our trip to the zoo

our friends took us to zoo atlanta last friday and we had such a great time. ella loved seeing the elephants (her favorite animal). i'm not quite sure which animal was evan's favorite...i think he liked seeing them all...he certainly enjoys talking about all of them! my favorite were the gorillas. the mama gorilla had some adorable baby gorillas and they were quite entertaining to watch! here are a few of my favorite photos from the day.

ella thought this orangutan was hilarious...his hair was so long it looked like dreadlocks!

lydia, ella, benjamin & evan

superman

the kids were flying high like superman this afternoon. we all had lots of laughs and fun as i held them up with my feet. it made for some fun photos! (just don't look at my chipped off toenail polish, ok?)

isn't this face hilarious? i have no idea how he got his eyes to do that :)

it kinda looks like i'm stepping on him!
at least with ella's photos her hair is hanging down and you can tell she is up in the air!

more talent to show off!

it doesn't seem that long ago when my little ella was singing in her 3 yr old spring program. my how a year can change them! after the little 3 yr olds sang last night, the big 4 & 5 yr olds came on stage. ella seemed so much bigger than last year. but those sweet little cheeks, those cute little baby teeth, and that sweet singing voice helped remind me that she is still my little girl. she did such a great job last night. she sang all the words to the songs and knew all the motions and sign language. she watched her music teacher the ENTIRE time...she wouldn't even look over at us during the whole performance. she was so focused that she would barely crack a smile. i told her later that i wished she had looked at me so i could get a picture of her and she said, "mommy, i had to look at Ms. Jana because she told us to." well i'm glad she follows the rules at school at least! why can't she do that at home?! ha.

after they sang, we went to her classroom for their art show. she showed us all her cute artwork from the school year. my little artist was so proud...and so were her parents and grandparents!

my future rock star

looks like evan is following in his daddy's footsteps. rusty brought this old electric guitar home this past weekend after helping his parents clean out some things. it belonged to his grandmother! the kids enjoyed playing with it and we were able to capture evan singing "twinkle, twinkle".

i'm bloggining mommy

this is what evan would say if he were a blogger. the past 2 weeks he has changed all of his "ing" words and he has made it "ining".

a few examples:
"i'm not comining!"
"it's not workining"
"whatcha doining?"
"look mommy, i'm rollining"

i've heard him say all these things. and he used to say all the words correctly. i think it sounds so darn cute...so much so that i don't correct him! i even start talking like him. :) so i'm goining to take a shower now!

oh heavenly day

saturday night was a fun date night for r and i. we saw patty griffin in concert at the Tabernacle in atlanta. i take it that most people don't know who she is...every time we told someone where we were going on saturday, they would say, "who?". well she has the voice that i'm going to ask for when i get to heaven! i have been a fan of hers ever since rusty introduced me to her...but after hearing her live...i'm a huge fan and i fell in love with her voice even more. she can mesmerize you with her slow ballads yet can make you want to learn how to play guitar just so you can rock out with her...she is an amazingly talented singer/songwriter. i could've listened to her for hours longer on saturday night! she made life stop for me outside those walls. so thanks to patty for putting out another terrific album that i can sing my heart out to in the privacy of my mini van. can't wait to get to heaven so i can sing like her! (check out her myspace page if you want to hear her music...click on "Heavenly Day" and "No Bad News"...2 of my favorites)

we're still on a sugar high

i hope this sugar high is the only substance abuse high that my kids ever experience! it's almost as bad as halloween. but it was all fun. our friends marty and robyn came saturday and spent the night with us. ella was in heaven having her best friend, abby, staying at our house. they got to make bunny cupcakes together and enjoy all their easter basket loot together. i took many pictures of the 4 of them at church yesterday and this was the best out of the bunch...and it's still not too great! but don't they look cute? ella is definitely making a fashion statement with her tights and sandals. but with 30 degree weather...we had to come up with plan B! happy easter!

