Christmas E+V+E+

 WE DID IT! 

1000 Ways to be FULLer of JOY is FINISHED!

This Christmas we received a gift on our doorstep.  Her name is E+V+E+ which stands for the Entertaining Virtuous Elf!  In her note, she stated that her mission was to help our family always remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season and to help us all become more virtuous this Christmas.  The reason she chose our family was her curiosity over our family thankful book.  She stated that she wanted to be a part of it and to help us finish it!  We have had so much fun with her over the holidays and can't wait to see her again over Easter.  We love you, E+V+E+  

SECRET KEEPER GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CRAZY HAIR TOUR!!!!!!!

ON THE CAT WALK!

Micaiah and Makinley got a fabulous opportunity to be models in a fashion show in Rapid City!  They had so much FUN!!!!  So glad we went and will have to make it a tradition until they out grow it.  It is a Christian based production that focuses on bringing mothers and daughters together to battle insecurity issues and superficial world views of women.  Secret Keeper Girl teaches young women about modesty and how to grow up with God.  It seemed like one big slumber party of screaming girls!!!  We did a lot of screaming and dancing!  Watch the video!  Micaiah is in blue and Makinley is in purple.  After the concert they got to go back stage and meet One Girl Nation and get autographs and pictures. 

Video-check it out

PARTY!

Oh Hair!

Girlfriends!

1 Girl Nation

Back stage

CATCHING UP...

BACK TO SCHOOL

Our summer went by way too fast!  We packed our summer full of T-ball games, trips to Kansas, golfing, swimming, tubing, fishing, concerts, and church camp.  It was not the same without Baba...but that leaves more catching up to do for next summer!  Right, Baba?  :)  We have plans!

School started way too early like it always does right in the middle of August.  My baby started Kindergarten which was a huge adjustment.  She made it easy on Mama because she was so excited to go and absolutely LOVES school!  I am so proud of her and my twinsicles!  I can't believe the twins are already in the third grade.  We like to tease and call them Nerdgraders!  :)  They are growing up so fast and are already starting to wear my shoes!  All my girlies are growing up great and love school.  I am so thankful for them and LOVE being their mama!

I know some of you out there are thinking what am I going to do with myself now?  I have a perfect photo showcasing this thought...

What now?

 I have an answer for this... Grad School...it keeps me very busy!  Busy enough that I sometimes have to leave housework alone!  haha  :)

Breakfast Cheer!

1st day of Kindergarten

I love you guys!

FIREWORKS!

Baba, you are a firecracker!

Well, Baba made it through her surgery like a Superhero!  Praise the Lord!  Since she couldn't spend the summer with us in Chadron, we headed to Kansas.  We stopped along the way to take cousin Sydney with us!  We had a great time at Baba and Papa's house as Baba recovered.

It was a bittersweet 4th of July celebration.  We all got together as a family at Jeff and Jen's house and had a blast swimming, golfing, shopping, decorating, going to the winery, and watching the kiddos play.  It was one of our best family celebrations.   

We were all relieved that Chapter One In Our Book Of Cancer had ended.  That is the sweet part.  Surgery done, Baba healthy and happy.  Chapter Two In Our Book Of Cancer begun on July 10, 2013 as Baba started the combo treatment process of chemo and radiation for 6 weeks.  Like always, Baba amazed us all as she underwent treatment successfully.  Thank you, Jesus for answering our prayers.

I am glad to say we are now on Chapter Three and Baba is half way done with intensive chemo.  She started the second round of treatment in September.  Four more rounds left to go!  She has had some set backs along the way with low platelet counts and white blood cell count, but she continues to remain strong and positive!  I am so thankful for her amazing attitude along this journey.  She is a shining star in the universe!  (Philippian 2:15)  We have surrounded her with prayers and the good Lord has her wrapped up in them.  We are so thankful that He is holding her hand along the way and never letting go of ours as well.  We feel His Power, His Presence, His Promises, and His Protection as we Praise Him along the way.   

 "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."  
   Hebrews 12:1-2

30 days of gifts from her grand children for 30 days of radiation treatments

LOVE

Watching fireworks

This little light of mine

I LOVE YOU, MAN

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

First Piano Recital

  I love that the girls enjoy playing the piano.  They love music and their teacher!  The Albert Einstein quote captures my girls the best because they have plenty of ingenuity and imagination!  They love to create and play!  From making their own homemade teeter totter, to bows and arrows,  to exploring for hidden treasures, and of course creating their own music and songs on the piano!  I love watching them grow up and I am so proud to be their Mama!

