The Granny Awards

Last Monday was Analise's school music program. She was SO excited!  We enjoyed watching/listening to all the K-2 kids sing and dance. Of course, a special first grader had most of our attention. The songs were nursery rhymes put to fun music. Thanks Gma, Gpa and cousin A for coming, too!

The Last Two Weeks

Let's see...what did we do "different" the last couple of weeks?

I took the girls to the children's museum twice. Once with other friends; once without.

I took Maisie and Analise to the local college girl's basketball game. It was going to be a family ordeal, but Sadie threw up minutes before leaving. (Turns out she was fine; she just overdid it on some candy...) Anyway, thanks to a friend we had free tickets, and we wanted to go see our Twin 2 play. The girls did much better than I thought they might do, and we had lots of fun. I sat with friends that I don't get to see much anymore, so that was a bonus. The girls loved seeing T on the court!

Brandon was sick for a couple of days. Poor guy. Thankfully no one else caught it. In fact, I told the girls to not kiss dad on the lips because we didn't want sick germs. Later Brandon walked down the hall toward Maisie, and she yelled, "Don't kiss me!!"  He stayed home one afternoon and one morning. It was nice having him around in the mornings!

I've been busy with church things. Our children's director resigned, so that means more meetings to make sure things are getting done. The girls tag along with me and play nicely while we meet. I am also spearheading our church VBS, so that is taking some time.

Last Friday night we took the girls to dinner at a local BBQ place and then walked across the street to see a night time sky show at the planetarium. It was a great (free!) event. We had to split up for seats, so I got Analise and Sadie. Before the show began I showed Analise some of the constellations on a piece of paper. Then during the show she saw the same constellations. I felt like I knew something. :) So often when they ask me a question, I send
 them to their dad.

We had a snow day yesterday. We slept in and then made a family list of what we wanted to get done. We had things on there like cleaning, picking up rooms, watching a movie, making chili, make homemade cinnamon rolls, playing specific games and playing outside. The only thing we didn't get done was playing Pretty, Pretty Princess. For dinner, other family members came over to join us, and after the yummy meal, the kids had a dance party. Fun times!

Monday evening Analise and I went to the boys' school music program. She and I enjoyed it all!

Two Sundays ago was the first Sunday in our new addition and sanctuary. It was such a special time!  I enjoyed worshiping in a new place with more people, and the girls enjoyed the twist slide down to the new basement.

Analise finished her Awana book and got her blue ribbon. It's hanging on her bedroom door.

I am enjoying my women's Bible study. We are doing a James MacDonald study called, "Lord, Change my Attitude." We are going through five sinful attitudes and replacing them with Godly attitudes. It's based from the book of Leviticus and the sinful attitudes of the Israelites while they were in the desert. First week: complaining. Second Week: coveting. Third week: Critical spirit. Needless to say, it's been good and convicting!

Saturday afternoon I went with my sis in law and nephew to the local Christian bookstore to meet the author and family of the book "Heaven is For Real." Wow...what a book!  It's an easy yet amazing read. It's the story of a four year old's trip to heaven while he was in surgery. A must read!

Sadie  is in a bad habit about coming in our room during the middle of the night; sometimes more than once. She comes in to my side of the bed, so I send her to the bathroom and then tuck her back in. It doesn't take long, but it still interrupts my sleep. I'm not sure how to break this habit. We've already cut back on her fluid intake before bed.

I think that about sums it up.

Funny Memories

The girls are at the age where they say the funniest things. I do my best to jot them down, because I want to remember them. Here are a few recent ones.

Maisie, "Look, there's a hospital truck!'
Analise, "It's called an 'assembly', right mom?"
Me, "That would be an ambulance."


Me: "Maisie, were your cousins at Grandma's house for dinner?"
Maisie, "No, K was out with Jesus."

Maisie's verse the other night: "I am going to prepare a place for you."
Maisie's version: "I am going to eat a pear for you."

The other day while riding in the van, Maisie wasn't  using kind words. Sadie says in a loud voice, "Go to your room!"

Maisie asked me the other day: "How did Jesus make himself?"

Common phrases from Maisie:
" I can't know." (instead of I don't know)
School is always called "School all week."
"Mommy, what's your favorite color?" She asks me about ten times a day. If I don't answer is correctly, she reminds me that the answer is blue.
Basket is backset
I learned something about Maisie. She doesn't usually recognize the beginning sound/letter of a word. However, when she asked me to spell "mom" and "dad" the other day, I told her and she wrote it down. A week later I asked her to write those two words, and she remembered how to spell them.

Last night during her prayer, Maisie thanked God "that mommy and daddy love each other." How sweet is that?!

Birthday Girl Favorites

On Analise's birthday, I asked her a bunch of questions while we ate dinner. And I just found my list, so here is the part two of the birthday post. :)

Analise's favorites at age seven:

Color: gold

Fruit: strawberry

Veggie: corn on the cob

Breakfast: donuts

Snack: cookies

Animal: cheetah

To do outside: play at the park

Board game: Monopoly

Toy: Zhu Zhu pets

Subject: science

Singer: Aunt Sarena ( a couple of days later she added Toby Mac)

Memory from last year: the wedding

If she could go anywhere: Indiana

These answers didn't really surprise me; I am thankful that I know my daughter so well.

