Recap....

The last week and a half was Full. I have several post ideas but time is limited, so here's a recap:).....On the 19th we did our Love In Action for this month by donating groceries and toiletries to our church food drive. It was a quick and easy love in action, but one that I think is just as important. Whenever possible I want to come along side our church and support their efforts to reach the community. Together as a church body we can really make a difference.
Our Family Night last Wednesday was Earth Day . We had dirt (chocolate pudding and Oreos) and worms for desert. During dinner we talked about what we are already doing as a family to help our Earth. It was good to talk with the girls about this. There were several things they weren't aware that we were doing that I was able to tell them. And then we talked about ways we can cont. to go green as a family.

Then the most exciting part of our week was Celebrating our Rinie who is now 9....wow 9!
She had a Luau sleep over last Friday. 5 of her friends and 1 of Kiera's friends spent the night. The theme was a fun one to decorate for...

Here's Rinie in front of her Palm Tree cooler in which we had cans of Hawaiin Punch.

Getting Ready to sing Happy Birthday.

Opening her gifts.

Playing the Limbo.

Making Leis.

It was fun, but a bit tiring:)! All worth it though. Every one had lots of fun.:)

This next month brings lots and lots more fun, I just need to squeeze in some time to post about it:).

Oh and just a quick update on Eric....He's still looking for a part time job (please keep praying for that). SO much encouragement from leaders at our church has cont. to come his way!!! He is at a Pastor's Conference today and was at it Mon, and Tues. that they paid for him to attend. Our dreams of planting a church are sprouting once again:). God is So good!

Can It Be.....

That I'm half way through parenting you? (while your home that is) Today you turn 9, half way to 18. My precious first born! How fun our first 9 years have been.

I remember so vividly when Daddy said, "It's a girl Barbie, you got your girl." when you were born. And I held you so tight. How beautiful you were, and all mine! We had a rocky start with your tummy issues, but that soon ended and you were the cutest little toddler with the cubbiest little cheeks. Sometimes I wish I could go back and hold little you again. But then I realize how happy I am to be here, with my 9 year old. My sweet, caring, responsible, interesting, and fun 9 year old.

I LOVE you Rinie,so very very much.

Happy 9th Birthday Sweetie!

Yesterday you decided all on your own to right down a few things you liked about being 8. I suggested 8 things, so here they are...

1. Going to see the Sound of Music Play with Kiera and Mommy:)
2. Seeing Walle at the theater with Daddy, Kiera and Karis.
3.Spending time with your family.
4. Going to your Aunts and Families houses.
5. Meeting new Friends.
6. Going to Great Wolf Lodge.
7. Going to the Beach.
8. Being you:).

How I pray that your 9th year brings you many blessings!

Soft Ball Night....

Last Wednesday our Family Night Theme was Softball. It was the girls first practice for this coming softball season on Thursday, so I thought celebrating a bit on Wednesday would be fun. I got most of my ideas here:). We had hotdogs, peanuts, chips and Gatorade. And then Baby Ruth Candy bars for desert.

I decorated with the girls new gloves and some White Sox stuff we have:).Corinn and Kiera wore their Sox shirts. (Papa you have created some loyal White Sox fans here:)!!)

After dinner we decorated a Spring house. Nothing related to our theme but it was on clearance right before Easter:) and it looked fun.

Then Daddy played a little catch with the girls as I gave the little ones a bath. There first practice the next day went well:). I am soooo excited to see them learn to play Softball. I played it for 7 years growing up:). So fun to re-live some fun memories through my sweet girls.

Easter Memories....

We had a quiet Easter. Our extended family was busy this year so it was just the 6 of us. Our day started with the tomb on our Easter Mountain being empty:)!!!!! And Jesus victorious on the top.
The Easter bunny paid us a visit the night before:). Here's our cuties finding what he left behind for them.
After that we quickly got ready for church and headed there. It was a great service that fired us up to Love Jesus more! Once home the girls had a small lunch.... cheese and crackers on Rinie's new picnic set.
Karis enjoyed her new tea set (Thank you Aunt Kimie and Uncle David, Kendra and her bought this with the gift card you sent:)
While I prepared dinner...turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, raspberry fluff, and pumpkin pie....the girls just hung out. In fact Corinn and Kiera pouted a little that we were all alone on Easter. But little did they know that their Uncle, Aunt and,Cousins were going to stop by on their way home from the Dells...... you should of seen how excited they were to see these faces.