a good thursday and Good Friday

yesterday we drove down to my sister's house for the day. it was a fun thursday with the cousins and their grandparents. they decorated easter eggs and played fun games.

here's Gramma J with all her grandkids...

i think this photo is cute of all of them lined up listening to stacy give them directions about the game they were going to play...

evan had the best duck walk!

ella trying not to drop her egg...

as we drove to their house yesterday, we were listening to the cd "Share the Well" by Caedmon's Call. i love the second song and it really hit me yesterday. it actually brought tears to my eyes. it's called "There's Only One." and as we celebrate Good Friday today, i must say that i am overwhelmed that this One who chose me...to save me, to love me, to make me his daughter, to give me eternal life, to forgive me and show me His mercy, and to give me everything that He gives His Son. there truly is only One...only one savior who could save us from our life of sin. only one savior who would give his life in order that we would not have to be punished for that sin. there is only one who rose from that grave and conquered death. there is only one almighty God and i praise him for what he did for us through his son, Jesus, this easter weekend. there is no other one or no other thing that will ever satisfy.

here are the words to the song "There's Only One (Holy One)". you can go here to hear a clip.

Left his seamless robe behind
Woke up in a stable crying
Lived and died and rose again
Savior for a guilty land

It's a story like a children's tune
And it's grown familiar as the moon
So now I ride my camel high
And I'm aiming for the needle's eye

I chased the wind, but I chased in vain
I chased the earth, but it would not sustain

There's only one who never fails to beckon the morning light
There's only one who sets loose the gales and ties the trees down tight
When all around my soul gives way He is all my hope and stay
There's only one, only one Holy One

Lord, You are my Prince of Peace
but this war brings me to my knees
See there's a table You've prepared
And all my enemies are there
But where my Shepherd leads
Where else can I go
Who else fills my cup till it overflows

There's only one who never fails to beckon the morning light
There's only one who sets loose the gales and ties the trees down tight
To the Solid rock I fly Though He bids me come and die
There's only one, only one Holy One

the boy can be stubborn sometimes

this is the only way he will wear his glasses. upside down and on the outside of his ears. if you try and help him put them on the right way...you will hear crying and pouting. whatever makes him happy...and he is awfully cute wearing them.

evidently daddy has a higher IQ

some more quotes to write down. tonight ella and i were having another conversation about how she doesn't want to grow up. during our little talk i was asking her about her friend lydia who had a birthday recently and i asked her if she remembered how old lydia had turned on her birthday. she says, "no, i can't remember. but maybe we should ask daddy because he is smart." what?! maybe she is picking up on my mommy brain syndrome! i said, "so daddy is smarter than mommy?" and she said, "well mommy you are a little bit smart and daddy is smarter." we continued talking through this and she proceeded to giggle at her mommy's response!! there was no way i was going to let her continue to think her daddy was smarter than me...no way! :) so i guess daddy will be the one to help with her algebra homework in future years....(have fun, honey!).

i also wanted to mention another cute thing that evan says. whenever we take the kids to home depot or lowe's, they always want to get on the riding lawn mowers. right when we pull into the parking lot, evan always says, "i want to ride da mows!!" he picks out the lawn mower he wants to sit on...and says "i ride dis geen mow" (i ride this green mower). such a cutie pie.

kid talk

i've been hearing some cute things around here lately. i wish i could remember all the funny things that are said...but i have mommy brain (definition: the loss of memory brain cells after giving birth multiple times and from just keeping up with life in general!).

some quotes i actually remember:

evan: "i wear my hitball pajamas" (hitball is what he calls baseball...how cute is that?!)
-------
ella: "there's Backyard Burger!" (a fast food restaurant)
evan: "no, it's backyardigan burger!" ha ha
-------
as i was tucking ella in last night she says "mommy, daddy left my big pillows there until i get my new cardboard." we ordered her a new headboard for her bed and she called it cardboard.

i love hearing all these funny things they say. these kids are so much fun to listen to!!

