Spencer's Birthday and Superbowl!

We had a busy weekend once again! Started out Friday night at Jenny and Karl's for Spencer's 6th birthday... can NOT believe he is 6!!!

Grace meeting the greeting committee when we got there, Spencer and Coen... they love each other!...


Nana talking to Hadley...


Sweet girl...


Nana and Gracie...


Me holding Hadley...


Spencer getting ready to blow out his candles!...


"Cake! Cake!" was all Grace basically said until she finally got to eat some. Seeing the moment coming closer...


Then Saturday morning Spencer had a bunch of his friends at Monkey Joe's where it's basically a huge warehouse type of place with about 20 different blow up things. The little kids had to stay on just 4 of them (which was plenty for them), but the big kids were flying down these GIGANTIC slides, climbing these huge walls... it looked like lots of fun!

Grace had a ball, as you can see...




Spencer being sweet and posing for Aunt Becky inbetween running around like a crazy 6 year old :) ...


Hadley with her mama...


Coen and Grace giving hugs... (when Grace saw this picture, she said "I wuv Coen" :) ...


"Taking a bwake"...


Taking more of a "bwake" on Mommy...


Checking out Hadley...


The king of the day...


The proud parents...


Time for juice!...


Moving onto Sunday... Just thought she looked extra cute before church!...


That night we had some friends over for Superbowl and of course I didn't get my camera out until the last 30 minutes. I threw Grace in the bath and then brought her down to play more with her new crush, Owen. The greasy face is from the Vaseline I smeared all over her! :) ....


Playing Elefun with Owen!...


Hope everyone had a great weekend! We have another busy one coming up, so better get some rest this week. ha ha. I think we got maybe 3 or 4 inches of snow last night? The streets look decent, but the wind is whipping!!! Might just have to stay in the rest of the day! Stay warm!!

Gymboree Day!

I decided to get some new Gymboree pics at class this morning! This is still one of her favorite things we do each week. Sorry some of the pictures may be blurry... she seriously doesn't stop moving when we're there. Wednesdays are usually great nap days!

Down the slide!...


Their morning circle led by "Miss Susie"... Grace's favorite teacher!...



Listening carefully to what they will be "playing" today. Today the theme was "mail".


Grace is the first one to run up there and count what's in the picture when Miss Susie asks... then she looks back at me and grins... aren't you so proud mama? Of course I am my little boo! :)...


Although they aren't really smiling here, this is one of Gracie's good buddies, Karly, who happens to be the daughter of one of my great friends from high school!...


Mail in the mailbox!...


Getting those packages shipped!...


Riding the rocking horse with a buddy!...


Pushing the gigantic ball with Kenley...


Jumping (well trying to anyway)....


Bubbles!!!!...




Under the parachute!...


Dancin' girl...


Giving Gymbo the clown a kiss!...


Gymbo stamps!...


Chillin' on the couch with her yogert drink watching Yo Gabba Gabba... our daily ritual before nap!....


I LOVE Gymboree. Not only has it been awesome for socializing her with peers and getting the idea of having a "teacher", but what a great place to play and they incorporate music with about everything. I highly recommend it! They're all over the place, so check your area!

Snow!

Yes, snow! About a whole inch of snow! :) I told Nate I feel like my friends in Tennessee taking their kids out to play in one inch of snow- he! he! Love you all! Ususally we get much more than them, but I think they are getting more snow than us this year! Grace didn't care... she just wanted to play in it. So, of course, we bundled up for 20 minutes to get about 30 minutes of play. That's just how it works, isn't it? Always makes for some great pictures though! ...












This is Grace last year in the same outfit! We did have to buy new bibs and snow boots this year though!...


Here's a real St. Louis snow storm going on in the backround when Grace was just a few months old... I still love this picture!


Stay warm out there!!!

GG is 83!

Last night we celebrated GG's 83rd Birthday!! It was also a birthday party for Jessie but she had to stay home with a sick baby Jackson. We missed you Jessie!

Here are some snapshots of the evening over at my parent's house...

GG getting ready to blow out her candle!...


GG and Grace who would not smile....


Grace holding baby Hadley... can you see how much Grace is beaming??? ....


GG with all of her great-grandkids minus Jackson who apparently is being filled in by Diego next to Grace....


Studying her blocks...


GG and Hadley...


So sweet!...


Grace LOVES Hadley... can you tell? ...



I just can't help it... I had to keep taking her picture!....


It was a fun night! Happy Birthday GG and Jessie!!!!

Buh Bye Boot!

That's right! We went to Dr. Meyers yesterday, and Grace was cleared to take off the boot for good! They did a couple of X-rays and the bone is not all the way healed yet, but enough to keep the boot off. She'll just have to wear shoes for protection over the next couple of weeks until it's completely healed. She was such a good sport about it- only complained maybe once. I think it bugged me more than it bugged her.

