Cool Rider

Have you guys seen the Grease movies?? I have to tell you, I have loved those movies for years. My favorite growing up was Grease 2. Come to find out as I hit adulthood, these are not the best movies for a youngster to be watching (who would have thought??). Although I will say they are extremely tame compared to today's standards. ANYWAY, one of my favorite songs when I was young was Cool Rider. That is what I have been calling Ella lately. She's a C-O-O-O-O-L RIDER, C-O-O-O-O-L Rider...

My Mom (Ella's Neena) bought a tri-cycle about 6 months ago for Ella, and she couldn't reach the pedals at the time. Well, she can reach them now...WHOA NELLY, WATCH OUT!!! As if I didn't have enough craziness already!! She just L-O-V-E-S it! As you can see, we have been using it indoors because it has been so cold outside. Well, not to disappoint, Ella's Grandma came to visit for Spring Break last week and brought up a REAL bicycle from Ella's cousin Reese (with training wheels of course) and she had a blast with this as well. Thank you, Reese!! It was VERY apparent we needed a helmet, and I am so surprised she loves to wear it too.

Grandma treated us to lots of fun stuff, but one thing worth mentioning is this two-seater wagon that we found at a resale shop...and we LOVE it!! Thanks, Grandma! We were able to sneak in a ride the day before the Spring snow storm arrived.

Molly enjoying the ride

Ella had to be apart of the action, until Molly and Ruby started pulling her hair

And the sweetest pic of Ruby having her night-time bottle. She was SO tired, but hungry too!

Hope you are having a GREAT week!

Happy Monday, Ya'll!

Keep the Faith,

Quote to ponder...

On my way to the store yesterday I saw this on the marquee in front of one of the churches I pass. I thought I would share.

JOY IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF DIFFICULTIES, BUT THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

It's been a while since I posted. The twins are mobile. They are crawling and cruising everywhere. I'm pretty sure they will be walking in a few weeks. Needless to say, I am even busier than I was before...now chasing after 3 mobile little people. I hope everyone is doing great! I can actually see blue sky outside, so I'm thinking we will be outdoors today.

Happy Thursday, Ya'll!

Keep the Faith,

Show Us Your Life - My Typical Day

Today at Kelly's Korner it is "Show Us Your Life - What is your Typical Day Like?" I have so enjoyed reading about everyone's daily happenings and routines. I am sure this is a TOTAL bore, but I thought I would join in....

If you can't tell, I am a creature of ROUTINE ; )!!! I find there is no other way to get through a day with 3 little ones (2 yr old and 11 month old twins).

5:00-7:00 WAKE-UP

Depends on the day, but normally one of the twins starts calling out around 6:00ish. I get up and make bottles and then bring them both downstairs to eat (If only one is awake, I wake the other so they will be on the same schedule for the day). If one wakes at 5:00, I usually just grab the one awake and bring her to bed with me for an hour. Sometimes they fall back asleep, sometimes they just lay and talk to me. It's funny that they sometimes switch off who is the early bird, but I look at it as my one-on-one cuddle time that is so hard to come by when you have multiples. Ella normally wakes around 6:30-7:00ish. She will lay and cuddle with her baby-doll for a while...I watch the monitor for when she sits up and then I usually go and get her. I bring her downstairs and she has a cup of milk while she watches Mickey Mouse Playhouse. While everyone is having their morning drink, I take 10-15 minutes to get dressed and put on some make-up.

7:00-9:00 BREAKFAST

We have breakfast. While the twins sit in their bouncy seats with a few puffs, I normally fix Ella and I breakfast (oatmeal, cheese toast, yogurt, cereal, etc). When Ella is done, she will usually play or color while I feed the twins. Monday and Friday are our stay at home days, so the girls usually stay in their pajamas and we play after breakfast. On Tuesday-Thursday, I get the girls dressed one at a time and usually get the twins loaded in their carseats. I load the car with bags and then make a few trips to get everyone loaded and in their carseats (this process usually takes about 10-15 minutes)

9:00-11:00 PLAYTIME/NAPTIME

On Monday and Friday, this is play time. The twins usually go down for their morning nap around 9 or 9:30 and if I'm lucky will sleep for an hour. This play time with Ella. We read books, play with toys, color. Lately on Monday and Friday, I am able to grab a quick shower while Ella watches Sesame Street. I also start some of my chores for the day. I have specific chores slotted for each day, so depending on the day I will start laundry, etc. I save time intensive chores for Wednesday when the girls are at MDO or for the weekend when Wes is home.

