Girls Night Out

On Saturday, I went out to dinner and a movie with a group of friends. I got to know this group of friends a few years ago when we met once a month to scrapbook. We started celebrating birthdays together and have had get togethers including all the kids & husbands as well. I love these girls and appreciate their friendship so much. It's a blessing to be a part of a group of women that love the Lord and encourage each other through the good times & bad.

Nicole was our chauffeur and it was fun to all ride together in her minivan. After the movie we stopped by Starbucks for a cup of Joe to warm us up a bit. It cracks me up how we can all start laughing and not even know why we're laughing. It seems like it's usually Jayne that starts and before you know it we're all laughing. We had reservations here at 8:30 and had a great dinner accompanied by live Jazz music. We were celebrating the January & February birthdays. That included Jaime, Nicole & myself.

Looking forward to the next girls night out. Thanks for a great time!

Parenting Perks

Parenting is a hard job, and somedays as a Mom you just don't feel like anyone appreciates what you are doing to keep the family running smoothly. There are those little things that your children do that put a smile on your face or make you chuckle and remind you that yes, it's all worth it.

Kaiya loves to brush my hair and I love it too. She runs for the brush whenever she sees me sitting on the floor. It's so relaxing and she is quite the stylist. Notice the headband across her forehead. Recently, I asked her to wash my back while I was taking a bath. She spent fifteen minutes soaping and rinsing. I kept asking her if she was done and she kept saying "not yet, mommy." Almost put me to sleep.

The kids occasionally will come out of their rooms in the morning already dressed. It's nice if you don't mind the ensemble they've selected. Kaiya will usually change clothes three or four times before the day is over.

Love those red shoes...and the shirt looks great inside out with the tag in the front!

We were at the library last week in the magazine section. I was looking for the latest Family Fun magazine. Kaiya spotted this one at her level and said "It's you, Mommy...it's you!"

Well needless to say, I walked out of that library feeling pretty good about myself thanks to my daughter. Hilarious!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Lydia

Today would be my Grandma Lydia's 87th birthday. She died five years ago. I saw an idea recently in a magazine about remembering family members that have passed on before us -- on their birthdays. It gives you a chance to tell stories and show pictures of them to your children so they can know them too. You could even light a candle in their memory at the dinner table. What a wonderful woman my Grandma Lydia was...I can't even scratch the service of how amazing she was. A perfect example of a selfless woman of God. She believed in prayer and prayed fervently for everyone in her family. She loved to quilt and spent many hours making quilts to give to all of her grandchildren as a wedding gift...and there were a lot of grandchildren! When I was still in school, our family would spend a lot of Spring Breaks at their house. She lived in Southern Indiana about five hours away...it was always warmer there...we felt like we were in Florida. We would make homemade noodles sometimes and there was always a big family get together when we could see all our cousins. I love her and miss her. Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Baked with Love

My mom came over yesterday and we baked Valentine cookies. I think Valentine's Day is probably my favorite holiday. I love having another excuse to spread a little love around. Caedmon has been talking about Valentine's Day since Christmas and asking if we could make some Valentine cookies.
Grandma Stoll also brought little Valentine treat bags for the kids...they were so sugared up last night, I thought they would never go to sleep.

Thanks for all your help, Mom! I love you!

Winter Hike

On Sunday, our family took a winter nature hike in our woods. Kevin made a trail through it with his tractor a couple years ago. It was great to be outdoors as a family in the fresh air and the kids had fun exploring. We're usually in the woods during the summer and don't usually go back there in the winter. It was so peaceful & beautiful with the blanket of snow on the ground. Kevin pointed out deer tracks and bunny tracks.

Snow plus Kevin equals flying snow.

It's all fun though until someone gets hurt which is exactly what happened. Poor little innocent Kaiya got smacked in the face by a flying snowball thrown by her daddy. With a little comfort, she was soon having fun again.

Barkley was determined to be in this picture...he wouldn't budge.

We finally got Barkley to move and had him take this family picture for us. Very talented dog...amazing what he'll do for a doggie treat.

Northwestern Awards Party

On Saturday afternoon we travelled north to the Northwestern Awards Party held at the Windsor Park Conference Center in Mishawaka. Kevin's business partner, Rob rode up with us. His wife, Jenny was supposed to join us as well, but unfortunately she had to stay home with sick kids. Dissappointing for me, as I always enjoy chatting with her... but we enjoyed the conversation with Rob and had a few laughs. We had the kids with us and planned to drop them off on the way at Grandma & Grandpa B's house. I have to brag on my husband a little now. I am so proud of all the accomplishments Kevin has made since joining Northwestern four years ago. It certainly has not come without lots of hard work and sacrifices. Those evenings when Kevin would get home late and I was home taking care of the kids again after having them all day were certainly not easy days...and I probably wasn't always the most supportive. Now he's usually home by 5:30 or 6...some days earlier and some days later. He didn't want me to take this picture, but I forced him. He walked away with the most awards that evening and I was very proud of him. The kids ask almost everyday why daddy has to go to work and I give them two answers...to make money and to help people. I'm grateful that his job gives him the opportunity to help others and that is fulfilling for him.

Max & Ruby

Yesterday, Caedmon and I had a date together. We went to a Max & Ruby musical with a few of my friends and their children. Since we just don't get out much, this was a real treat for us. Whenever I go downtown, Kevin is usually with me and driving. I'm not a big fan of all the one way streets and parallel parking, but yesterday gave me a little more confidence to venture out in that area again sometime.

Kaiya stayed with Grandma and I soaked up the one on one time with Caedmon. The show was cute and Max and his sister, Ruby kept the audience laughing. I especially enjoyed hearing Caedmon's little giggles throughout.