A Life of Gratitude

At almost 33 weeks pregnant, it is very hard to paint my toe nails. Dylan overheard me telling Bryan that I really needed a pedicure and he decided that he and Evan would do a wonderful job painting my toe nails! He begged and begged so, this tender-hearted Momma said "okay!" This evening the boys had their first experience painting nails. I wish I could say they did a great job but that wouldn't be truthful. They had nail polish everywhere!! It took at least 5 tissues and 20 q-tips smothered in nail polish remover to get the polish off of my feet. I left what they painted on the nails and then they added some glitter, which meant I had to clean up the glitter off of my toes too. I didn't care! It was so much fun to watch them. They really tried to do their best and they were truly serving me. They were pretty proud of the finished product too! I have one orange foot and one pink foot, both with glitter! He picked orange...his favorite color! Evan picked

My sister in law, Christie, and my best friend, Melissa, threw the most amazing shower for me this afternoon! There were cute little owls all over the house! I love seeing pink, purple, and yellow everywhere too! We had a house full of family and friends, ate lots of yummy food, played games, and opened tons of presents. Everyone even wrote special words of encouragement and advice for me, since I'll be the Mommy of a little girl for the first time very soon. Oh, how I loved reading those sweet words this evening! It was so much fun to have so many ladies in my home celebrating this new little life! It was absolutely perfect! Melissa, Me and Christie. They threw a fabulous shower! The cupcakes were amazing! Look at this baby carriage!! The food was so yummy! I love all the pink! I got so many nice gifts! Who's bigger?? My sister, Lynn,  and me comparing baby bumps! Today I am thankful for the sweet friends and family that have blessed me so. If

"Whenever the rainbow  appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant  between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9:16 Tonight Bryan and I saw the most amazing rainbow behind the pond that is beside our house. It was absolutely gorgeous. I can honestly say that I have never seen a real rainbow like that one before. The colors were so vibrant and it went across the entire sky. There was also a faint double rainbow, that doesn't really show up in the pictures. The pictures are pretty but they don't do it justice at all!  Do you know what the rainbow represents? It represents God's covenant with His people. Do you know what the definition of "covenant" is? I wanted to be sure so I looked it up and it means agreement, guarantee, or PROMISE! I love the word promise. When I see a rainbow I am always reminded of God's promises. In the last month there has been one of these b

 A couple of weeks ago my sweet husband surprised me with a groupon for "Tea for Two" at the JH Adams Hotel. He bought it especially for me and my best friend, Melissa, so we could have some time to catch up without all of our little ones around. So today, Melissa and I enjoyed some yummy blueberry acai tea and chocolate covered strawberries. Most of all we enjoyed 2 hours of uninterrupted time to chat! There is nothing like time with girl friends! Today I am thankful for a husband that understands how valuable time with friends is for his wife. I definitely needed some girl time and my hubby provided that for me. What a sweet blessing! I am also thankful for my best friend and the time we were able to spend together. Having a friend to pray with and share life with truly is a gift from our Heavenly Father. I so enjoyed our tea time today! It was a wonderful, much needed break for both of us. 

Today I was showered with lots of love and even more pink in honor of our sweet little Allison! My friend, Alicia, and my sister in law, Darcie, threw a beautiful shower for me. We had a wonderful turn out, lots of yummy food, fun games, and a whole lot of terrific gifts. I think there was at least one pink thing in each bag! I came home with a lot of pink for the first time ever!  Look at that adorable cake! So much yummy food! Playing the "measure the belly" game. Look at that teensy tiny cardigan. I love the owls!! Alicia, Me, and Darcie 31 weeks preggo! I just had to wash the bedding and put it on the bed tonight and Dylan couldn't wait to look through all the gift bags. I think he was just as excited as I was to sort through it all. Its not completely organized but the room is really coming together now! It's so exciting for all of us!! "Awww, look at this one!" "She's gonna love this one!" To

"Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children..." Lamentations 2:19 My church has recently begun a ministry for mothers called Mom2Mom. Today was the first time I was able to attend and it was definitely a blessing to me. We learned about the different personalities of our children and our different parenting styles and how those relate to one another. While I learned a lot through that portion of the morning, there was one thing that our teacher shared that really touched my heart. She said, "Being the perfect parent really doesn't matter but being a praying parent does!" She said that as their Mommies, we will always be our children's biggest cheerleaders, their biggest fans, their best friends, and their biggest protectors but most importantly, we will be their biggest prayer warriors! I know those characteristics don

A few weeks ago Dylan wrote a letter to President Barack Obama. Dylan loves learning about presidents and he thought it was so cool that he could write a letter to the current one. In the letter Dylan shared his love for the presidents and that he wanted to be president one day. We had all forgotten about the letter but today a package arrived in the mail from The White House.  Dylan received a personalized letter, an autographed photo of President Obama, a map of the White House, some activity sheets, and even pictures of the Obama's dogs. He was so excited to open his package!  Dylan's Letter to President Obama This letter arrived today from the white house! An autographed picture! A personalized letter! Today I am thankful to live in a country where my children can dream big! If Dylan wants to be the president one day, that is a wonderful dream that he can pursue! This truly is an amazing country that God has blessed abundantly. We are so privileged

I can't believe that I am 30 weeks pregnant today! At times this pregnancy has crept along but now, when I look back, I cannot believe its been 26 weeks since I took that little test and surprised Bryan with some really BIG news on his birthday!  To celebrate being 30 weeks pregnant, we went to Tiny Toes Prenatal Imaging this morning. The boys, Bryan, and I couldn't wait to see our little girl! We never got to see 3D/4D ultrasound images of the boys so this was a real treat for all of us! My sweet boys and me, ready to see Allison! 30 weeks pregnant! Seeing their baby sister on the screen!! Right away we realized that our sweet baby Allison (as the boys call her) might not cooperate fully. She had her foot in her face and would NOT move it! No matter what I did or how the technician tried to manipulate her, she kept that foot right in front of her face. She even sucked her toes a few times. We did get a few decent shots of her face, although we couldn'

Cow Appreciation Day has become one our family's favorite days! Chick-fil-a celebrates this day each year by allowing customers to dress up as cows and get free food! So today we dressed up in our cow attire and headed to a very crowded nearby Chick-fil-a. It's really amazing how much free food they give away. We got almost $20 in free food, just for our family. That is just one of the reasons we love Chick-fil-a! Waiting on our free food! Say "Mooooo"   Dylan with the Cow! Evan loved the cow! Mama cow with Daddy Cow (I finally got to dress the way I've been feeling lately...as big as a cow!) Today I am thankful for free food!! I'm not embarrassed, we'll dress up as cows for free food any day! Plus, its a fun time for our boys which I am also grateful for. Evan thought it was so much fun! He doesn't remember dressing up as a cow last year. When we were sitting in our booth he kept looking around saying, "I see a whole