 2012

Wow, what a year!  2012 was an amazing year for us, and one we will always remember.  We have loved watching our girls grow this year.  Lily started to Kindergarten and turned 6 in October.  I love watching her learn (she's starting to read now!) and grow in her love of the Lord.  She is so smart and creative; I'm always amazed at her.  Mia turned 4 in November and returned to Bethany Church's Parent Morning Out program two mornings a week.  She loves it there.  Mia is such a happy and precious child.  She makes me laugh every single day.  Both girls started to play soccer this year which was fun to watch.  I can't get over how much I love these girls!

We were fortunate to take several memorable vacations.  We started out the year celebrating our 10 year anniversary on a cruise to Belize and Cozumel; cruises are always a blast!  We took two trips that we have been dreaming about for awhile now.  In August, Ryan and I went to California (Mendocino, Napa Valley and Sausalito) with my parents.  In November, the four of us took Liz on an early 60th birthday trip to Disney World and on the Disney cruise.  We also had a great time visiting Ryan's family in Chicago this summer; that was the girls' first plane ride, and they loved it!  Our family took two annual beach trips as well; the first with my family in July to New Smyrna Beach and the second with our best friends to Gulf Shores in October.  Ryan took three mission trips to Alaska which he always loves.  He has developed some great friendships and ministries there, so we are always grateful for the opportunity for him to return there.  We love to travel, so this was definitely a big year for us!

In addition to the girls and our travels, we were pretty busy at work and other cool opportunities.  Ryan has become very involved with the global missions department of our church.  He helped direct one of their Sunday School classes each week, and he takes part in their weekly prayer meetings.  In March, I joined the Board of Lily's school which I have loved.  The Lord's hands have been all over this school recently, and it's been fascinating to watch "from the inside."  Truly amazing things are going on at that school!  Additionally, I volunteer each week to help with the financial administration of the school.  I love getting to be at the school and see the kids each week; it's so much fun!  Other than that, I also volunteer for the Care Committee at our church.  This committee helps our church meet the financial needs of those in our community.  We may assist with rent or mortgage payments, utilities or health care costs for those within and without our church.  We also offer financial guidance and suggestions to help these individuals or families get back on track.  All of these are very rewarding tasks for us.

This has been such an amazing year for us, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for our family in 2013.  We are both very excited that Ryan will begin to seminary in late February.  We aren't exactly sure where this will lead him or our family, but we're looking forward to finding out in the future!  We have lots of goals set before us for the coming year.  I'm sure we'll keep you updated through this blog on how that is going.  We hope you and your family are doing well also.  May God bless you in 2013!