i heart san francisco

so i guess you could say i left part of my heart in san francisco. i love that city...it's really beautiful and so many fun things to do and see. but i mostly enjoyed just being with my friends...and that is where i left some of my heart! katie and wendi are 2 of my best friends from college and i miss them tremendously. it never seems like there is enough time when i get to see them.

a photo wrap up of my time:
i spent wednesday with my friend wendi (who lives in the city) and she
took me to fisherman's wharf

and we at lunch at one of the many open air restaurants with fresh seafood

we shopped at Pier 39 and i bought the kids some fun prizes

i got to see the cute but obnoxious sea lions at the pier

i drove down the crookedest street (Lombard) and saw the famous "Painted Ladies"

we ate at a fantastic peruvian restaurant with karl & wendi and
talked, laughed, and reminisced for hours...great times!!!

and lastly, i got to spend a couple days with katie who delivered her 4th child on wednesday. i got to hold and snuggle baby elliot and enjoyed just sitting by katie's side...talking, watching american idol, and even sitting in silence while she slept. i'm so happy about my time with her.

rusty enjoyed his conference. and we got to go to dinner with our friends shane and ursula who also live out there. (we met them while r attended northwestern 6 years ago.) shane also works in prosthetics...and its always fun to see them and catch up. they treated us to a wonderful steak dinner! saturday r and i did a little shopping in the city before we had to leave. our hotel was right in the middle of tons of stores (yipee for me)...it was probably a good thing that i didn't have more time to shop! we were happy to see the kids when we picked them up at r's parents house. its just so fun to love on them and gaze into their sweet little eyes and just soak them up and try to make up for lost time. they did fantastic for both sets of grandparents....and we are super thankful we have wonderful parents who we can trust and depend on to help us out during times like this!! so long vacation. back to reality...got to go finish unpacking!

goin' back to cali....again!

i'm sure certain friends of mine (this one and this one to be specific) will give me a hard time for travelling yet again! but when your hubby is heading to san francisco for a conference and his company is footing the bill and when i have enough miles to fly for free as well AND two of my very best friends live there....WHY NOT!? it seemed like a no brainer. and this time we are going childless. my mom/dad and rusty's mom/dad are helping out with the kids while we are away.

can i tell you how excited i am!? first to be able to get away just rusty and i. i know he will be busy during the day with his conference...but we have a 5 hour flight together and nights to just hang out together and with our dear friends. and my friend kate is about to have her 4th baby any day now (i'm hoping today!!)...so i'm thrilled to get to meet her new baby boy! and i will be a free woman while i'm there....i can sleep in if i want to....go shopping in union square (where our hotel is)....go visit my friends, etc! i can't wait!! we're off tomorrow!

this is what happens when i'm avoiding housework

i found this from a new blogging friend (who happens to have the same name as me) and i thought it was fun. while not entirely accurate, there were some things that were true about me. overall, it was just another thing to keep me from doing the things i need to be doing around here! so go make your own visual DNA and leave me a comment if you post it on your blog.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

another fun thing i found from my photojojo email newsletter is george lange's photo book. i'm a big photography fan and i loved looking at the cool shots he captured. go check it out.

new look for spring

i've been so over my last blog template but just haven't gotten around to changing it until now. so this is going to have to do until i can figure out how to make my own header. i like the change...anything new is better in my opinion. in fact, after i dropped ella off at preschool this morning, evan and i headed to the mall. i walked in many stores where i saw so many fun, new, cute spring clothes. i think i'm just loving the styles right now and there was so much i wanted to buy. but i refrained (it's a miracle, huh rusty?). i'm itching for spring to arrive and stay. and whoever decided to start daylight savings time 3 weeks earlier this year deserves a huge...um...hug....or high five!? i love having longer days...it makes me a happier girl. here's to spring!

all about my boy

i've been meaning to write down some things about evan before i forget them. at 2 years and 4 months...this little boy still has a strong hold of my heart. he is certainly a momma's boy and i don't mind that at all!

