Snow!

Unfortunately, the winter wiggles have already started around here!  I suppose it'll get worse each year as the kids get older and need to burn off some energy.  I'm going to have to get creative to keep them busy!  They were super excited when it snowed.  It was pretty cold out, but we bundled up and headed out for over an hour to get out some wiggles.

 

Then we warmed up with some hot chocolate.  Mara LOVES hot chocolate probably because she only gets it at Grandpa and Grandma's house.  I think she thought I was kidding when I said she could have some!  She says, "Hot chocolate's not healthy!"  Healthy and not healthy are the terms we use with her for why she can and can't have something since we've changed her diet.  I did find some "healthier" hot chocolate from Whole Foods that I can pronounce all of the words on the ingredient list and minus corn syrup.  It was a good afternoon at our house!

Family Pictures

Family pictures were a bit difficult this year, so there aren't very many good ones!  The ones of just the kids were much easier for some reason.  I guess we really only need one good one for our Christmas card.  Here are a few of the others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mara - 3 1/2 years

This girl is always all smiles.  Even when she's in trouble...but I won't go there.  She is full of spunk and spontaneity.  And she'll be 4 before we know. 

 

As a former teacher, how thankful I am that she loves learning.  We try to do preschool 3 days a week.  She'd sit for 2 hours if I planned enough activities.  So far, she is a hands on learner, just like her Daddy.

She doesn't enjoy coloring, tracing, or drawing, so I have to get creative to get some of that practice in.  She will practice letter writing in flour, rice, or whatever messy substance we come up with.

Mara loves to collect the eggs at Grandpa and Grandma's house.  She was struggling with getting the eggs safely to the house (because who doesn't like to see what happens when you toss an egg??).  So, Grandma now writes her name on her egg if she makes it to the house without "accidentally" dropping it.  I made eggs for breakfast one morning, and Mara was a bit confused as to how she was going to eat the egg I cracked with her name on it when I scrambled it in with the rest of the no name eggs. 

 She loves to help us cook, and she loves to make us food.  She is always cooking up something for us to try!

I love you little girl.  How blessed I am to be your mommy.

Micah - 21 months

His second birthday is quickly approaching.  Seriously, where did the time go?

I'm a big fan of the 1-year-old stage...until it turns into the terrible two's.  So far so good around here.  He is very verbal, so I think that helps with frustration.  There has been some random fit throwing that lasts several minutes and some fork throwing at the dinner table, but it's still manageable. 

Micah LOVES his big sister.  He copies everything she does.  She's recently been stuttering a bit, and he's picked that up.  She's doing less toe walking since her knee injections, but she's still doing it enough that I guess he feels the need to do it some, too.  I can't imagine what life would look like for either of these two without the other.  They are best friends.  When Micah's napping, Mara wants to wake him up so he can play with her.  Today they were sitting on the couch, and Mara leans over and kisses his head.  He looks up and says, "Sissy loves me."  Melt my heart.

He's my snuggler.  At any time of day, he's very willing to rock or snuggle up and read a book.  Almost always, he'll come running over if I ask for a hug or kiss.  When I need some love, he's right there to give it. 

He's been enjoying his one-on-one time with his Daddy on Wednesday nights while the girls head to Awana.  He loves to push around tractors and farm with Daddy.  His favorite song is Twinkle Twinkle.  He is really struggling with colors but can count to 10 and attempts to count to 20.

Little Man, I'm really not ready for you to be TWO.  Let's slow down the next few months just a bit so I can cherish all of the moments I have with you.  I love you Micah William. 

Fall Tradition

We continued our fall tradition by heading to this state park that's just beautiful in the fall.

 There are lots of trails, but we didn't make too far with the little legs that were with us.

Micah was trying to climb up the steep hill with Daddy.

 Last year the kids got to play in the water, but it was a bit too cold this year.

 Skipping rocks was fun until.....

We realized we were all covered in cockle burs!

Happy Halloween

This year both of the kids were very willing to dig inside the pumpkin!  Micah however decided after his first attempt that he didn't care for that stuff on his hands. 

 

And of course we roasted the seeds! 

 We made treat bags for our friends.  This kept them busy for almost an hour! 

 Halloween party fun!

 

Frosting pumpkin cookies.

 

 

Crazy hair night at Awana.

 We love Great Grandpa and Grandma!

 In case you didn't think Batman was cute.....now you do!  This little guy is growing some major cheeks!  Amazing how much he changed in a week.

 Off to Trick or Treat in mommy's hometown!

 

 

Thankful in October

I'm thankful for fall and all it brings.  The changing of seasons does something to my spirit.  It's a new opportunity and a clean slate.  Leaves, pumpkin patches, jackets, bon fires, harvest. 

Thankful in October:
1.  celebrating my sister's birthday - I might as well brag on her a bit.  She has 3 kiddos 3 years old and under by herself during the day, and she's rocking it!  Very thankful God is giving her the patience and energy she needs to take care of them all!
2.  a rainy day which gave us the opportunity to spend some quality family time together
3.  watching my kids learn and grow
4.  physical therapy and Mara's willingness to stick with her exercises
5.  a good sweaty run
6.  hearing my kids belting praises to the Lord, Veggie Tale style
7.  backyard picnics - I think we had 4 in a row one of those weeks when the weather was just perfect!
8.  a pediatric chiropractor right in our little town
9.  my health
10.  the marriage conference we attended
11.  the Beth Moore study on James that we're currently using during bible study.
12.  James 2:19
       "You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that - and shudder.

Yikes.  At one point in my life, even demons probably had a stronger faith than I did.  I believed in God.  Of course I did, I wanted to go to heaven.  Or honestly, I just didn't want to go to hell.  Today, I still share a certain amount of my belief system with demons.  That about scares the pants right off of me.  Even the demons believe in God and know that Jesus is His Son (Mark 3:11 and Mark 5:7).

I challenge you to think about this: What good is your faith?

          For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the
          gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9

How thankful I am to be saved by GRACE though FAITH.  Even though I once said I believed in God, I still lived completely absent of all signs of Christ's spirit in me.  What good was my faith?  Was my world better off because I believed in Jesus?  Did my family and friends receive any direct benefit because I said I was a Christian?

I realized I needed something more than myself.  I wanted peace.  I wanted love.  I wanted joy.  I prayed and told God I needed him.  The Holy Spirit took over from there. 

          And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of     
          your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy
          Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13

Oh how I pray for my family and friends who are not marked in Him with a seal of the Holy Spirit.  God, please soften their hearts and plant seeds.  I long to watch those seeds grow into full bloom.  Amen.