You Are Fabuloso AND Kind!!!

Back in February, Darren, okay, I swept Darren off of his feet for his birthday.  We went to Charlotte and had a fantastic 2.5 days ALONE! Whoohoo. It was glorious. My girlfriends Ashely, Gretchen, and Jody each took one of our children so we didn't have to pay out the wazoo for childcare.  We are, JUST NOW, finally getting around to saying thank you to each of them. I came up with a practical, small, and useful gift idea.  It was simply just a small token of our appreciation for taking care of our rugrats.  

I have been searching for an excuse to purchase a few extra Vietnamese brooms for someone.  If you have never tried one before, you MUST go buy one. It's simply the best broom ever.  I came up with a short riddle/poem/message and gave my friends some of my favorite items: Fabuloso, KIND bars, and a Vietnamese brooms.  

Here's how the riddle, rhyme, or poem went:

"Thank you for letting my hubby SWEEP me off my feet.You are FABULOSO and KIND!"

There are a few days of heartache and frustration associated with these brooms, but once you get all of the loose dust OUT of the broom's bristles (by shaking it for a good 10 minutes) you will LOVE IT and you will NEVER go back to another broom again.  

If there is someone that you would like to thank in a simple, but creative way, and you like this idea, I have created a blank printable JUST FOR YOU... right here. Enjoy!

"We [Heart] You Dad!"

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating a very special father...Darren. We have a great day planned for him, which includes gifts, both handmade and store bought, dinner, and lots of love. Without Darren in this home, life would be very different and extremely sad. We are thankful for his hard work, dedication to everything he does, as well as, his love for the Lord. STABILITY and GRATITUDE are the two MAIN WORDS that come to mind when I think of my children's father.  

Just a little background to the adorable photos above: Ty had a birthday party to attend and Father's Day was quickly approaching. I dressed the kids in coordinating outfits, headed to Greenhill Park, on a very HOT, humid day AND with literally 18 minutes to spare, I snapped "Mr. Canon". I was able to capture 59 photos. That's it. Out of those 59 photos, at least 10 were taken with a smudge spot on the camera's lens, so I couldn't even use them as a viable option. That was terribly disappointing because those photos were of Lilah and very adorable. Oh well. I am still pleased, for the most part, with the outcome. It's like a friend said, "It doesn't have to be perfect.  It's the thought and meaning behind the gift that really counts!"  I'm just impressed Sadie cooperated. Three kids and a 7 month old puppy, ALL staring perfectly into the camera's lens? BINGO!!!! I chose photos of Lilah and Ty that were sweet/serious and for Jax, I chose a goofy photo because that is the stage of life he is in right now.

If you'd like to see ALL of the 59 photos that I captured that day, double click on the photo album below. Be on the look out for the rest of our Father's Day celebration, AFTER IT HAPPENS, tomorrow.  Haha.  We LOVE you Darren!!!!!!

Happy Father's Day to ALL of those amazing dads out there!!!!

Small Group Dinner Surprise!

This past Friday, we had a scheduled small group gathering.  Aaron and Lisa asked if they could host and said that they wanted all of us to arrive with hungry bellies.  They would be providing dinner for 26+ small group members. I had been stressing about it all week for Lisa.  BOTH, Aaron and Lisa, instructed us to bring NOTHING.  Lisa seemed really calm and collected, making me wonder what is seriously wrong with me OR HOW is she NOT stressed out. I can honestly say, my personality would never be able to not only handle, but also desire to have 14 children, under the age of 9, eating dinner in my home. 

At 5:00 pm, Lisa called and said, "Well, I've been keeping a little secret.  We aren't actually eating at our home.  We are going to all meet at Mamma Maria's.  Aaron and I reserved the banquet room and we are treating everyone to dinner!"  YAHOO!!!!! We have NEVER been able to do an outing like that. Our children have always been either too young or too unpredictable to take that chance.  We do our annual pumpkin patch tradition.  We've also enjoyed the lake together, but never have we chanced eating at a restaurant.  

 The men were so jealous of our girls' photo that they had to copy us!!! LOL! Below, they sported their special poses.