My Girl is Seven

Seven. Yes. Seven. Seven years since my first daughter was born. It was a Monday night. I had hardly labored at all, and her heart rate kept dropping. C-section was scheduled, and 45 minutes later she was here. She's had us wrapped around her fingers since.

We tried to make today as fun as possible. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. (Actually Pillsbury did; I just baked them.) Since I knew we wouldn't be having cake later, we put a candle in her cinnamon roll and sang Happy Birthday to her.

 I went up to school and ate lunch with her for the first time. That was fun! I saw lots of kids from last year's class, and they remembered me!  And while waiting in line, I'm pretty sure a couple of first grade boys were flirting with me. It was a sweet time with her, so thanks, G, for watching the other two!

After school Grandma picked her up and took her to get a cookie. When she got home, Analise got about five phone calls in a row. It was crazy! At the end of the day, we counted how many people called to tell her happy birthday, and I think we counted 10.

She opened her gifts from Grandmom and Pops. Everything was a big hit!

 Not many years can I take a picture of her outside without a coat on. We had a great week of spring like weather!

At the end of the day, I crashed. And then I realized that I was so focused on making the day special for Analise that I never took time to reflect. Most years I pull out the photo album and look at the pictures of her birth. Amidst this week of busy days/nights and flying solo, I didn't have the time.

I do  know that I am SO blessed to have Analise as a daughter. Majority of the time she is happy, helpful, and she loves to learn.

Something we did on Brandon's side the family was write special words to Analise on a placement she could keep. She loves that place mat, and most of the comments had to do with Analise always having a smile on her face. And she does. Analise, we keep praying that you will grow deeper in love with your Savior and that you will grow in wisdom, stature and in favor with both God and man.

We love you, seven year old!

Valentine's Day

Better late than never. Valentine's Day - Brandon is never home on this day, but that's okay. It's a fun day to celebrate, but it doesn't need to be all mushy mushy. He left early in the morning for a week in KY. I came out in the morning and found these beautiful roses on the table. Pretty roses for a great price, dear. Way to go. :)

 He got each of the girls a balloon. They were a BIG hit.

The girls enjoyed their Valentine's parties at school, exchanging valentines with friends and family, and of course they loved receiving things, too!

Despite daddy being gone, they felt loved!

A Concert Come True

I LOVE going to Christian concerts, and I think I have my dad to thank for that.  He introduced me to Christian music at a young age and took me to my first concert in 2nd grade...Whiteheart!

Growing up, my favorite artist was Michael W. Smith; quite honestly, he is still my favorite. Another artist  I listened to a lot was Amy Grant. And the two of them singing a duet? Always a favorite.

So thanks to Facebook, I can easily follow MWS's tour. When I saw he was doing a Friends Tour with AG, I wanted to go so bad. The day I discovered they were going to be three hours away, I cried. Seriously...tears of joy and excitement.

I immediately called Brandon to tell him. No tears for him. :) He just reminded me that he would be out of town, but he encouraged me to find friends to go with. After the initial excitement wore off, the reality set in: no one home with the girls, a terrible night of the week, cost, late night, etc. I finally told Brandon all my hesitations. He again encouraged me to pursue it. My dear MIL offered to take care of the girls. With that in place, tickets were purchased, and the countdown began.

I went with both sister in laws (even the one from out of state came!) and two other friends. We left mid afternoon for the drive. We ate dinner at PF Changs and then headed for the concert hall. I was so excited!

Here they are when they first came  out; I don't think they have aged a bit!

 Sorry this is blurry; I was a long ways back. Amy's songs took me back into time, and I felt like I relived some of my childhood. Songs I haven't sung for years came back to me.

"Sing your Praise to the Lord..." took me back to my days at the skating rink with my friends from school.

"Thy Word" took me back to the time I sang that song in church with my dad.

"Baby, Baby" and "Every Heartbeat" took me back to middle school. My friend always had a party where we put together music videos, and one year it was one of these songs.

 MWS sang his oldies and some of his new songs, too. My favorite was "Secret Ambition." I used to crank that song over and over and over.  He also lead us in some worship songs; he is my favorite worship leader.

 Together they sang some of their songs and duets. They sang the entire "Somewhere, Somehow" a song I listened to all the time back in high school. I was a hopeless romantic then as well. :)

It was a night full of blessings and great memories. Thanks to Brandon for your blessing to go; thanks to my MIL for taking care of the girls. I am thankful for great traveling weather and safety on the roads. I am thankful my family was healthy.

We got home at 1:45 am and I got to bed at 2:00. What I learned the next morning was that I am too old for this. I felt physically sick when I woke up. Next time girls, we are spending the night! :)