Every day...

Last month at the opera house in Valpo there was an event called Listen To Your Mother where a few different ladies from the community spoke to give tribute to moms.  One of the readings was done by a friend from church who also spoke at that movie Derek and I went to about orphans awhile back.

Anyway, her reading really moved me, and it makes me cry (even at my desk at work) every time I listen to it.  I am so thankful that God is working on us and opening our hearts up to these types of things. 

This is something that I want to listen to EVERY day to remind me that there is so much love that still needs to be given, and so many little children out there who are starving for it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LTYMShow#p/u/4/IvRH1rt0VE8

white sox game!

On Saturday we headed over (with the kids) to Logan's Roadhouse for my dear friend Becky's retirement party.  It was fun getting to see all my old friends from my mpa days...Pam and her two little sweet babies, Roger and Betty Lou, Mike and Karen, and of course my Becky :)  We all had a nice lunch together and wished Becky a long overdue farewell to mpa!  I'm so excited for her as she moves onward and upward out of the grasp of kill-joy and co.

Derek and I ended up dropping the kids off at my mom's for an overnighter and headed home to get ready for our big date day on Sunday.  We went to our first White Sox game this year with our friends Karen and Steve.  We did some pre-game tailgating which included some yummy burgers and beer and a little corn-hole.  Good times :)  It was nice to be out and enjoy some time as a couple!! 

We did manage to get the kids their own little sox hats...here's Rowie donning hers on the way to the sitter's today.  She absolutely loves to wear hats, and was super excited about her very own ball cap.  You'll notice she's also coloring in the car...it's her new "thing".  She carries her tote of crayons, her purse, and her coloring book around wherever she goes . It's so cute to see her doing such big girl stuff.  She's also letting me paint her nails and she's graduated to flip flops (two things that used to freak her out!).  Big stuff I tell ya :)

Rowan's concentration face...I caught her in the midst of some serious coloring

Memorial Day Weekend

we had a great memorial day weekend.  the kids and i did a little closet organizing on saturday morning (our subdivision garage sale is fast approaching) before heading over the luke & michelle's to hang out.  derek had left early that morning to help luke roast the hog for goetz memorial day party...it's become their yearly tradition of drinking beer, cooking, seasoning, and eating their way to belly aches.  

michelle and i and all our babies played and did our own thing inside since it was raining all day. we eventually forced ourselves to go to walmart, and it was quite an adventure (as usual when it comes to an outing for michelle and i). let's just say we were giggling and having a great time while everyone else at walmart seemed to hate us.  we had a cart full of kids and another full of food and somehow determined that self checkout was the way to go.  as you can imagine, it didn't go so well...neither of us are skilled enough to get items to beep thru the scanner!  it was pretty funny...we had a line of people behind us cursing our name that's for sure.  what i keep wondering is WHY anyone would get in line behind us?  we had huge trash bins that we were trying to lift upside down and scan...while kids are screaming and fighting and trying to scan their own items.  it was great!

Mommy's little helper is adding the finishing touch to our flag dessert

Rowan is keeping Ainsley's kitty warm and dry during Saturday's drizzle

I think Ainsley might want her kitty back...I wonder what Rowan is thinking???



its windy in wanatah

one of the joys of living in wanatucky is that we have no wind cover.  a breezy day in valpo is basically a windstorm out here.  pony tails are a must or otherwise...

suds.

it's time for new pictures

we're planning to get new pictures of the kids taken soon since rigby is 1 and rowan is 2 1/2.  below are a few of the pictures we had taken 6 months ago...they grow so fast.  can't wait to post the new ones to see how much their little faces have changed :) 

one more easter post!

easter sunday was a great day! the kids woke up to find easter basket's/buckets full of little toys and gizmo's, we had a delicious breakfast casserole that I made the night before (our little family tradition...last year it was a quiche), the message at church glorified our risen King, and we made an absolutely fabulous traditional easter dinner at our house for my sister Angie and brother-in-law Mark, and also for my dad.

the kids seemed awfully quiet while mommy was cooking...rowan found the jelly beans and was sharing with rig

my sweeties

the juiciest ham ever!

an easter moment totally worth posting

rowie and her aunt angie

easter with the gora's

we celebrated easter twice this year...once at bob & maureen's with the gora family and then we had my dad and sister and her husband over for the allen side.  derek's youngest sister (baby jenny as he likes to call her) was home from texas so we got to see her over easter which was great!  we love going to his parent's for the holidays...just getting to relax and spend time together as a family is such a blessing.  it's funny how we all live so close together and don't get to see each other much.  unfortunately though, i was sort of a mess for the gora easter.  lyme & company had the best of me that day, and i ended up sending derek and the kids over ahead of me so i could have a few minutes to try to pull myself together.  i was very emotional that day/weekend and felt like i was close to losing it...no joke.  i have a sympathetic heart for those who suffer from depression, never having experienced it for myself as an adult.  it was seriously overwhelming, sort of this dark hopelessness that i just couldn't escape. i ended up sitting on the floor in my closet sobbing, and then blowing drying my hair and sobbing...and by the grace of God, actually forced myself to leave and head over for easter, puffy face and all. :)  what a day -- oh my goodness.  it was an interesting weekend to say the least, but God saw us through it.  i can actually say that it's so good to be in a place where we need God. so many people complain about the hard times, but really, it's so humbling and such a blessing.  there's nothing like lying in bed with tears flooding your cheeks while your husband holds you and prays :)

easter egg hunt

we had a great easter this year!  holidays are such a joy, especially with little ones running (or crawling) around.  we took the kids to an easter egg hunt at the laporte county fairgrounds one saturday morning with our friend peggy and her baby girl luci (luciana, so precious). at first i wasn't sure what to expect because it was basically just a large field with obviously placed eggs!  but as you can imagine, it turned out to be something quite special for the kids.  rowan brought her easter bucket along that she had gotten from grandma gora's easter the week before...and excitedly raced around and filled her little bucket to the brim. 

Happy Birthday Rigby!

Rowan and Rigby with their Mimi

really for me?

don't mind if I do!

finally playing with some real boy toys...

Rig loves the creepy singing toy from Papa Dan!

and the big trucks from Chelle Belle!

breaking in his new glasses from Aireee

taking some time to love on Aunt Jenny

the blue eye beauties mesmerized by YoGabaGaba

my guys....aren't they adorable?