A day with Amelia...

Our day started with The Wizard of Oz.

Sydney is obsessed.

Amelia says it scares her.

After the movie, Sydney headed over to her grandparents for the day/night. 

Alex is out of town, so it's just me and Amelia. 

We've played games upon games. 

She loves to play catch right now. We sat in the living room and threw each other the ball for at least 45 minutes. 

She loved it.

She played outside in the snow.

And drank hot chocolate.

She said I made it a little hot, so she let the snow fall into her cup for a few minutes and then it was JUST RIGHT.

After lunch, she took a nice nap in Mama's bed.

I never tire of watching my babies sleep.

She has talked a lot and I have listened and laughed a lot.

Amelia and I have a standing date night on Wednesday evenings. 

We order cheese pizza and eat it straight out of the box, while watching our favorite show, Fixer Upper.

She says she wants to be a designer like JoJo. Because she would love to choose things for people's homes. She also said she would never want to have Chip's job because he does the hard, dirty work.

She always knows exactly which house the people are going to choose on this show. 

I asked her how she always chooses the right one and she said, "I can just look with my eyes and tell which one is the best and that's the one they choose."

Of course, her desire to be a designer could change next week. 

Last week, she wanted to be a ninja turtle.

I'm thankful for time alone with each of my girls.

I'm trying to do this more often.

I see they need it.

Much of the time, it's not even a full day. It's more like 30 minutes.

But it always makes for happier days when they see that I see them and hear them...when they have my full attention.

We all desire that.

Love to all,

the family that plays together...

We had a snow day today. 

Or ice, actually. 

The girls have been waiting on a day like today, since Christmas morning.

Alex worked from home today and promised the girls some time outside. 

Sydney still has a yucky cough, but we couldn't tell her no. She would have been heartbroken.

So when Daddy's lunch break came - outside they went!

Don't let these smiles fool you. 

There was a fight. 

And tears.

And complaining.

Girls...oh the drama.

They couldn't understand why they needed 23 layers of clothing. 

It was because it was 23 degrees outside!

Once outside on the sled, they forgot all about their multiple layers.

We have a few, little hills that make sledding fun!

"And though she be but little, she is fierce."

 Me and my guy.

 This one would have stayed out there all day!

This one, not so much.

Once she got ice in her shirt, she was over it.

Daddy got the bright idea that we would all get on the sled and take off.

We took off, but we didn't get too far. HA!

Me and my girls.

And this is now the scene in my kitchen.

A pile of wet clothes = proof of a fun time!

Even though I dislike the cold, I can't be that mom that stays in the house while Dad plays with the kids. 

They love when we all play together and that makes me a happy mama!

Love to all,

Valentine's Day 2015

We've been fighting away the "sickies" this week. 

We ended up canceling our annual Valentine party because Amelia wasn't feeling well. 

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sandi dropped off some treats that put smiles on their faces. 

Amelia was doing better until early this morning. 

She woke up crying from ear pain and it wasn't letting up. 

I wouldn't usually take her to the ER for an ear ache, but it was going to be a LONG night if we didn't get some relief soon. 

So off to the hospital we go at 2 A.M.

She had an ear infection. They gave us some pain meds and started an antibiotic. 

She slept until almost 11 A.M.

I'm so thankful she was able to sleep and I'm amazed at how much better she feels already!

Once everyone was awake, the girls opened their little Valentine envelopes.

They received a few fun things...a little lego set, movie, sunglasses, bubblegum, and a pack of freshly sharpened hot pink pencils. :)

We all opened our cards from Daddy.

My favorite thing.

Their cards came with bracelets. 

They gave Daddy his cards.

His favorite thing.

It's unseasonably warm today.

Today's high is 70 degrees and tomorrow's high will be 39.

Crazy Arkansas weather.

I know it will be crazy crowded, but we have dinner reservations for tonight.

I told Alex that we could watch a movie in our car while eating Wendy's, for all I care. It will just be nice to have some time with my guy.

I hope you know you're loved, today and every day.

Love to all,

Bathrooms and Bibles and Other Stuff...

This is a post of total randomness. 

Our nephew painted our guest bathroom. 

I really loved a pumpkin orange bathroom...about 10 years ago.

But it's 2015 and time to lighten up!

Erin helped me with the color. 

It's Sherwin Williams Sea Salt at 50%. 

I love it. 

I want to paint my bedroom and bathroom now. 

It's a great neutral but still gives some color. 

This serves as a guest bathroom, but it's mainly used by our little girls, so I wanted to decorate it for them. 

I added a few things for Christmas. 

I love putting scripture on our walls.

You can find all sorts of free prints on Pinterest!

A few of the prints are from a Hobby Lobby sale.

I found the mirror last year at an antique store.

I shopped my garage when it was time to decorate!

Alex brought home flowers for his girls this week.

Tulips, one of my favorites.

I put the girls' flowers in their bathroom.

And mine are in the living room.

Sydney slept without her paci for night #2. 

We celebrated this morning with her favorite donut holes from Shipley's!

And can I just say, "goodbye Starbucks."

I haven't had Starbucks since before Christmas.

I make my own lattes every single morning now.

And they are SO MUCH better than Starbucks. :)

So if you want to stop by and visit, I'll be your barista!

I get my hair cut about twice a year.

You can do that when you have long hair. :)

Yesterday was my first haircut of the year and I had it chopped off.

Feels good!

I bought the Raymond Briggs Snowman movies for the girls.

I was curious if they would actually watch them...since there are no words.

They've watched them a lot.

And they're glued!

This is Amelia's little Bible bank.

Open Doors Frontline Faith did a little article about it last month.

I think about who first introduced her to stories about the Persecuted Church.

I'm thankful for my Uncle Kevin.

We pray every single day for our brothers and sisters in Christ who share our faith but not our freedom.

And it's all because he became a spokesperson for Open Doors. He puts real faces to the real stories.

It's impossible to hear these stories and not pray...or give...or find some way to help.

I'm also thankful for CBS. Amelia's teachers helped her make that little bank. And she has since filled it up twice. She views it as something she's supposed to continue doing. It's empty, so fill it up again and buy more Bibles!

I'm just thankful she's surrounded with people who love Jesus and they're constantly sharing ways to share Jesus. Sharing ways to take the focus off ourselves and focus on others. 

We're surrounded by so many who help teach our children about the love of Jesus. 

It's an awesome thing.

Love to all,