They stayed long enough to help us find all our Easter eggs in the yard.


Shortly after they left we enjoyed our yummy meal together.

Holidays are so fun as a family. I am so thankful for this household full of children:)! And even more thankful for a Savior who loves us!

Oh and I almost forgot..one of my Day Care families made our girls these adorable pots with each of their names on them for Easter. Wasn't that a FUN gift! (Thanks Jennifer:). I just put them on my porch with some tulips I found at Walmart after Easter. This makes me smile everytime I come to my front door:)...

Update on our Journey.....

These past two months have been an adventure! We've been back at Harvest for one month now. It's so good to be back! Very affirming that this is where we should be. All of our old friends have been more than gracious in our coming back. So much encouragement and excitement for our future.In God's providence our church is doing a series called "Welcome Home" right now:)! How fitting for us!

With coming back we also see God's hand in leading us away for awhile. We learned a lot in the past year and a half. We pray that we continue to apply the wisdom and humility that God blessed us with.

Yesterday was an important meeting for Eric. He has been in the interview process to go into the church planting school for about 2 months now. This interview was with the Head of church planting. Everything went really well, however :) there are no more available spots for students for this coming fall. With that said, we once again must wait.

And yet in this waiting there is an excitement. There are so many Godly men and woman who are here to rally us on. They seem just as excited as we do to see what God has for us. What a gift the body of Christ is! Eric is to be taken under some wise leaders wings and cared for this coming year. Then next year, if all goes well, we should be able to go into the church planting school.That would be the Fall of 2010.

Right now we'd love prayer for patience, for Eric to get another part time job, for Grace to continue to grow as leaders, for direction to where we should plant a church someday, and for a core group of people to plant a church with us in 2011:):)! How exciting it is to dream.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

Family Vacations With Out Breaking the Piggy Bank.....

I've learned so much from fellow bloggers. I've gleaned ideas on parenting, cleaning, my walk with the Lord, shopping, coupon clipping, crafts, family nights....just to name a few things. So I thought I'd share a few helpful ideas that I have regarding frugal family vacations, just in case I can bless someone else with what I've learned.




I know how challenging paying for and planning a vacation can be. Over the past six and a half years of putting Eric through school we have lived on a very tight budget. But within that budget we've manged (by God's grace) to go on a Spring vacation and Summer vacation every year.

Here a few things I've learned to make it work...

• We always plan a portion of our tax return to go towards our vacations. For us Vacations are a priority and some of our money goes towards them.
• We rarely spend more than two or three nights in a hotel. We try to do things from home on our vacation some of the week, or stay with family other times.
• We try to find hotels that include the "fun" in the price of your night stay. This is why we go to water slide parks each Spring and camping often in the summer. At both of these places most, if not all, of our activities are included. At the places we stay at I can often find deals online for 10%-20% off.
• We try hard not to spend any more money than usual on food. This means that I plan our meals for our trip and often I make some meals ahead of time. While we are traveling we use the dollar menu at fast food places and drink water. When we are at our hotel we reheat the meals I've made ahead of time. (Which typically are beef sandwiches and turkey rice casserole. Both are easy to store in plastic baggies.)
  

I pack a rubbermaid full of snacks, fruit cups, bread, peanut butter, paper plates, paper towels, plastic spoon, knives and forks, water bottles, juice boxes,small boxes of cereal and microwave popcorn. This keeps us from spending money on the food at the hotel.

In a small cooler I pack the pre-made meals, a small milk, and fresh fruit and jelly.