The banquet room was all set up when we arrived.  The kids had ONE big "kid table" and the adults had ONE big "grown-up table".  It was so much fun to be together in an new atmosphere.  Watching our children hanging out and thoroughly enjoying each other was probably the biggest blessing than anything else that night.  

I am really NOT sure what has gotten into Lilah.  Every single pose she insisted on doing that silly pose. Haha.  Let's hope her "Jersey Girl" look is not turning her persona ghetto.  LOL!

The only thing sweeter than a group of 14 kids growing up together, is their parents doing life together TOO! My only fear is that these kids are SOOOOO close that they will NOT even consider each other as candidates for spouses :)

Aaron and Lisa were very generous to treat all of us to a wonderful evening out.  We made sure to take some pictures that we rarely have the opportunity to capture.  Aaron even planned a comical skit for the girls to do in front of the guys. There's NEVER a dull moment when we are with each other.  Never in a million years would I have thought our small group would be what it is today, but I feel beyond grateful to God for blessing us with such a great group of friends who share the same goal... living for the Lord.

Aaron is every kids' favorite.  He is just like a BIG kid. Jody thinks she's a big kid!!! LOL! Above, Aaron was keeping the kids entertained.  Below, the girls were swarming Aliza aka "Miss Popularity".  She's the youngest and newest addition to our group!

Our little girls insisted on getting a "girls' photo" of their own, after they saw their mommy's friends taking a girls' photo. Below are their sweet faces.

Then, they wanted to act just like their daddies...goooooofy! 

 I can honestly say my life would NOT be the same without this group of people.  

Family isn't always blood.  It's the people in life, who want you in theirs.  The ones who accept you for who you are.  The ones who'd do anything to see you smile and who will love you no matter what.  Encourage you and hold you accountable!

Jesus Paid It All, All To Him I Owe!!

Sin Had Left A Crimson Stain, He Washed It White As Snow!

Today, Good Friday, our family acknowledges that because we are sinners, we needed a substitute, to take the punishment for our sins, and to reconcile us to God.  Jesus, in full obedience, humbled himself, to the point of death, and death on a cross.  We believe in Him, therefore our sins are forgiven and we may have eternal life!!!

Jesus, thank you for the cross, Lord. Thank you for your nail pierced hands.  Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came, and gave amazing grace.  Thank you for this love Lord, thank you for the price you paid.  Washed me in your cleansing flow, now all I know is your forgiveness and embrace.  Worthy are you Lord.  All glory, power, and dominion, to YOU, forever and ever... AMEN!

Moving Our Feet, So Others Can Eat!

Our family is super excited about participating in our FIRST Turkey Dash, 5k race, on Thanksgiving Day! We are signed up to walk, so that we can remain together as a family, but I think the boys have plans of "winning", so they are begging to run. LOL!  The only thing I am concerned about is the COLD weather. I am putting myself to the test by adding a race, to my agenda, on Thanksgiving Day. Normally, it's a challenge to get everything cooked, cleaned up, and have everyone showered before eating dinner. I have a yummy breakfast planned, along with some cute Thanksgiving decor, to get us motivated to get up and out early that morning.  After the race, we plan to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade with the kids, while cooking, and then we will be off to the Shaffer's home (our pastor's family) to eat! We are looking forward to a nice, relaxing day of pigging out and counting our blessings!

This race is designed to serve those in need of food, shelter and clothing. All proceeds from this race go to our local rescue mission to help those in need. From what I understand, over 2,000 people have signed up to run or walk. There are another 500 community helpers, volunteering, to keep us safe and on track. It will feel so good to do something for the less fortunate.  It's a lonely time of year to be without family and/or food, so I am so thankful our family can be a means to help them out before we enjoy some yummy "eats" of our own. I have explained to the kids why we are participating in this race.  Sometimes I think our children have a hard time believing that some people don't have food to eat or a home to live in. This will give them new insight into that reality. I also can't deny that exercising before eating will be a wonderful, guilt-free way to enjoy the food and desserts placed before us.

Our NEW Home Away From Home

STILL without power.... DAY 5! We are spending a TON of time at the YMCA. I am thankful I became a member before this power outage took place. I am especially excited that Darren is getting to use the gym that HE pays for.