the other morning i woke up hearing him through the monitor as usual...although he wasn't saying his usual "mommeeee...mommeeee..." over and over. instead he was saying something else that i couldn't quite understand. i got up quickly as normal because i didn't want him to wake up ella and went into his room. i found him standing in his crib with is arm stretched out toward the window and palm of his hand up as if he were saying "stop". and he was. he proceeded to say to the window "stop it birdies...stop it birdies..." and then i heard the little birdies chirping. i guess he just wasn't in the mood to hear the happy birdies that morning! i got a big kick out of that!

another funny thing is his vocabulary. i'm quite amazed at what this boy can say. i really never thought he would be talking this much since i heard boys are slower at talking and especially 2nd borns. but he can say just about anything...i may not understand him all the time...but he tries. the funniest thing is that he makes one syllable words into 2 syllable words. examples are:
dog is "dah-wog"
car is "caw-wer"
there is "der-rer"
man is "ma-yan"
etc etc....i guess his southern roots are coming out strong. i never correct him because i think it sounds too cute. in fact...i start talking like him sometimes.

the other night the kids were playing outside in the backyard for a few minutes while i was finishing dinner. when it was time to come in and eat...we told the kids to come in. and showing his new (well not really new) stubborn side, he started crying and yelling "i don't want to!" we continued to tell him to come in and he refused. we usually give in and go get him because he will not move unless we do. this time, we let him stand there outside and cry and continue yelling "i don't want to" with tears streaming down his face. as i was getting our glasses filled with water at the kitchen sink, i looked out the window above the sink to see our neighbor outside on his deck waving his arms at us and pointing to our son with a concerned look on his face! did he really think that we couldn't hear him!? i graciously waved and nodded and mouthed "i know! thank you!". i think our neighbor was about to call defax on us or something! so....we ended up rescuing evan since we were evidently disturbing our neighbors! very funny moment.

one last thing....his favorite song to sing lately is "Old MacDonald". the other day he sang "and on that farm he had a chicken finger". he is constantly making us smile.

and this is why i'm thankful for blogging....i would probably forget stories like these otherwise.

recovering

whew...today i feel like i can take a deep breathe and say it's done! our women's retreat was friday and saturday and all our hard work is done. it was such a terrific weekend. i've heard some encouraging feedback about the retreat and i'm so pleased to hear how these women's hearts were full after our time together. our speaker, a lady from our church, was wonderful. through her amazing stories and through looking at a few passages about Jesus....she helped us to be able to see Him through our fear (our theme was "from Fear to Faith"). we had a fun spa night and some fun free time....great worship and great food. and my hubby surprised me with a spa treatment while i was there! i also left with a full heart and i feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing women from my church.

so this week is recovery week. i actually still need to recover from our vacation...i still haven't totally unpacked my suitcase from our disney cruise!! my house is a wreck and so now is time to recover from all the busyness of my past couple weeks. so i'm off to wash clothes, clean the kitchen, sweep the week old crumbs off the floor, vaccuum, oh...and enjoy the WARM weather we are going to have the next few days!!

9 years!

today is my 9th anniversary. wow...i really can't believe i've been married that long! rusty and i met our freshman year of college. which means we've known each other for about 14 years or so.

i've been thinking back to those college days lately and trying to remember our dating years. it was often fun but we definitely had our rocky moments. but i remember how i felt about him when i finally "came around" (he had been chasing me for a while and i wasn't interested!). i always wanted to be with him. i wanted to spend time with him at any chance i got. if i saw him in the dining hall, i got excited. we would hang out at mountain campus or go to frost chapel just to talk. we would go for drives off campus...one place in particular was this mountain close by where you could see for miles and miles. fun times.

and now i get to be with him all the time. and i know i'm just not as grateful for that as i should be. we have come far in our marriage....our journey together has been far from perfect and it never will be. we are both still learning so much about each other....how to meet each other's needs, how to put the other one first, how to love each other, how to forgive and give grace to each other. i'm happy that we have many more years to learn more about these things. it keeps marriage exciting.

