Blessed Mother's Day

Mother's Day began on Thursday with a tea at Madelyn's school.  What a very special day with my sweet girl!  She insisted on dressing up that day and looked beautiful!

I was showered with hand-made gifts, serenaded with two very sweet songs and also treated to some wonderful food.  What a special day!

On Saturday, Daniel came over and took the kids shopping.  They surprised me with a beautiful hanging flower for my front porch.  We enjoyed a fun day!

Sunday morning was so special!  At 6:45 I awoke to 3 beautiful children in my bed.  They had some cards and candy for me too.  David's card was made at school.  Inside was handwritten:  Dear Mommy, I hope you have a great mothers day.  Go down Stares.  I love you mommy.  Love David

Intrigued, I was led down stairs and found this:

My boy made it a point to wake up early, wake up the girls - including getting Molly out of her crib, set up their presents on my bed and make me breakfast.  He even cleaned up his mess.  And he did this all on his own!  I tell you what, he is going to make a little girl very happy someday.  But for now, he's mine and I cherish him!

After church, we picked up some lunch and went to the park to play.

Let me tell you, I couldn't have asked for a better day.  And I couldn't be more proud of my children.  They are precious to me and I couldn't imagine my life without them.  Be still my heart!

Birthday times 2!

So, Birthday time....  We celebrated David's 7th Birthday with a small family party through the week.  Then on Friday, Dylan came to spend the night.  David was so excited to go with Daniel, Dylan and Dylan's Dad Brian to go see Star Wars in 3D.  He had a blast!  My boy is growing up!

Star Wars 3D Coolness!

3 days later this year, due to a leap year, Molly turned the Big 2!  My parents came over and joined us as we celebrated with a Minnie Mouse theme.

I had more fun with these cupcakes!

Molly of course caught on to the Birthday thing real quick.  She blew out her candle before we were even done singing, and you could hardly keep her away from the "cake cake" or the presents before it was time.  She was super cute!

Molly Mouse

Well, that takes us through the first of March.  Stay tuned for more blogging fun!

Goofiness

Molly is the goofiest little girl ever.  She cracks me up.  The other morning, I came into her room to find this:

Apparently now, we wear our pajama pants on our head.  She keeps me smiling!

A sure sign of Fall

Autumn is upon us, which means a trip to Anderson's Orchard for some apples.  There are orchards that are closer to use, but the u-pick is the draw.  It's all about the experience.  David is like a monkey in the trees.  The boy has no fear! 

Madelyn was a little more cautious than her brother and had a few times where she got stuck and had to be helped down, but she picked quite a few apples too.

Molly did a lot of her apple picking from the ground, but also wondered why she couldn't climb too.

She also did a lot of taste testing.

 

One more start of fall down in the books.  I see a lot of apple desserts in our future!

Salon time!

Wednesday, August 10th, marked a first.  Here is a before picture:

A during:

And the best "after" we could get:

Thank you Katie!  You are a pro.  Squirmy and fussy and Katie can still do a great job!!  And she even saved me a few curly Q's for her memory box.  :)

A Dairy Good Time!

Nothing beats a good Day-cation.  Today's destination: Fair Oaks Farms. 

I have been wanting to go here for years.  It is right off of interstate 65 between Chicago and Indy.  We had driven past it several times, and it just looked so fun!  Believe me, we were not disappointed!  We experienced a 4-D movie all about life on the farm.  We then walked through a forest, a corn field in the harvesting process, and an old time dairy farm.  So fun! 

How appropriate we rode in a bus painted like a dairy cow!

Next we took a bus tour out to the dairy barns.  We saw the HUGE milking carousel.  This resembled a very large merry go round.  There were 72 cows able to be milked at one time.  The cow walks into a stall and someone below cleans the teets then the electric milker is attached.  They are milked as the whole carousel moves in a circle.  It never stops moving, but when the cow returns to the beginning she backs out of her stall and is ushered back to her place in the barn.  It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen.  Fair Oaks is one of the largest dairy farms in the United States.  40 tanker trucks pick up daily producing 250,000 gallons of milk.  Not bad for a day's work.

