The Latest

James has had this entire week off and we are enjoying it greatly.

Lots of fun outings.

Lots of time in.

Let's start with the really important stuff.
Back in August, Disney Channel started advertizing for their new movie called Sophia the first.
Cruel trick b/c it didn't air until the middle of November.
Ava has been waiting a very long time!
It has been fun to have some lazy days and nights with the fam.

We spent some time at the beach on Sunday.  

Ava was completely drenched by the time we left.

That's a sign of a good beach trip.

And we got to meet our friends new little treasure.
Joy, who just arrived home from China two weeks ago.
In fact, we have a few friends who are bringing home children right now. 
So amazing!

Daddy and Ava went on a nature walk while Judson was napping at home.

I have been playing with my new camera and have been trying to find some fun spots near our house.

I took my little animal loving boy to see home horses near our house.  

Of course we took a trip to Disneyland.
I checked online last week to make sure that our passes worked and it showed that they did.
When we checked on  the Disney app it said they were blocked. 
We were already in the parking structure when we got this news.
It was so sad, I almost cried.
BUT, our passes did indeed work...phew.
So festive and fun.
Favorite part of the trip... Mark Twain river boat at sunset.
Least favorite part of the trip...Judson's pooping right as the parade stared (The parade that we had been waiting 45 minutes for)

Yesterday I got my hair cut with some layers.
It was time for a change.

Thanksgiving Tomorrow!  YAY.

Thanks!

You know those days when it seems like NOTHING is going your way?

Everything that can go wrong, does.

Well, today was the opposite of that! 
It was a wonderful day full of sweet blessings at every turn.

A great day to do my 2012 Thankfulness post. 

My buddy boy was just so sweet today while sissy was at school.

He laughed and played and made my heart swell!  

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He loves to eat chalk.

He always has a pencil, straw, or stick in his hand.

He climbs on everything.

He has the sweetest smile on earth.

I am so thankful that I get to be his Mama.

(That is chalk under his mouth,,,argh that boy!)

Later that day we went to Ava's school for a Thanksgiving feast.  

She was so excited and the joy was all over her face.

We got to sit together and eat some yummy food.

I love that she loved to have me there. 

The best part was the amazing report I got from her teacher at the end of the day.

My girl is READING!  She is doing work independently, is actually enjoying writing, and is keeping up well in first grade math! 

"Best day of the school year" were the actual words that Mrs. Rose used! 

She loves angry birds.

She wants to do an art project daily.

She asks LOTS of questions.

She is so loving and kind.

I am so thankful that I get to be her Mama.

 (Ava with her classmates on PJ day) 

Some other wonderful things about this day...

- I took a trip to Hobby Lobby.

- I actually liked cooking dinner tonight.

- I enjoyed watching some comedies with my hubby and getting caught up on some blogging.

- I forgot Judson's shoes when we we went out today and that was totally fine b/c we live in Southern California and shoes are not necessary even on cold days. 

THANKFUL!

My little writer

It is so fun to see Ava blossom as a scholar.

Her spelling words last week included words like queen, quiz and skip!  

What!  Those are hard!  

And my girl totally rocked it.

 She likes to write little letters for her friends at school and for her Mama

I must say that I am looking pretty good in this picture.  

I love love love her love notes.

 I CANNOT believe how her printing has improved since the school year started.  

The bar has been raised for her and she's really responding well.  

We look forward to her taking off in her writing.  

Another outlet for her to communicate and share.

Just Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 



Today I loved being a Mom

Because, even on the hardest days, there is no place I'd rather be than with my crazy kiddos.

 Today I loved being a Mom because...

I blamed my friend's son for putting Judson in this doll highchair only to catch him climbing into it all on his own.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

 of my MAMA FRIENDS who encourage, support, love and affirm.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

my kids have a safe space to run.
They have friends to run with.
They love to laugh.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

No matter how crazy they make us, we wouldn't trade a moment.

What a special love.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

after a crazy election day yesterday, I was reminded that my lovies are God's precious children and he is their King.   

I cannot control who their president is or what their country will look life when I am gone.

But I can give them the truth of the Gospel and the Hope of Christ. 

30th

What an amazing birthday.

This man spoiled me far more than I deserved.

 He orchestrated a surprise party for me on Saturday.

My friends and I enjoyed girl time, getting our nails done and eating some of my favorite foods!

The next day was my birthday and was also orphan sunday at our church.

My sweet family came up for church and lunch.  

James again surprised me with a beautiful new camera!  

Can't even believe him.

I am going to have some fun with this present...taking pictures of my favorite subjects...

I wish I could turn 30 every year. 

It was the very best.

Through their eyes

Looking at this life through the eyes of my children changes everything.

I am more sensitive to things that could be harmful, corrupt, or frightening.

I am more enthusiastic for sweet things that they love and enjoy. 

I have to be honest, I struggled with Halloween this year.

Mostly because Miss Ava is frightened by all the spookiness and so I started looking at it as threatening rather than fun.
I wanted to protect her sweet, innocent heart.

We had lots of good talks.

We talked about the power of God and the protection that he has over our lives. 

We talked about how he is greater than anything or anyone.
It was up to her if she wanted to participate or not.   

She decided that she wanted to trick or treat and so we went 

My Mama eyes were wide, looking for anything that might scare my girl.  

In the end, it was a blast.  She enjoyed running from house to house with her little friends and collected her candy with such joy!

She insisted I call her Rapunzel all night long.
I mean, look at that hair!  It puts Rapunzel to shame :-)

She couldn't even handle her brother in this puppy dog costume.  

She laughed and laughed and gave him hug after hug.

So, although my eyes were puffy, and tired, and sick of being open, they were happy b/c I was seeing this night of make believe through her sweet little 7 year old eyes.  

And then there was this man

He was just about as yummy as it gets.

He thought he was such hot stuff walking around with the big kids.  

He made it up to several of the houses and fished around in the candy bowl.

His big score was a sucker than he carried around all night.

So although, I had to carry him most of the way, and I stressed about him falling when I wasn't, it was worth it to see the wonder and excitement behind his sweet little 14 month old eyes.

And then there was Disneyland.

 We took a little two day mini vacation to Disneyland with Mimi, Papa, Auntie, and our friend Jackie.
It was such a great time to be together.
As always, I enjoyed looking at this magical place through the eyes of my little ones.

 Toon Town is one of Ava's favorite places right now.
It's a place where characters come to life and you can take a little rest right on Minnie Mouses' ACTUAL bed :-)

Same smile no matter how many times she goes on this ride.

This guy thought he owned the place.

The goats were not as playful as Judson had hoped they'd be.
He's more into the kind of animal that jumps on you and slobbers on your face.
Hence the puppy outfit for Halloween.

It's been a special few days being able to enjoy these childhood experiences through the eyes of my children.
Having them with us sure makes everything just that much sweeter.