Makinley playing Desert Gold by Mier

Micaiah playing Mystery Movie by Mier

Jentsyn playing her Heaven Song for Grandpa Eddie

Not to forget that Jentsyn also has a song that she created on the piano for Grandpa Eddie when he went to see Jesus.  She calls it her "Heaven Song".  She has one more year before she can sign up for piano and she can't wait!

Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.  1 Chronicles 23:5

Holding God's Hand

For I am the Lord, your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.  Isaiah 41:13

Cancer is a word that makes anyone tremble.  Just saying the word is scary.  My mother was recently diagnosed earlier this month.  The shock is numbing and stinging at the same time. 

 Our summer does not start without Baba coming to stay with us.  That is how we plan it every year from canning, to traveling, to walking/running 5K, to gardening, to playing and relaxing.  God decided to change the plan and now we are reversing the trip.  Kansas here we come!  Surgery is the 29th and we pray the cancer is contained and has not spread. 

I am thankful my mother is surrounded by prayers.  We believe in the power of prayer and depend on God to lead the way.  He is our strength and equips us each day.  He never lets go of our hand.  We praise His name through this circumstance.  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for my mother.

During the summer, my posts may be limited.  I will be updating hopefully once a month. 

Tubing down the Niobrara River 2012

Psalms 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love
will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

Cheeseburgers may be overrated, but cheese is not!

I love to cook and create new things in the kitchen.  It is one of my favorite things to do.  Cooking is my outlet.  To me, cooking can be many things, a coping mechanism, a distraction, a comfort, a connection with my family, and entertainment.  It can also be bittersweet because I do not feel the same way about dishes!

I have been vegetarian for over a year now and I really enjoy my new lifestyle change.  I feel better about how I feed my family.  Eric and I owe our new lifestyle change to the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP).  We graduated from the class last year and highly recommend this program if you want to lose weight, lower blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol.  CHIPS can do amazing things to your body with awesome results in just one month!  It is the best thing we did for our family and as a family.

CHIPS introduces a vegan based diet.  At first, cooking was a challenge for me, because I felt like I had to relearn how to cook.  After the class, it was easy to make the changes and recreate my recipes with the new knowledge I had gained.  This gave me the opportunity to start writing my own cookbook.  I hope to have it finished before the twins leave for college!

I cook mostly vegetarian and sometimes vegan for my family.  Becoming vegetarian has been an easy switch for my family.  Being vegan was a different story!  I do admit cheeseburgers may be overrated, but cheese is NOT!

Japanese food in Epcot

Cupcakes!

Beautiful presentation on the Disney Cruise Ship!

Dessert always brings a smile to our face!

Cheers!

Bedroom Redesign

March Madness Project

Eric and I suffer from allergies something fierce.  So we decided to remodel our bedroom.  The Allergist suggested we get rid of our carpet and the ceiling fan, so we did!  We replaced the carpet with gray laminate flooring that looks like hard wood.  Then we replaced the ugly ceiling fan with a charming chandelier.  I LOVE it!  

Eric had more ideas about adding a second closet, but at the last minute, I talked him out of it!  So glad I did because we utilized every inch of our walk-in closet.  I also talked him into letting me be the  "Project Manager" for this job.  He agreed because he thinks I am an awesome designer!  Okay, so he didn't say that, but he is the type of husband who likes to make me happy.  (I got a good one ladies.)  Anyway, I'm glad he agreed because my design aesthetic is bold, eclectic, and funky!  His is the complete opposite!  (Again, my words cannot convey how much I love you, Eric.)  : )

"Vintage Romance" is the theme of my design.  For the paint color, I mixed two different historic blues to get my peacock color.  It is classic, yet cozy.  Not to forget the knockout wallpaper, black and white stripes, my favorite!  I always have to add a funky twist, it's just who I am.  ; )  The windows are beautifully draped with white ruffled curtains, however, they sent me size 63" instead of 84"!  So I am patiently waiting for the new longer curtains to arrive.  They give the room a soft romantic touch.  