 

We stopped into the cafe to refuel.  We had a grilled cheese sandwich with cheese made on site.  We also had fresh ice cream.  I had the butter pecan and it was the BEST ice cream I've eaten in a long time.  So creamy.

Molly enjoyed some ice cream too.

The kids then had some play time outside.  There was so much to do!!  Their favorites were the electric tractor.

After playing outside for awhile, we headed into the birthing barn.  When we 1st arrived, 2 mommas were resting easy with babies by their side.  But before too long, a first time momma cow was escorted into the barn.  We had the privilege of watching her bring not one....but 2 babies into the Fair Oaks Family.  That's right!  Twins!

They were born about 20 minutes apart.  The 2nd twin had a little trouble.  She had to have some assistance in getting her out, and the farmer performed C.P.R (including mouth-to-mouth) to get the little calf to breathe.  The whole place cheered when the new little calf began to move and kick.  The mother then spent lots of time cleaning her little calves and encouraging them to get up and move.  The kids really enjoyed seeing the baby calves come into the world.  They befriended an older couple in their early 70's and the 4 of them really got into the whole process.  It was really a great experience!

We had a great day.  We took our time, did everything we wanted, some things even twice and stayed until almost closing.  We all decided that we want to go back and do it all again some time soon.  Day-cation a success!!

Just us girls

Daniel has been gone this week on his first tour in Fort Wayne.  10 libraries down, 9 more to go next week.  David's been gone this week at my parents house, so it has been just us girls.  We have done lots of shopping, had some lunches out and done some fun things too! 

Each day this week Madelyn has gone to swimming lessons in Danville.  I've been very pleased.  There are about 16 kids in the class and there are 7 instructors so she gets a lot of one on one time, which she needed.  On the first day she told them several times very matter of factly, "I don't think I can do that," and she just wouldn't.  I had a talk with her that day and since then she has done a little better.  She is starting to get a little more comfortable in the water.  

Today we decided to check out the new splash pad.  It was a tad chilly, but the girls didn't seem to mind.

"Nothing is too big for me."

Molly was seriously cracking me up.  She loves the water anyway and cries when bath or shower time is over.  She was just so excited when she first walked out there all she could do was shake and giggle and squeal.  And in her mind, she was just as big as all the other kids. 

Her personality is really beginning to blossom.  She is observant and picks up on things very quickly.  She follows directions and simple commands well.  She is a lovebug but on her terms only.  This is kind of frustrating because being the last, there are times I would love to rock her to sleep or snuggle her, but she will have nothing of it.  However, her "surprise" hugs and little pats, snuggles and kisses I wouldn't trade for the world. 

She also has a firey side.  She is VERY determined and passionate when she sets her mind to something.  Sometimes this leads to big trouble when she's headed in the wrong direction, at times extreme frustration (such as her insistence in feeding herself and ending up with an empty fork).  But sometimes it leads to a unwavering journey to success.  I pray that God will get a hold of this girl early.  That her passions will become His passions, her determination will spill over into steadfast faith and her journey will make Him proud. 

In all honesty, I could pray that prayer for myself as well.  There are so many times in my life where I've headed in the wrong direction or jumped in before I was led.  But in His sovereignty He has allowed everything to work out in my life.  (Romans 8:28)  But how much more blessed is that journey when He is in control.  Lord, take hold of my life and never let go.  Let my passions be your passions, grow my faith, teach me Your ways and lead my steps.  Lord only through You will I have success.

Proverbs 2:6-8
⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom;
   from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
   he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
   and protects the way of his faithful ones.
(emphasis mine)

Look what we can do...

Hollywood!

After dinner one evening last week, Daniel took the kids on a little walk.  The older ones rode their bikes, and Molly cruised in her umbrella stroller.  Since it was sunny, we put Molly's sun glasses on.  She loved them and wore them for quite awhile before she learned she could take them off.

Madelyn had to have hers too!