I try to make it a little fun by buying zoo pal plates and some snacks like chips that we typically don't eat.
Planning and bringing our food is just how we do our trips. Our girls don't know it any differently. So if we surprise them and take them out for breakfast (which we did at Great Wolf Lodge) they are so grateful and appreciative.

All the planning and preparations are well worth the Fun....

His Love Set Me Free....

Happy Easter!!!!!!

Let's Face It....

Raising a 3 year old and a 22 month old is sometimes difficult.....

There's often lots and lots of noise, tempers, messes, diapers, accidents, fights,spills, sticky fingers, more messes, melt downs, missed naps, complaining, whining, hurt feelings, way to much energy, LOUD voices..........

But among all the trying aspects of parenting pre-schoolers...there are SO many blessing. Sometimes hidden and sometimes not. So as I go about my day I try to look for those blessings and thank God for them. Blessings like.....


Finding a little family enjoying a meal;).

Seeing my girls kiss:).

Princesses lined up on my floor. (Maybe ready for the Ball?)

Babies nice and clean after their bath.

Cheesy little faces.

A line of Dollies on my couch.

Babies tucked in and dreaming.

How thankful I am for these little moments in time that I will forever treasure.

Chicky Night.....

For our Family Night tonight little chicks was our theme. I decorated the table with a few chicks we have and some tiny little ones that I bought the girls. Kendra's showing you hers below:). We had egg salad sandwiches (for those who like them:) for dinner.

And we had Chick cake pops for desert.

After desert we colored our Easter Eggs.

We're looking forward to Easter this weekend!

Spring Fun....

Eric and I have lived in the same suburb of Chicago for the past 11 years. We LOVE it here. We love that it is culturally and economically diverse. We love that it is surrounded by Forest Preserves. We love that it's close enough to the city to go there whenever we'd like.We love the friendships we've created and the wonderful school our girls attend. But one of my favorite parts of living here is the small town feel it has. We have a great park district that holds several free events to our community. One of them being the annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Saturday my little ones hunted for chocolate eggs at the Big park near us.

This will be my Rinie's last year because it only goes up to 8:(....but she enjoyed it this year very much!

Now what do we do with all these chocolate eggs????:)

My Secret Keeper....

Last night Corinn and I attened a Secret Keeper event with some friends. What a refreshing night. Secret Keepers is a ministry to girls and their Moms. This is what a Secret Keeper Girl is...

"A Secret Keeper Girl values modesty, she surrounds herself with wise friends and she embraces Godly beauty. But, the most important thing for you to know is that a Secret Keeper Girl is a masterpiece created by God."

What a wonderful ministry. In a world Full of images and ideas that fill our little girls heads with falsehoods....this ministry is such a breath of fresh air. It was fun and exciting all the while teaching our precious daughters that their worth is not in their outward appearance but in their heart. (1 Peter 3:3-4) God has truly made each one of them to be a unique masterpiece.

How I pray my little Rinie grows in the knowledge of these truths. That she grows to be a woman of Godly Character. One that Loves Jesus above all things, that values others, and that see's her worth in who God made her to be. She truly is beautiful masterpiece. And I get to be her Mama!!!!

April Fools....

Last night we had our weekly Family Night. Even before our dinner and night together, I started the April Fool fun by sending apples with worms (gummy worms) in the girls lunches:). They found them before lunch and had them as a snack:).

For dinner we had pie. I made Shepard's Pie and just added Pink food coloring to the potatoes and Mozzarella cheese on top. It took the girls a bit until they figured out what it was:). Kiera kept saying I think it's apple pie.

Then since we had pie for dinner, we had hamburgers for desert. The girls were "SO" excited when I brought these out. (They are a simplified version of these).

I had plans to make our Easter Mountain after dinner, but both Eric and I lacked the energy to actually do it. We plan to make it this Saturday. Instead the girls and Eric played a little Wii, while I gave the little ones a bath. And since I forgot to get their pictures at dinner I took some of them jumping in Kendra's crib. Two little monkey's jumping on the bed.


I'm loving our family nights. It gives me a chance to be creative every week and to include the family in on it.