Easter...

So we didn't get a good family pic this year! Actually I deleted them all because they were so horrible. Hopefully someone from my family took a good one and I will post it at a later date. The kids had a great time...well Kylie did! She got a lot of stuff for Easter from all the grandparents and the Easter bunny and looked BEAUTIFUL in her dress! Cooper was a cutie and loved his balls from the Easter bunny. It was great visiting with Candice and we already miss her lots;o(

Kylie and her Easter eggs

The Easter bunny hid a lot of eggs this year!
One of the Easter baskets (Zach put her pj's on...yes they are x-mas ones)

Cooper looking cute
Cooper and Aunt Candice

on a serious note...

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the importance of marriage. Our society today tells us that we should get married, have kids, and then if it doesn't work, get a divorce. This is a total twist in thinking and we need to correct it so our kids don't grow up to believe this. Now, I am not saying there aren't any situations which people should get divorced...the Bible is very clear about this, but people are just getting divorced because, "it wasn't working out". Well sorry to burst your bubble but marriage IS work!!! So...the following blog is just a few things that can help your marriage. Know that marriage IS NOT always fun and can be very stressful at times. As someone once told me, "you are two imperfect people and when two imperfect people get married, there is bound to be some issues."

• MAKE TIME FOR ONE ANOTHER!!! There are NO excuses...trust me, I have them all! Set up a time AT LEAST weekly for one on one time. Zach and I are taking a marriage class right now (Love and Respect) where we have learned that women NEED face to face contact with their husbands.
• Go on a date at least once a month. Get a babysitter and go out. If you don't have money for this, then put the kids to bed, light some candles, make dinner, and watch a movie together!
  
• Take advantage of the classes offered for married couples. Even if you aren't having problems right now, YOU WILL. So be prepared!!!
• Communicate! Women seem to think that men can "read our minds", but here is a newsflash for you...THEY CANNOT! Tell them how you feel..tell them what you want...don't assume they know. Take time to ask your husband about his day and find out what he likes to talk about (it doesn't have to interest you...know that a lot of the stuff you talk about doesn't interest him).
• Greet your husband with a hug when he gets home from work. Tell him you love him before you tell him how horrible your day was. Give him a home he WANTS to come home to, not an environment where he feels overwhelmed as soon as he enters the door.
• Tell your husband you appreciate him and the hard work he does to provide for your family. Watch how fast he lights up...men love to feel respected.
• Submit to your husband...not I am not talking about the little submissive wife who does whatever she is told, I am talking about the Biblical wife who submits to her husband. Read Proverbs 31 for this definition.
  
• Write love letters to one another, share your dreams together, talk about money regularly, consult "seasoned" married couples for advice, encourage each other, and love each other even when it is "impossible".
  

These are just a few things that have popped out in my head...I could go on for days, but thought this was a good start. I am taking a Bible Study right now called, Being Good to your Husband on Purpose. It is a great book and I recommend it. The other book I referenced was Love and Respect. We need to work on our marriages!!!

One another note, I thought I would post a cute pic of Kylie and her cousins, Ryan and Mason taken before they sang at church this past Wednesday.

So girls and guys...LOVE EACH OTHER! Give your wife/husband a kiss and tell him/her how much you love them!

hairmixer.com

This blog is thanks to Sophie!!! She got me addicted to spending time doing silly things. Let me know how you think I look....

Jessica Simpson

Oprah!

This one is for BJ! Clinton!

Paris Hilton

I don't remember his name...but the guy from Los Vegas who dates Fergie!

Well I had a fun time...Hope you all do too!

Cabin Fever

The day started out pretty yucky...It was VERY dark and gloomy, plus we all lost and hour of sleep last night! Church was somewhat uplifting and inspiring, but I was just in a crummy mood. Thankfully , I was able to go grocery shopping by myself and then I was off to WALMART! Did I mention that I was BY MYSELF! It was just what I needed today and to top it off, the sun came out! The kids are playing nicely together and I have some bread baking!!!! Thought I would include a nice pic of the kiddos this morning. It has gotten harder to taken their pic together because Cooper wants to take off! Overall I think it turned out nicely! Let me know what you think;o)I have also been struggling with CABIN FEVER. I really need it to be spring. We have had a few days worthy of walks, but it always seems to be more depressing afterwards. Just a few more weeks hopefully. Easter will be here in 2 weeks...can you believe it! Looking forward to the family visiting! Especially Candice!!! And for those of you who haven't seen Candice, I am including a pic of her too....with Cooper!

Well I promise I will have some more inspiring blogs this week! St. Patty's Day is approaching as well...so maybe I will post something Irish??!! Off to cook dinner for the fam.

Stuck inside

So I woke up yesterday to find that Cooper had blisters on his lips. This was following a high fever this weekend and his sister now had the fever. Fortunately, we already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the morning, so we heading for the docs. The Doctor confirmed that it was hand-foot-mouth disease! YEAH!!! We are contagious and stuck in the house for a few days. Cooper is pretty clingy, but you would have no idea Kylie is even sick! It looks like we got it from the church nursery last Wednesday.

I am attempting to be optimistic instead of wallowing in my own self pity. I have devised a "to-do" list of things I have been meaning to do, but cannot, so we will see how far I get. We had to miss Bible Study this morning too, but surprisingly I am okay with this. I spoke with another mom from Bible Study who said her son caught it last week too...I guess misery loves company!

I am looking forward to MOPS tomorrow too! My mother-in-law will be watching the kiddos for me;o) I have been so excited to see what the future holds for MOPS and God has blessed us. Things have come together lately and I feel God has a great plan for next year. I just got the theme for next year too...Adventures in Mothering...and I am started to prepare around this. We definitely need to do some outreach and get some more new faces at MOPS so hopefully we can publicize it well this summer.

Anyways...I guess this was just a blog out of boredom today so sorry if it wasn't too entertaining. Any tips for not going crazy with sick kids is appreciated today!

Making your house a home

The theme of this years MOPS is "Dwell Well". We have talked about how we make our house a welcoming home and this is what has inspired this blog. As I have stated before, I believe many mom's stress about having a "perfect" home and this is not necessary. Here are a few things I do to make my house feel like a home.

1. Fruit bowl! I always have a fruit bowl of banana's and apples on the counter in our kitchen. We received MANY bowls when we got married, so I figured I would put them to good use.
2. My kitchen counters are usually clean (notice I said usually). If the rest of the house is a disaster, start with the kitchen. It always seems to make the whole house feel "clean" and I tend to relax once this is done. I am not saying I scrub the sink down and mop the floors!!! I just wipe the counters down and clear the cludder!
   
3. Pictures! Many of you know I am a picture freak. There are pictures all over my house of my kiddos. For one, I love to look at pictures at other peoples houses and feel welcomed into their family history by looking at them. I want others to see how my family has progressed and how CUTE my kiddos are;o)
4. I will most likely have a candle burning when people are coming over. I love a good smelling house, so I try to always have one lit. I am in love with Mia Belle candles right now because they put out A LOT of smell very quickly and are soy!
   

These are just a few ideas of THINGS you can do. Another way I try to make my home welcoming is by not STRESSING! This is a huge struggle of mine and I tend to go into "psycho cleaning mode" right before people come over. But lets be realistic, when was the last time someone came over and said, "Oh my gosh, your floor is covered in crushed cheerios". So I have decided for both my sanity and my families, I will calm down and relax before others come over.
I always welcome new ideas, so let me know if you have any tricks! Oh and I need to add a bribe picture...

Kylie in her new sleeping beauty costume!



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