While they were gone, I took the opportunity to go to the back yard to plant some more flowers.  They weren't gone but around the block and the last turn David made, he fell off his bike and it broke into 3 pieces.  I couldn't believe it!  The whole thing just fell apart.  Luckily Daniel was able to get it back together, but by then, they were all done with the walk.  I only got as far as getting the gardening supplies out of the shed.  Oh, well.  There's always next time.

Back to normal....

After 3 weeks of sickness roaming back and forth in our house, I am glad to say that everyone is feeling better!  Molly was the last to get sick.  With a double ear infection, she was oh, so fun!  She spent most of her days just crying.  She cried when I held her, she cried when I put her down, she cried in bed, she cried when she had toys, she cried when she did not have toys....you get the picture.  There were a few days she would follow me around the house just whining.  But today....today was a different story.  Today I found this!

She emptied at least 50 sandwich bags. 

She's so proud of herself.  On a side note, have you ever tried to put sandwich bags back in the box and get them to fit?  Not as easy as it sounds.

Look Whooo's One!!

Today my sweet little Molly turns 1 year old.  We celebrated today with family featuring an owl party.  Here she is getting ready to enjoy her birthday supper!

Then we opened some presents!

Then it was time for some cake!!

She got her very own owl.

She sure did love her cake!!

She is either showing you her age....or warning you to stay away from her cake. I'm not sure which.  :)  Happy Birthday Molly!  We love you!!

Look what I can do!

 

No stopping her now!!

Today we ventured out to visit Santa at the Children's Museum.  David was first up on Santa's lap.  He asked for a remote controlled iron man guy (Why is it your child asks for something completely different as soon as they crawl up onto Santa's lap than what he's asked for all season?  Figures.)  Madelyn requested Tea Cup Piggies and a humongous doll house (this doll house she wants is over $150 and I'm sure will not be under the tree..... ever.)  And Molly....well, she gave some smiles and clapped her hands.  And I think she asked for "Peas on earth".  She was not scared one bit.....at least this year.  Of course no visit to Santa is complete without petting/grooming/riding some reindeer.

On Dasher, On Prancer, or Donnor or Blitzen??

The kids then did some ice fishing, ice skating and then went into the kitchen to bake some goodies.  Good times were had by all.  This time at our Children's Museum visit, Molly was able to have some fun too.  She didn't fuss one bit even though she missed her afternoon nap. 

Of course no visit to the Children's Museum is complete at Christmas time without some Yule Slide fun.  Today was a good day to go, because there were no lines for the slide or Santa.  I think the kiddos went down the slide at least 6 times.

Best of all, I talked Daniel into taking a couple hours and joining us for all the fun.  Truly a great day!

Mom and Dad came to visit Wednesday and stayed through today.  On Thursday, I was able to get out by myself and just about finish my Christmas shopping.  Then, that night my parents took us out for dinner to celebrate my Birthday at O'Charley's.  When we got home, Daniel surprised me with a cake and I opened some gifts.  David got me a HUGE coffee mug that says : Mom, I love you more each day.  I love it and will use it every morning for my coffee.  Madelyn and Molly got me some adorable Colts earrings.  And my parents surprised me this year with a beautiful cross necklace.  Mom also gave me some towels that she found that were crocheted by my Grandmother.  We had a great visit and I cherished every second.  But the best gift of all was spending it with my family.  I love you all!!

 David wanted a picture of him and I kissing.  I thought it was so sweet and was happy to oblige.  However, lightning fast kisses only for my boy and I couldn't get the picture snapped quite fast enough.  :)

And of course, whatever David does, Madelyn has to do too.  Just love them!!

Turkey time!!

We spent Thanksgiving at Heidi's house this year.  We had a great time.  Who can go wrong with turkey and all the fixings??  Later that evening, Aunt Heidi sat down and read some Thanksgiving books to all the kids.  This was about the only time besides dinner they sat still for more than 5 minutes.  Lots of playing was to be had.

And how did Molly spend her first Thanksgiving?  Well, after some sweet potato casserole, stuffing and dressing, she spent some time reading....

And also chasing the Black Friday ads....

Photo courtesy Heidi Hackney

After some more turkey, and even some Charlie Brown, Thanksgiving was over.  We were all stuffed and tired, but had a great time!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!