My master bedroom is one of my new favorite rooms.  I still need to change out the furniture, buy rugs, and hang pictures, but at least the big projects are done.  Now I get to go "junkin" to find more treasures to fill my room.  Yes, junk, is one of my favorite things!  Just wait till you see my redesigned french door turned into my new tufted headboard!  Can't wait!  More to come soon!

Micaiah and Jade love the bed!

Time Waits For No One.

AND OFF WE GO!

"Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!"  As a mother and a wife, I secretly wish to be Mary Poppins!  I could just snap my fingers and sing a song as my house cleans itself.  I could spend more time playing with my kids by jumping into a picture and bringing it to life around us.  Or catching up with my friends by having a tea party on the ceiling laughing until we cry!  Can you imagine?  All the stuff you would get done in one day!  

I am having a hard time keeping up with time.  I think it will slow down, so I can exhale, but it does just the opposite!  So I apologize for the two month lapse on my blog posts.  I need to stop the procrastination, if that even makes since to a Mom, because even when we think we are procrastinating we are still busy!  I believe I just created a new oxymoron for Moms.  It's not as eloquent as I would like it to be, but it works for now.  

The pictures below were taken at the 1900 Park Fair restaurant in the Grand Floridian Hotel.  We had a characters breakfast on the last day in Disneyworld.  This was one of my favorite things to do because it was beautiful, it had great food, and we got to meet Mary Poppins!  If we ever go back I want to do it again!  

I will sign off for the day with the famous words of Mary Poppins,  "Spit Spot", which means to us Moms as "Get back to work!"

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!

Alice in Wonderland

Mad Hatter

DISNEY DREAM CRUISE

SAIL AWAY...

Our first cruise ever was MAJESTIC!  We sailed away on the 7th for three nights to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay.  It was an experience to say the least!  Our room was cozy and my favorite part was to sit out on the veranda and be surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.  The ship docked in Nassau, Bahamas on the first day and we booked a relaxing excursion at a beach hotel.  The girls explored the shore finding sea shells, crabs, sting rays, and an octopus!  They discovered fascinating creatures overlooked by adults as coral, soon became ALIVE when the twins captured them!

The next day we docked in Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, and did our first ever snorkeling excursion.  After that, we were hooked, and spent most of the day snorkeling at the beach.  This trip was a dream come true with many adventures along the way.  "Memories are the best souvenirs of all."

The Disney Dream Ship

Our cozy cabin

A hug from Captain Donald Duck!

It's ALIVE!

The sea is calling...

This picture makes me laugh!

Biking around the island

DISNEYWORLD!

"WHERE DREAMS DO COME TRUE!"

We left for Disneyworld on February 2 and stayed that the Riverside Resort until the 7th.  We explored all four parks from morning to night, walking approximately 11 miles per day!  Not once did we have to rent a stroller for the girls!  Amazing what Disneyworld does to a kid!

We met many characters along the way, Mickey and friends, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Mary Poppins, and Alice in Wonderland to name a few.  Our first night was spent in Magic Kingdom and it was beyond magical!  Animal Kingdom was also one of our favorites.  We LOVED the Mount Everest Expedition Roller Coaster, the Safari, and belly dancing in the street.  The girls are thrill seekers and the rides were by far their favorite thing to do.  On the third night we went to Hollywood Studios and participated in The American Idol Experience, Tower of Terror, Aerosmith roller coaster and Fantasmic.  We stayed for the after hour party and danced with the Disney Junior Characters.  We all had so much fun and there was never a dull moment!  The next day we explored Epcot.  It was very educational and the girls enjoyed the Kids Club activities and of course the rides.  Epcot was very enjoyable because we strolled through the day instead of rushing to see everything.  It was a low key kind of day.  Our last day was also spent in Magic Kingdom, a great way to say good-bye.  We went to Belle's Castle and to Be Our Guest restaurant, the newer part of the park.  Our favorite rides were Thunder Mountain Rail Road, Space Mountain, and the Test Track.  We enjoyed their parades, fireworks, and shows.  After Magic Kingdom closed we rode the bus to Downtown Disney and took the ferry ride back to our hotel for some much needed rest.

That is the first part of our magical vacation at WDW.  The second part of our trip is coming up next!

Animal Kingdom

Dance Party at Hollywood Studios!

ARRG!  We LOVE Pirates!

WHEEE!  Our last ride on Thunder Mountain Rail Road.