{snow}

we finally got enough of the white stuff to go sledding!

aubrey preferred the calmer slopes in the backyard.

playing in the snow at home can be fun too...

because it usually always involves hot chocolate!:)

have a happy day,

cindy

{Janey Turns Eight}

our sweet little janey brooke is eight!
how in the world did that happen?
of course we made our favorite chocolate sugar cookies to share with her class.
and she was very methodical about her m&m placement.:)

this is janey looking oh so janey-ish as they sang "happy birthday to you".
her favorite part of her classroom party was getting to lead the game "heads-up 7up".
remember that one??

her class has been studying the weather.
on her birthday it was her turn to present the weather report to the class.
i love this shot of her all bundled up in the morning practicing.

and look what she got to report...
our first real and so far only substantial snowfall of the winter and it came on her birthday.
she kept saying all day it was God's present to her.:)

i love this progression of pictures.
between janey snacking on snow (?) and aubrey losing her hat and being shielded and rushed inside by her sisters...it's cracking me up...funny sweet stuff.

i knew it was too cold and windy outside for aubrey, but sometimes us mammas just have to let them figure things out for themselves don't we? it's soooo much easier to wait it out 5 minutes till she wants to come in on her own then to sit and tell her no it's too cold and listen to her cry for an hour while her big sisters play outside.:)
sometimes we really do have it all figured out don't we?
sometimes.

eight was the year of the horse....stables, black beauty books and model horses.
and some other goodies too.

janey's party theme was cupcakes.
we painted canvases, played games and decorated our own cupcakes.
lots of girly fun.

 the cutest mason jar lids right!!!??? ordered them here.

we celebrated again that evening with our neighbors.

and for some reason my camera and i were not getting along.
sorry janey.

can i blame it on a day of sugar overload??

we love you so very much janey brooke!
you are a hard working, spunky, snuggly, love filled little girl.
you amaze us every day with your mind and your heart and we are so very blessed to know you and be your parents.
we hope you feel our love every day!!!


{Janey Turns Seven}

{Thirteen Years}

happy anniversary to us!!
13 years....wow!
seems like only yesterday, really!

we celebrated our anniversary by doing the things we typically do on a monday.
drop the big girls off at school
panera
grocery shop
lunch at our favorite mexican place
but we would look at the clock throughout the day and say "what were we doing now?"
it was sweet and simple and perfect.
(well maybe not perfect i would have loved to be in a tropical place with the sun on our shoulders and sand under our feet...but it was pretty close):)

dave surprised me with beautiful flowers.

and made a wonderful dinner

(of course he tweaked it a bit so let me know if you want the updates)

janey has tumbling on mondays so we were eating a bit later then normal.
after their showers the girls were playing hide and seek upstairs with aubrey.
our soup was ready but their grilled cheese was not. we looked at each other and decided to sit down and eat, just the two of us. it was the closest we were going to get to a babysitter i guess!

we took a family pic before bed.
first time we had used the tripod and timer so it took a bit.

our three silly, squirmy monkeys didn't help either.

throw in the learning curve for the cameras live view and self-timer and we just gave up

yes dave turned his eyelids inside out...totally gross!

happy day
happy life
happy anniversary
i love you baby

{twelve years}

{thankful for}
1. 13 years
2. those words "how can i help you?"
3. having a family
4. mexican food
5. love