Our weekend...

We had a busy weekend! 

We actually had a busy week which is rare for us.  We're usually just at home every day but that wasn't the case last week.

This week we're busy planning a baby shower for our friend, Niki!  We can't wait for Saturday.  We love sweet Nathaniel already.

This pic is of my sister, Joy.  Her church went last week to minister to the Burmese community in Kansas City.  Joy has the gift of hospitality.  She loves to cook and have others into her home.  She was able to show the Burmese ladies some recipes and they fixed them meals while there.  They asked the ladies what they wanted to do the next day and they asked for more cooking classes. They wanted Joy to show them how to make hamburgers.  Every time I look at this picture it reminds me that we all have different gifts...different gifts that we should use to minister to others. It's so important to find out what your gifts are and use them...don't let them go to waste!

On Friday we had a play date with our sweet friends, Hillary & Sadie.  The girls had cheese pizza & apple sauce and I made chicken cashew croissants & strawberry romaine salad for the Mamas. 

After two years of car shopping - Alex shocked me with a new car on Friday afternoon!  I knew he had an appointment to see about a car but after two years, you just assume it isn't time yet. :)

I absolutely love it.  It has so much more room than my Altima.

This is a picture of him hanging a bell in the garage so I don't run the car through the house.  When my windshield hits the bell - that means STOP. :)

He knows me well.  I can barely park an Altima.

We made a Target run and Amelia found these hats on a shelf.  She asked Alex if he wanted to be a part of her pirate crew and was constantly asking, "WHAT'S THE SECRET PASSWORD!??"

He would say, "YOHOHO!"

She obviously watches too much Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

She was looking for pirate's treasure through her "binoculaters" as she calls them.

He got some looks in the store but Amelia loved that he wore his pirate hat right along with her.

He's a good Daddy.

Amelia woke up Saturday morning and her cousin, Kandace was here!  She was a happy girl.

After a morning of donut holes and playing...we headed to our niece's birthday party.

The girls were excited!

Laila turned four years old!

Amelia found a guitar and played us a little song.

Sydney hung out with Aunt Sandi.  She turned 4 months old over the weekend.  I told Alex she's going to be toddling around before we know it.  Wish I could keep her small...I love having a baby.

Laila loves dinosaurs and wanted a dinosaur party.  I love that my S-I-L, Jen did this for her.

A lot of Mamas would have talked their girl into having a princess party instead, but not Jen.  Laila had a huge smile on her face with every dinosaur gift she opened...it was adorable and I loved seeing her so happy.

She incorporated a little pink into the mix.  It was all so cute!

The cute cupcakes and bottled water.  The take-home was Dino Munch! :)

They had a coloring table.  I loved this idea and will probably use it for a future party.

Amelia colors every day - several times a day.  She loves it.

It was such a fun party!  Jen did a great job of making it special for Laila and her guests.

We were on pins & needles this weekend - waiting for the news from Chad & Faith.

We got the phone call on Saturday evening...they're expecting TWO BABY GIRLS!!!

We're beyond excited for them and can't wait to start shopping!

Saturday was a very hard parenting day.  We were all exhausted by the end of the day.  I'm telling ya, parenting a 2 1/2 year old is not for wimps.  I so desperately want to do right by my children and even more importantly, I want to do right by God.  It's such a great responsibility that He has given us.  Bringing up these two precious girls. I called my Mama on Saturday for parenting advice...she always has words of encouragement for me. 

Despite a hard Saturday, we woke up all smiles on Sunday and ready for a new day!  Her smile is one of the best things about waking up every day.  She always greets me with a smile on her face when she walks into our room in the mornings.  If she doesn't...I know something is wrong. :)

It was a great day.  The message was exactly what I needed. 

Our friend, Tyler was working the sound and took this picture during worship.  That's Amelia and her Daddy.  This picture makes me tear up every time I look at it.

We headed to Olive Garden after church to celebrate my M-I-L's birthday. This picture makes me laugh.  There was a long wait but the kids did great - thanks to iPhones!

Alex watched the girls while I had dinner with girlfriends last night.  We celebrated my friend, Heather's birthday. It was so much fun to get together and just laugh.

I've been working on my Daily 7 today.  The house is a wreck after this weekend. We do very little housework on Saturday and Sunday...those are family days for us.  That means Monday is our day to catch up!

After Amelia did her daily chore (bringing trash cans out of the bathrooms to empty) - we made strawberry muffins.  A great start to our week!

It's going to be a good one...we've already decided. :)

Love to all,