** SiLlY sUnDaY **

It is SILLY SUNDAY again......I think this is my favorite day of the week. It is usually church filled with a very silly day afterwards! However, starting next week Chris and I are starting classes two services in a row, so we decided to go to church last night, and take this Sunday to be silly ALL day, since we will be consumed the next six weeks with classes.....those on top of a Tuesday night class! We will be busy, plus he starts on a different shift this week....which always takes time for all of us to adjust to!

Today was beautiful out with temps near 50 degrees or more (haven't had time to get in the exact degrees yet)....so Chris cleaned the garage while Lyza and I played on the swingset.....then we came in for a bit to have lunch and headed back out to stack up some firewood and pick up sticks to crunch up to start our fires with! We played with sidewalk chalk, cleaned up the yard and Lyza (as you can see below) did some sledding. No...we have no snow, but she had fun anyways! Yep, as always, there are some "screaming photos"....I mean, it just wouldn't be a complete day without some four year old whining ;-) She is cute even when she whines! ((Smiles))

The day is ending and winding down with "Alvin and the Chipmunks" the Squeakquel....for us! I hear the weather is supposed to turn for those of us here in Indiana and other states tomorrow night and on into the week. My parents are just a few hours away from us and their forecast looks much worse than our.....I know my dad would kill me....but I did make the suggestion to Chris that we go for a visit and conveniently get stuck! We got an ice storm a few years ago and it sounded like a warzone outside! It was crazy! I don't hope for that....but I did have Chris bring some more firewood up in case the electricity should go out...or in case we do get stuck at home it is always nice to have a fire going. That is the one thing I love about this houe is the coziness and the fun we having in this living room on rainy/snowy days! It transforms to a wonderfully made fort and playroom filled with laughter and games!

Rainboots, a sled and some leaves!

My Sweetheart

She wrote her own name.....

She is such a big girl.....L/Y/Z/A

"Linus"

"Chloe"

Lyza loves to make tents in all the rooms....on this day she made it in her room, played with her bright-light and pulled out the make up trunk! Isn't she pretty?

~ Mommy boots and Lyza boots ~

~~ MaDiSyN `~

Here are a few photos of Madisyn from her formal dance tonight. I thought she looked super cute as always!

sAtUrDaY

It's Saturday.....2 am to be exact! Ugggg...one of those sleepless nights, but thankfully I am about to crash soon...(I hope), so to distract myself and make myself a little more drowsy, I thought I'd write! So, if you find a lot of typos, don't worry.....I'll go back over it in the morning...and fix it all up! ;-)

What an exciting day! Chris and I get to go grocery shopping ALONE! Yep, no 4 yr old whining to put everything in the cart or eat it as we go! Yep, a whole few hours to bargain/compare prices -- we are really into this saving right now ya know -- and make our selections.....dare I say it? ~~ Kid Free~~

We have a babysitter for a few hours and then after we get the groceries home....we will go pick her and Lyza up to come over to our house for a "girly" day....then we will probably go to church (not sure yet) or just hang out in our jammies and then attend service during one of the Sunday Services. We'll see! I am looking forward to having a few girls in the house...homemade chili...some fun wii dancing and a couple of movies!

Tonight is also Madisyn's "Snowball" dance......the one I bought the Christmas dress for. I had a new headband to send her that I partially made out of rhinestones but I can't find my paper that has the dates of events at her school so the headband had not been sent yet, I was going to send it in her Valentines package! I hate that she wont' get to wear it, but I know she'll be stunning just the same! She wanted me to send it, but it would take my van driving all the way to PA to hand deliver it. OH how I wish I could. You have NO idea how I wish I could.......I'd give just about anything, anything at all to help her get ready and dolled up for her big night. To see the glitter in her hair, the smile on her face, the gleam in her eye, those items...., my friend, are priceless to a mother. Simply Priceless. So even though I am not right there physically with you Maddy.....you are right here in my heart, and I am in yours. You make me happy, you make me proud of the beautiful young lady that you have become and what you will still become in the future! These are the best years of your life...enjoy every minute! I know at times they can seem like they are the worst...but they aren't, again I cannot stress enough, enjoy every minute! I will, of course, post photos as soon as I can.

Life is full of happy tears and sad tears....this is definatly a combination of both!

! Blessings !

Favorite Foto Friday

We have reached FRIDAY again! Yahoo! You can link up and see more FFF-Photos on my FFF sidebar link!

This weeks theme was "pick your own" so I thought I'd update with some recent snow pic's! The princess loves the snow!!! Love it and loves to throw snowballs.....she also LOVES to pull the sled vs ride in the sled most of the time! Crazy child! Whatever makes her happy I guess....because nothing warms a mother's heart like hearing her childrens laughter and seeing smiles on their faces!

Lyza AFTER playing in the snow! Yes...she has a bed, but more often than not, we find her curled up on the floor with her blankets and she often makes a tent! ;-)

Some favorite SNOW photos!

Enjoy and have a blessed weekend!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday!

Sometimes God calms the storm...

Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child.

Pain is a priceless essential gift- of that I have no doubt. And yet only by learning to master pain can we keep it from mastering us. It is very hard for us as humans comprehend any type of pain to be in a good way....I know this far to well from my own experience and from watching others close to me suffer with everyday pain and/or occassional pain. I take pride in reading this by William James though "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.". I have found, through my pain has come knowledge and wisdom in certain circumstances...for this I am thankful.

God is absent from the world, excet in the existence in this world of those in whom his love is alive. Therefore they ought to be in the world through compassion. Their compassion is the visible presence of God here below. ~~ Simone Weil

"When you are in love, you put up with things that, when you are out of love you cite."

The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.

"God creates out of nothing. Therefore until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.
~ MLK

Happiness in the older years of your life, like happiness in every year of life, is a matter of choice ~ YOUR CHOICE FOR YOURSELF!

Like every day, today is a choice....your choice! Make it count! Count your blessings.... ~~ Misty

TimeWarp Tuesday - LYZA ;-)

It is hard to believe that exactly four years ago, we were in Guatemala meeting our baby girl, Lyza for the first time...and that our few weeks there was just about to come to an end! It is hard to believe that she was placed in our arms at only 2 mos old...and now four years has flown by! She was born with a full head of thick, curly hair.....which we all know she still has! It was soft then, I could actually, kinda comb it and could certainly part it! So we THOUGHT it was thick then.....nothing in comparison to what it is now! ;-) She is full of life.....way full of life! I wish I had just a portion of her energy and enthusiasm. She certainly keeps our lives very full and on the go! She was meant exactly for us...and we know that was God's plan. She fits perfectly in our family...without an ounce of question about it! She is indeed an angel!

Enjoy the photos of her from "big" to "little"!