10:30-12:00 LUNCH

The twins usually wake up from their nap about this time and have a bottle. While they are having their bottle, I usually fix Ella's lunch. Most days we are lucky to see Daddy at lunch time and when he gets home I will make a quick lunch for us. After my lunch, I will then feed the twins their lunch.

12:00 PLAYTIME

After lunch, we usually play for an hour or so before afternoon naptime.

1:00-3:00 NAPTIME

This is afternoon naptime. If we've had a morning out, I try my hardest to make it home in time for naptime. Our household does not function without this naptime. Ella normally falls fast asleep and the twins normally talk, play, and sometimes cry in their cribs for about 30 minutes before going to sleep. If my day had an "early" start, I may lay down myself. This is also when I get a few moments to pay bills, do my bible study, look at the computer, etc.

3:00-5:00 PLAYTIME/SNACK

The twins almost always wake up before Ella. They have an afternoon bottle and when Ella wakes up, I bring her downstairs for some juice and a snack. We then play until about 4:45-5:00 ish when I start thinking about starting dinner.

5:00-6:30 DINNER

I get dinner started and around 5:30 I will feed the twins their dinner. Some days, Ella is hungry for dinner before Wes makes it home from work, so I will feed her dinner. Most days we are eating dinner at 6-6:30 ish.

6:30-7:00 BATH TIME

After dinner, Wes and I take all of the girls upstairs for baths. After bath, we normally play for a little bit before coming back downstairs for the twins night time bottle and Ella's story time. We usually read a few books, play, cuddle and most nights we will Skype grandparents.

8:00 BEDTIME

I put Ella down for the night. We sit and rock for a few minute and say our prayers. The twins have usually finished their bottles and fallen asleep and get taken upstairs for the night.

8:00-10:00 DOWN TIME

After the girls are down for the night, I do the dishes, and Wes and I do a quick tidy of the downstairs area. If I haven't had the chance during the day, I will finish folding any laundry and put it away. This is also when I get things prepared for the next day. Some nights, I get to sit down and prop my feet up with a glass of milk and few oreos while watching DVR'd Barefoot Contessa, CakeBoss, or a new guilty pleasure Housewives of whatever. I then take a shower and am usually in bed by 9:30 ish. I may read a few pages of a magazine and then turn my light off by 10:00.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope you and your family are having a wonderful "LOVE" filled Valentine's weekend.

Wes and I had a few hours to ourselves on Friday, thanks to Parent's Night Out at Church. Needless to say, we LIVE for these nights. We are SO grateful and thankful to be apart of a Church that ministers to us in this way. We got to have dinner at one of our favorite places, Doe's Eat Place (yummy steak and homemade french fries), and then "browsed" the isles at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. Truly a romantic evening. All kidding aside, it REALLY was a wonderful evening. My heart is so happy when I get to spend time with my husband. I love you, Wes.

Then, to top it all off, I got to wake up to these 3 sweet faces this morning. I can't think of anything better! I have a little quote on my vanity in my bedroom that says " Children are LOVE made visible"...couldn't be more true.

I hope you are able to see "love" in something today.

Have a GREAT week!

Keep the Faith,

Ella Kate's Birthday Week

Has it really been THAT long since I've posted?? Yep, I guess it has. We traveled to Texas for Christmas break and spent 14 days visiting my family and Wes's family (yes, 14). I will have to do a "catch up" post about Christmas in the next day or so, but I MUST do a post about Ella Kate's Birthday week. She is "two yers ode" in her own words...or rather 2 years old!!

Our Birthday week started out with a visit from our Grandma Diane (Ella calls her "Magaw", which sounds like grandma backwards...not sure why she gets it mixed up, but I've come to find it rather adorable). Anyway, Grandma flew in from Texas to visit for a few days and as always completely spoiled all of us. Of course, Ella received some wonderful gifts, and she treated us to take out every night so I didn't have to cook (a welcome reprieve) and she helped me around the house, and with the girls. Needless to say, I am always happy to have an extra set of hands...for the wonderful company and the extra help.