so to my hubby....happy anniversary! i can't put into words just how grateful i am to have you as a husband....God has truly used you in my life to show me HUGE things. your unconditional love for me has been a great example of my Father's love for me. i feel i never have to doubt that you love me....you are so good at it :) and i know i can be a complainer...but really, you are a fantastic husband and father. the good far outweighs the bad. and every argument or fight that we have...only tends to draw us to the gospel. i know God is working on both of us and teaching us more about repentance. i just need to constantly remind myself of what a blessing this is....to have a husband who is willing to admit his faults and come to me for forgiveness. thank you for modeling this for me. i can only pray that i will do this more and that God will humble me. so....THANK YOU....you are an amazing man and i'm privileged to call you my husband of 9 years. thank you for the wonderful memories and i look forward to the years to come. i love you.

cruise continued

here's our boat, the "disney wonder". this is when we were on the disney island "castaway cay". notice the pirate ship on the left...it's the "Flying Dutchman" from Pirates of the Carribean! evan loved seeing that!

here are the 3 big girls doing the "ella dance"! she sticks her thumbs in the air and shakes her hips. i guess they decided sticking their tongues out would make the dance even funnier!

ella couldn't get enough of her cousins lane and grace...they all had a blast together!

i made this sign for my parents door

this is our last night at dinner in the "Animator's Palette" dining room. this was my favorite dining room...throughout the night the whole room changed from all black and white (notice the animated disney sketches on the wall along with the tv screen) to all color by the end of dinner. it was very cool and the kids loved it!

these are our servers, Beam from South Africa and Ramsey from India...they were great with our kids. Ramsey would do magic tricks for them every night at dinner. on this last night, many servers sang for my parents for their anniversary. happy 40th mom & dad!!

great memories...i can't believe it's already said and done! vacations just don't last long enough.

disney wonder

we're back and getting used to having to do everything for ourselves. no one to cook for me here, no one to make my bed every day, no one to clean my bathroom, no place to drop of my kids for some playtime.....bummer.

we had a great but exhausting week. rusty and i have learned over the years that vacationing with young children is just not quite as relaxing as we always hope it will be! the cruise was filled with tons to do....quite over-stimulating for my kids. it took them the first 2 days to adjust to it all. evan was quite clingy and always wanted to be held. ella was quite moody and fearful of it all. the first time she saw one of the disney characters, she cried and started shaking! she was scared of goofy and every other character for that matter!! each day she got better and after she saw one of the princesses....that made her super happy! to have her picture taken with cinderella was the highlight of her week! the kids loved the kiddie pool and probably would've stayed there the whole time if we would let them. overall, i would definitely recommend the disney cruise....but would recommend it for older kids. my niece, lane, who is 7....was a perfect age for all of it. my kids were just a little harder to manage with naps, and staying up late for the shows, and dropping them off at the children's area (ella freaked out), etc. if they were a few years older, i think it would've have been more fun. but don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable vacation!

it's a little hard to narrow down the 381 photos that i took last week. i'll post some now and then some more later.

here's evan, lane, ella & grace goofing off as we waited to get on the ship.

here are all the kids watching cartoons as we waited to get onboard. notice the girls all have on the same cinderella shirts and the 2 boys have on "cars" shirts....they were so cute!

evan, grant & rose....the finger sucker and thumb suckers!

the dance party as we set sail to the bahamas

more of the dance party. notice evan at the bottom pointing to mickey...he was so excited!

ella's DREAM! so i guess you can see her dreams really did come true! :)

the girls in the mickey pool

evan really wanted to meet minnie and mickey....but he wouldn't smile for the camera. he pretty much looked like that for most of the cruise...fingers in mouth! (notice who is missing in the family photo!!)

another highlight of ella's week...getting dessert every night after dinner! here she is eating chocolate pudding. another favorite was the mickey mouse ice cream bar!

one of the animal towels left in our room at night. this elephant was our favorite!