Happy Valentine's Day

 I have written in the past about some mothers here that I am privileged to know and hang out with weekly.  We have been meeting together for three years now.  Reading mostly good books.  Our group started with six kids and quickly grew to 13 soon to be 15 among us (it can get a little wild at times to say the least...)

We had a Valentine's Party yesterday with cookie decorating and candy eating and then some more.

Thank you Lord for the people in Spokane who have become family to us.  I am blessed beyond words.

Her First Real Steps

Hannah may be a late walker, but she's sure a cute one!  We have been watching our friends' 18 month old boy for a few days and I think he may have helped really motivate her to get this walking thing figured out.  Here are a few of the cute walker girl

Seriously, there's nothing like laughter from children

It's Cold

Woke up to more inches of snow on the ground. It's beautiful and I am thankful that I have the option to simply sit and enjoy watching the snow from indoors. Our temperatures lately have been bitter cold.  We have woken up to negative numbers while the wind chill stays in the negatives all day.  Soooo cold. So we just stay inside and make messes with crafts (thanks again Aunti Kelli the kids loved those sun catchers!)

Then we see just how high Hannah's hair can get with the Static Electricity and laugh and laugh and laugh some more.  We may even put on a Despicable Me Mini Movie and continue to laugh and laugh at how funny those weird little Minions are...

We often have a fire going and so why not roast some marshmallows while we're sitting around finding ways to keep busy?  Who isn't excited about eating roasted marshmallows?  

 The fun quickly turned sour when Josiah was blowing on a very HOT marshmallow that he ended up getting on his face and it stuck and was burning him :(  So scary! He spent the remainder of the day holding an ice cube to his lip.  Oh I felt so bad for him as we all know how painful burns can be.  Now he has a lovely burn going up his lip.  

So I think we'll take a break from roasting and stick with lukewarm hot cocoa and marshmallows on top...

Here's to healing, I wonder if it will scar??

At least he got to enjoy one before the incident

It was a Fun Day

Our day started with learning all about magnets.  Magnets are sooo cool no matter what age you are!

 We then moved our play outdoors (despite the warnings that it's too cold for children to be outside this week!) and that was equally as fun.  The parents of these two children may never let their child play over here again after they see the following videos...but again it was soooo fun! :-)  (and quite creative of the boys if I do say so)

The Three as of late

 One of Hannah's favorite things is to be where her big sister and big brother are.  And everyone gets along with Hannah (except for when she's trying to participate in a game of Memory)...

Grace and Josiah were a big help to Hannah while she learned to climb up and down the stairs

Hannah loves her big brother. And she never minds when he's picking her up and moving her around the house.  Here she is snuggled up with Josiah - so cute!

Josiah's been working hard on reading.  It is fun to watch his reading improve and as we drive around town I can hear him sounding out the words he sees

And Gracie and Thomas are good friends these days...

a drawing of mom

He got it right when he drew me. Blue eyes, brown hair, a long skinny ski slope of a nose and then there's the braces.  Yes, I am getting to experience the joy of straightening ones teeth -  Ouch!  Seriously though, it's really painful! I only have eaten icecream and eggs.... and I only have the bottom ones on right now! I get the top ones in March.  Here's to straight pretty teeth!

A New Year

I really have liked this quote as we have headed into this new year of 2014.

"Are we willing to give ourselves entirely to God;

to let Him do with us whatever He pleases; 

to follow anywhere at His bidding;

to renounce anything at His call; asking only, in return,

that He will give us Himself, with all His infinite love,

to be ours from this time forever?

If we are thus willing, let us kneel down at this moment

and tell Him so.  Alone with God,

let us give Him ourselves, all we have 

and shall be, to be unreservedly His."

-William R. Huntington