Hoops!

"He shoots!"

Dribbling!!!

Basketball.

Swimming with Gram.

Water worm.

Happy as could be!

Hugs and Kisses!

An Amazing Gift x 2

Of course by the title of this post, you were probably thinking I am referring to my twinsies... and YES that holds true for SURE, BUT the title is actually referring to an amazing gift that Lilah and Jaxon received for their birthday. My dear friend Erin Carroll has been TRULY GIFTED with her teaching abilities. Before God blessed her with children, Erin was a school teacher at Glenvar Elementary School. Parenthood eventually lead her to become a stay-at-home mommy. I'm not sure which task was more challenging. I've watched Erin, in action, at church, teach and nourish the littlest of souls and she is intimidating. I'm pretty sure NONE could light a match to her classroom order, structure, and creativity.

ANYWAY.......... (sorry, I always get off track - well in this case, not really) - Erin created TWO "busy boxes" for the twins. Let the PICTURE below do the explaining.

Each "busy box" contains 9 activities.

I post about this gift for many reasons, but TWO (haha, not intentional) primary reasons. 1. The gift is INCREDIBLE. Probably VERY time consuming to create AND deserves MUCH credit and expressions of gratitude. HENCE the reason I will do this post in a 9 part series. Each activity will receive it's very OWN attention. The second reason is because THIS would make a GREAT gift if YOU could replicate it OR hire ERIN to make the box for you (that is if Erin is interested.). It might cost you a small fortune though.

On this cold, rainy day, I FINALLY pulled the busy box OUT and let the twins pick which activity they wanted to try. Both kids pulled the "bead pattern" activity out.

I love how Erin made it gender specific. Makes it more exciting for girl/boy preferences. Pastel colored beads for Lilah.

Primary colors for Jax.

This is the 1/9 posts that I will make, but each additional post will happen randomly, after we perform each task... who knows when that will be. Today, their attention span only allowed for ONE activity. They enjoyed it tremendously and were really excited about the fact that they had something to do with the outcome.

I learned that Jax is a total visual learner. He kept pointing to the color that was to come next.


Lilah worked pretty seriously.

The finished task. "Start" at the beginning and work your way to the end. Finding the correct colors. If the child is a little older, they can guess what color comes after the last color noted. The answer is on the back of the pattern card.

Erin, MUAH! A BIG THANKS! You are incredible. I am FLATTERED and IMPRESSED by this gift to my 3 year olds. I bet Tyson will even find it fun. I video recorded their first time using this box so you could see how much they cherish it. This activity was new to them, so they needed a practice round. After the "practice" round, the twins became really good at completing their bead patterns.

Grandma's Gems!

Last Thursday, when Granee joined us for a "pop in playtime" at Pump it up, she brought Lilah a special surprise. Granee cleaned out her jewelry box, gathered all the small earrings that would fit Lilah's ears, and passed them down to her. Lilah may be a little too young to grasp the beautiful gift that this is, but I am not. There's nothing more special, to me, than receiving a gift that was once a grandparent's.

Granee, we will cherish these beautiful earrings. Every time Lilah wears a pair of these special earrings, she will be reminded of YOU!

We placed them in Lilah's jewelry box that she received for Christmas last year.

Lilah wore one of the pairs of Granee's earrings, today, to Church.

A Trip To Short Pump With My "Sensational 6"

I LOVE THIS SHOT.... I just wish I was in it too!

On Friday, May 6th, my "Sensational 6" and I traveled to Richmond, VA to stay at the Sierra Hotel, on the grounds of the Short Pump Shopping Center. The night we arrived, we unpacked, ate at the world famous Cheesecake Factory, and then returned to our rooms to get our swimsuits on. We headed down to the fire pit/hot tub/pool area and spent well over an hour in the jacuzzi. It was so relaxing to just sit there and have UNINTERRUPTED conversations with my best friends. Afterwards, we went upstairs to our room and got comfy in our pajamas, pigged out on our "assigned" snacks, and had many wonderful and God glorifying conversations. We got pretty deep/personal. Developing our friendship is a tad more challenging with children present, so we made certain to make the most use of our time. We stayed up until 1 am and headed to bed. We made MANY wonderful memories, that's for sure.