Presents from Grandma

pretend ice cream...she walks around saying "mum mum" or yum-yum

Ella's new kitchen - LOVES IT!! Can you tell??

We celebrated with pizza (Ella's favorite) and birthday cake.

Then on Ella's "real" birthday, I took some adorable petit fours to MDO for sharing with the other kiddos...and they were SUPER yummy!! Ella REALLY enjoyed them!

To end the Birthday week, my parents (Neena and Papa) flew in from Texas. They were scheduled to fly in Thursday evening, and we were receiving news of impending winter weather all day Thursday and Friday. I was REALLY concerned they were not going to make it and that their flight would be cancelled...BUT, God worked a miracle...or at least in my eyes He did. Southwest Airlines called my Mom Wednesday afternoon and said they needed to re-book their flight due to the weather. They said they didn't have a flight for sure until Friday evening...my mom said what about tonight (Wednesday) and the representative had room on the latest flight Wednesday....SO....they got to our house about 12:30 am on Thursday morning. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Ummm, you could say I was rather happy...over-joyed is more like it!

Anyway, we stayed indoors most of their visit because the weather DID come, and my mom helped me tackle mountains of laundry (it NEVER ends!!!). They thoroughly enjoyed EVERY second of their time with the girls.

The Birthday week ended with a party at The Little Gym (or The Wittle Bim in Ella's words). She had a BLAST!!! The weather and roads did keep many of the guests from coming, but I think all that were able to make it had a good time. Thanks to all of you that braved the nasty road conditions

The Party Room

Birthday Cake

5 hrs and 4 double recipes of icing...I think it turned out ok, but I'm not opening a bakery anytime soon.

The cutest, most fun, smartest, sweetest 2 year old in the world...remember this is her Mom talking...

Ella climbing the rock wall

Sarah Kate on the balance beam

Ella Kate on the balance beam

Parachute time

Jumping time

Cake time...yay!!!

My sweet Ella girl...you are the spring in my step and the twinkle in my eye...I LOVE YOU SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!!

Merry Christmas!!

So, I finally have a second to post pictures of the VERY few Christmas decorations I put up. I am not putting myself on any blog tour or such as I am pretty embarrassed with my skills compared to all of the other crafty ladies out there. I considered not decorating this year because we leave this coming Saturday for a 15 day road trip, but I'm glad I went ahead and decorated some...Ella loved helping me decorate the tree (only one ornament down) and when I finished the stairs, she said "so pwetty!!". I didn't think she would really notice that much, but I was mistaken.

Our household has been plagued with one sick baby after the other and right now ALL three at the same time, so I decorated a little here and there over the past two weeks. I know from reading other blogs that so many other families are experiencing the same thing and all I have to say is it REALLY stinks! Oh well, I guess it just comes with the territory! I guess I'm telling you this so you won't make fun of my efforts!

The Christmas Tree - I don't really have a theme, the ornaments are from our childhood, a few others I've purchased through the years, and now ornaments for the girls. I guess the only thing I could say regarding themes is that I always use red ribbon or beads on the tree every year...the same ribbon, just used differently each year.

Wreath hanging on the mirror in the Entry - same thing goes here - I've had this wreath for many years, I add other ornaments and ribbon each year to do something different.

Mini Christmas Tree and Ella's first picture with Santa from last year

Nativity from Wes's godmother, given to him when he was a child

Garland on the stairs - I've had these decorations for many years, this year I decided to do a candy cane - red/white garland on the stairs. In past years, I've used them over the fireplace or on the Buffet.

Wreath over the window in the kitchen

This is the garland over the fireplace in our Dining Room - I usually decorate this with ornaments and such, it's also where I hang the stockings, but this year we will be taking them with us on our trip.

This will probably be my last post until 2010, we'll see (I may have to post a few pics from Ella's school play on Thursday). Either way, we want to wish your family a VERY Merry Christmas!! Our friends and family will be receiving this Christmas card. We are SO "JOY-ful" of all God has blessed us with this year. It has been an eventful year in our house and we want to thank everyone for their much needed prayers and helping hands - the Lord knows we've needed every single kind gesture you have extended to us. We are FOREVER grateful!

Merry Christmas, Ya'll!