Nana came over for a little bit after the doctor visit... don't look at me or anything you two :) ...


Then we went to lunch while the freezing cold front blew in. Grace took a nap, and then J. David came over to play! We watched him for a little while his mommy headed to a quick Dr. visit. Grace was SO excited when she woke up from her nap to find her buddy over! They got every toy out in the family room in no time....



I love how they are starting to play so good together... makes it fun for everyone! We're going to check out Grace's pre-school on Thursday and will hopefully get her signed up for 2 mornings a week starting next September. That doesn't seem possible that she's ready for pre-school, but I really think she will love it. She now loves to go to "class" as she calls it at church all by herself, so I'm feeling OK about her handling pre-school next year. Fun! Fun!

Hope you're all staying warm! I was getting used to the 40 degrees... the 20's just aren't cutting it for me! :)

More from Max...

I still get the weekly e-mails from Max Lucado's website... I love the way he puts things. This one tugged at my heart and thought I would share....

The Living Room:
When Your Heart Needs a Father

by Max Lucado
"Our Father who is in heaven …” With these words Jesus escorts us into the Great House of God. Shall we follow him? There is so much to see. Every room reveals his heart, every stop will soothe your soul. And no room is as essential as this one we enter first. Walk behind him as he leads us into God’s living room.

Sit in the chair that was made for you and warm your hands by the fire which never fades. Take time to look at the framed photos and find yours. Be sure to pick up the scrapbook and find the story of your life. But please, before any of that, stand at the mantle and study the painting which hangs above it.

Your Father treasures the portrait. He has hung it where all can see.

Stand before it a thousand times and each gaze is as fresh as the first. Let a million look at the canvas and each one will see himself. And each will be right.

Captured in the portrait is a tender scene of a father and a son. Behind them is a great house on a hill. Beneath their feet is a narrow path. Down from the house the father has run. Up the trail the son has trudged. The two have met, here, at the gate.

We can’t see the face of the son; it’s buried in the chest of his father. No, we can’t see his face, but we can see his tattered robe and stringy hair. We can see the mud on the back of his legs, the filth on his shoulders and the empty purse on the ground. At one time the purse was full of money. At one time the boy was full of pride. But that was a dozen taverns ago. Now both the purse and the pride are depleted. The prodigal offers no gift or explanation. All he offers is the smell of pigs and a rehearsed apology: “Father, I have sinned against God and done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21).

He feels unworthy of his birthright. “Demote me. Punish me. Take my name off the mailbox and my initials off the family tree. I am willing to give up my place at your table.” The boy is content to be a hired hand. There is only one problem. Though the boy is willing to stop being a son, the father is not willing to stop being a father.

Though we can’t see the boy’s face in the painting, we can’t miss the father’s. Look at the tears glistening on the leathered cheeks, the smile shining through the silver beard. One arm holds the boy up so he won’t fall, the other holds the boy close so he won’t doubt.

“Hurry!” he shouts. “Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get our fat calf and kill it so we can have a feast and celebrate. My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost but now he is found!” (Luke 15:22–24).

How these words must have stunned the young man, “My son was dead …” He thought he’d lost his place in the home. After all, didn’t he abandon his father? Didn’t he waste his inheritance? The boy assumed he had forfeited his privilege to sonship. The father, however, doesn’t give up that easily. In his mind, his son is still a son. The child may have been out of the house, but he was never out of his father’s heart. He may have left the table, but he never left the family. Don’t miss the message here. You may be willing to stop being God’s child. But God is not willing to stop being your Father.

From The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997) Max Lucado

Catch up...

Before I write anything else.... you've gotta check out this potty chart...


Impressive, eh? :) We decided to go with the "let's see how many stickers she can stick on this paper before the little piece of tape at the top gives out" method. Working so far!

We have been BUSY since we've gotten back! Just last weekend alone, I had a baby shower and 2 kid birthday parties to attend... nutso! But fun! Here's a little catch-up for you...

Grace is making us laugh more every day. The stuff that comes out of her mouth is hilarious! Especially in her little voice... just tonight while I was getting her ready for bed, she said these random things...

"I had a good day today mommy!"
"Mommy has green eyes and Gracie has blue eyes."
"I fall every day!" (this is true and was said right after she fell!)
"Night Night daddy... See you next night!"
"I love you soooooo much!"

She's a total sweetie! We've had a few "terrible two" challenges here and there, but for the most part, she is superb. Her latest thing is when she doesn't want to do something, instead of the typical 2 "no!", Grace says "No way Hosea!" :)

Here she is in the bath tonight... just being herself!...



Always pretending and making up songs... I love it!....




Such a stinker. Hope you're having a good week! I'm going to go see if my DVR recorded American Idol for me! :)