On top of our serious conversations, we also had MUCH laughter. Our trip started off with a speeding ticket. YES, it was ME! I am definitely known to have a "heavy foot" but for this trip I worked extra hard to drive safe and slow. I didn't want to put my friends in danger, nor could I chance leaving my husband to face 5 other husbands and their children if something tragic happened. I thought the speed limit was 65 mph, but when I looked over at Jody, the speed limit changed to 60 mph. The cop said, "It changed about 8 miles back!" AHHHHHHH! Needless to say, I started my shopping spree $125 in the hole.

Erin Carroll was shaking literally. She said, "I've never been pulled over by a cop before." The girls made jokes about my question to the police officer, "May I ask why you pulled me over?" Isn't that a TYPICAL and COMMON SENSE question? SHEEESH! I seem to always be the target at a gathering. LOL! I guess it does make me feel loved in a sense.

After going to bed at 1 am on Friday night, a few of us were woken up 1 hour later to a massive drunk fest going on in our hotel's hallway. We were able to get the front desk to compensate us in a small way by allowing us a late check out, but that didn't help the lack of sleep some of us got. Erin said, "I literally got one hour of sleep last night!" Go figure, the one night we can get good sleep, we didn't.

On the way home, the car almost caught fire. Erin was trying to pump. Her adapter for the pump caught the car on fire, but Erin's reaction time was so quick, no damage took place. After much deliberation and attempts to find her an electrical outlet, we decided to head home. Poor Erin. Then, we decided to try a rest stop 15 miles up the road, where Erin was faced with making a VERY uncomfortable decision. For those of you who know her...you'd never believe this happened. She was forced to ask the rest stop attendant if she could use HIS office to pump. I'm sure that goes down as ONE of the MOST embarrassing moments for sweet, quiet, polite and VERY lady like Erin, but her charm allowed her to successfully pump using the attendant's office. While waiting for her to pump, we spotted Allison Ward and Mary Ward at the rest stop. What the heck? LOL!

We learned that our hubbies could most definitely survive and that is exactly why we plan to make this a yearly mother's day tradition. I'm not sure we've told them this yet! We figure we'd give it a good 9 months, just enough time for them to forget how hard that weekend away from mommy/wife really was, before telling them. :) We did learn that one hubby sent a massive text to the other hubbies which read, "I'm just not cut out for this!" Another hubby lost their child and had a neighbor return her. And one hubby was so scared to venture out with his two kids, so much, that he left his wife stranded with no keys and no way to get home. Good thing that's what friends are for. LOL! Enjoy the few photos taken of our trip.

We really missed you Dawn and Shannon. We pray you can come the next time!

Before I left town, I hand delivered a little "love note" to Shannon and Dawn, who could not make it on the trip. The note included some special sweet treats that I was assigned to bring. I wanted them to feel our presence and let them know that we would miss them.

The note read, "Rose are red. Violets are blue. This trip won't be the same without you!"

Traveling without car seats, strollers, diaper bags or KIDS! Once in a life time chance. Between the 5 of us, we were leaving 10 children behind. After shopping for multiple hours, we agreed the strollers actually do come in handy for bag transportation :)

Hanging out at the Cheesecake Factory. Ashely is laughing because the waitress was having the most difficult time using my camera. I said, "She's like a mom who takes forever to snap the perfect shot!" By the time the waitress finally figured it out, Ashely put her face in her hands. AHHHHH! Our only chance at a group shot.

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun. ~ Chuck Swindoll

This is Erin's salad at the Cheesecake Factory. It was monstrous.

We let go of our pride and put on our swimsuits. We shared it all that weekend, secrets, body dimples, and morning beauty/breath. We had no shame. BUT NOTICE someone is missing in this picture.... she was the smart one who offered to take the photo. What mommy wants to be captured on camera in her swimsuit?

After the hot tub, we got cozy in our pajamas and pigged out on all the "assigned" snacks that we brought.

Followed that up with great conversations.

Some serious!

Some funny, although I think everything is funny to Ashely :)