Keep the Faith,

Thanksgiving and Ruby's Surgery

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm a little behind (surprised?) in posting pics from our trip to Texas. Ruby had surgery on her foot the day after we returned. I will share a little bit about that experience below. We took a road trip to Tenaha, Texas where my Dad's parents live, my Bobo and Pop, and the girls great-grandparents. We had a wonderful time!

This is a picture of "The Farm". That is what the grand-kids have called it since my Bobo and Pop moved there. This house has many additions that were added over the years. All of the work was done by my grandfather, dad, uncle, cousins, and brothers.

This is my Bobo and Ella playing with Ella's house. This time, Ella took right to her Bobo and Pop. On our last visit, she was a little bashful.

This is Lisa, my brother's fiance (7 months to go). She is kind of learning her way around the kitchen. She made the pecan pies and they were SOOO good! I am so glad my brother is marrying Lisa. She is so much fun and so down-to-earth...she really fits perfectly in the mix.

Soooo, my project was the turkey for Thanksgiving, 2 of them. I've never prepared a raw turkey. I've always ordered one from Honey Baked Ham or last year I ordered a fried turkey from a local Cajun restaurant. I'd just watched a Barefoot Contessa episode a few days before, and modified her technique (if I had used truffle butter like hers I might have had an uprising). Anyway, I rubbed TONS of butter under the skin and on the outside and salted and peppered liberally, cooked at 325 for 2 1/2 hours. It was SOOOO good! No bragging, just really proud it didn't turn out like Christmas Vacation...you know the scene..."If this tastes as good as it looks, we're in for a REAL treat!!" and then the turkey burst open dry to the bone.

Ella all ready for some outside time. If she could stay outside ALL day, she would be a happy girl!

Just a swing-in'

4-wheel-in it

Uncle Jim and Ella at the pond

Uncle Jim and Ella on the tractor

Papa and Ella sitting by the fire, looking at the stars

Ever tried to transport 3 babies?? Well, it's not easy. We encountered a dilemma as the twins are getting too heavy in their carseats to lift them in and out of the car. However, I have Schwarzenegger shoulder muscles, now. So, I did some searching on Craigslist and found this triple jogger and another front-to-back 3 seater and I think we might be set for a while. They are used, but I don't care!! In fact, I don't think I will EVER buy brand new baby gear EVER again! My parents ended up springing for this stroller and my in-laws gifted the other...what a BLESSING!

Molly and Ruby sitting up like big girls. They are doing pretty good sitting up, but still fall over from time to time. The Boppy pillows seem to give them the support they need.

Nana and Aunt Susan feeding Molly and Ruby

Where you find Papa, you also find Ella...all-the-time!

Papa and Ruby

Uncle Jim and Molly

Uncle Grant and Molly

Our Thanksgiving past-time, puzzles!!

more puzzles...

So, clearly we had a good time and I got a little bit of hands free time...which was much needed and appreciated!!! I also got to take a 3 HOUR NAP one day. Holy Cow was that amazing!! I NEVER get to take a nap. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

RUBY'S SURGERY

When we returned, Ruby had surgery at 6:30 the next morning. She was born with an extra digit (toe) on her left foot (bone and all). So, to ensure she would be able to wear cute flip-flops and sandals one day and prevent trouble walking we had the extra toe removed. She has the CUTEST itty-bitty cast on her foot right now. You can see the before picture. I had to take one so that we could show her someday. I will show you the after picture once it heals. She did really well. I could tell she was in pain the first few days, but she seems to be doing just fine now.

Quick story about that day. I was a little nervous about the surgery to say the least. They had to put her under and the procedure was quite invasive because they had to remove bone. I was praying on the way to the hospital that God would surround her with protection. When we checked in, we were shown to our waiting area within 5 minutes and a Chaplain was waiting for us with a teddy bear. He asked if he could have a word of prayer with me. My eyes welled up with tears. He covered her with prayer. We waited about an hour and then they took us to pre-op where we met with the Doctor. After we finished meeting, he asked if he could pray with me before they took Ruby back for the surgery. Ok, can you say answered prayer!! It was like God was standing next to me. Why do I EVER doubt if hears me?? Anyway, what I thought would be a nerve racking few hours, turned out to be yet another moment where God clearly revealed His love to me. God is good ALL the time!!

Happy Friday, Ya'll!!

Keep the Faith,