Mother's Day

I think I've come to love the month of May.  First of all- it's a beautiful time of the year! Second of all, my birthday is in the first week.  Third of all, Mother's Day is the following weekend.  And then to top it all off, Memorial Day weekend comes and I get to spend an entire weekend with some of my favorite people on the planet.

This morning I woke up to two sick little girls.  I promptly went back to bed.  An hour later I woke up to the smell of strong, dark coffee and monkey bread.  Yes!

Then, the card.  How sweet! I look forward to many more years of homemade cards!

Then, the gift.  I wasn't expecting anything, not after last week and the gift of our new tent.  But my man knows me well.  And he bought me not one but two new stock pots for all the soup I make.  I no longer have to borrow my friend Mel's pot!

So, we're skipping church, since the girls are sick, and laying low, but I kind of love it.  All four of us are still in our pajamas!  We'll have dinner with my mom and dad later on but for now, it's just us.

So- Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there! Hope you find a way to enjoy this lovely day!

Yes, Mama, I'm ready for my rest

I've always heard stories of people who's kids fall asleep in the high
chair and I think to myself, "how does that happen? My kid would never do that".  Until one day, when she did.  Audrey Lou. You crack me up.

Greta "reading" You Are My Sunshine

This video was taken on February 8th but it still melts my heart every time I see it. 
Plus- check out Audrey hanging out on the couch.  Q.T.Pie.
And don't check out my hair/pajamas.  It's the way I roll. Don't judge me.

St. Patrick's Day 2012 (only a couple of months late!)

I can't believe I never blogged about one my favorite holidays of all time.

St. Patrick's Day!

We had an awesome celebration this year!  Jon and Briseida (who were just engaged at the time but are now married!  Woot- woot! that's another blog though!) came up to spend the weekend with us and we informed them that they would have to wear all green and march with us in our parade.  They were up for it.  That's one of the few reasons why I love them.

So we dressed the girls up and headed downtown.

Audrey Lou in a handmade outfit! The headband is the newest addition!

Greta Elise showing off her shamrock face paint!

My niece Isabelle Eve!

Our little family of four!

MacDonald Clan! Love these people so much!

28

28! I'm 28 years old!  It feels great!
I had a lovely birthday this year.  Simple, but lovely.  My family and my man's family all pitched in and bought us a new tent!  It's this giant 10 person tent that will successfully fit a queen size air bed, a pack and play, and this cute blow up air mattress for Greta.  I can't wait for Memorial Day weekend so we can try it out! Along with the tent I was showered with beautiful words from friends and lovely gifts.  I am blessed.

When your birthday rolls around do you ever think about where you thought you'd be by this age? Or what you'd be doing?  I do.

So- where did I think I'd be at 28?
Exactly where I am. 

• I wanted to get married young.  Luckily I met my man at 14 (don't worry- we didn't start dating until I was 20).  We got married when I was 22 years old and I couldn't be happier.
• I wanted to be a teacher.  I graduated college at 22 and was able to land a teaching job the following year.  I was able to do it for two years before choosing to stay home with my children. 
• I wanted to be a mother.  Dan and I got pregnant with Greta in December of '08 and had her the day after our third anniversary.  Then we got the loveliest surprise of all with another baby due the following year.  Audrey joined our family when I was 26 and she is absolutely delightful. 
• I wanted to own a home.  Something about having your own place meant a lot to me and it was a goal I had.  Done. 
• I really wanted to be a strong Christian with a life that looked like the life I talked about.  I'm still not there but hope to be :) Just a work in progress I guess.

So now what? Two more years before the big 3-0.
Enjoy life.  And what's left of my twenties.

Easter, 2012 style

We got to host Easter again this year!
It's a new tradition that started a few years ago and I absolutely love it. So much so, that it keeps me up at night planning and preparing for the big day. I LOVE having people in my house. I love cooking for people. I love decorating with memorable supplies that will light my Grandmother's face up!

Both my man and I have a heart to welcome all to our table. We have been so blessed by God that it's only fair to share with others, right? So we always invite friends. Friends who don't have family in town. Friends who are single and needing a place to go. Friends who we like to spend time with. Really, anyone can come. It's so much fun. And then both our families come. Mine from around the cities and Dan's from KS.

It's a full house and I wouldn't have it any other way. There were 20 adults this year and 5 kids! We had an Easter egg hunt courtesy of my dear friend Mel. We had ham, egg dish, potato dish, pineapple casserole, rolls, and plenty of sweets to go around. We drank Mimosas courtesy of my dear friend Shelby and strong, dark coffee. We had a tres leche cake that will rock your world. Seriously- I highly recommend it. Invite me over when you make it as a taste tester. I'll bring some coffee. Yum.

It was delightful.

But the best part.

The prayer before the meal. My man said grace and in his words of Thankfulness to our Lord and Savior he said this simple statement, "Thank you for dying for us. Without you our lives are nothing". I can't stop thinking about how true he is. Without an eternal focus on Christ and the blessings he's poured out on us, we're inwardly focused and prideful.

Oh Easter- I love the reminder of Spring, New life, and true Joy that you bring.

Audrey Lou and her Mama