Watch out!

Bakerella, you have inspired me. I'm going to attempt these for Easter day. Wish me luck!

"Little Mexico"

Well, Matthew and I decided, finally, where we are going to go on our vacation.

It's not Mexico.

It's not Vegas (although, THANK YOU for all of the comments! It just wasn't financially the best for us).

We are going to, as my friend Clair calls it, Little Mexico.
Yep, San Antonio.

Matthew has never been (WHAT!?!). I have been many, many times...but never with my favorite person.

We will drop the girls off in Fort Worth, with my mom, and then drive the rest of the way.

Because there is no flight to pay for we are able to stay in a pretty nice hotel.

I am just so excited to get to spend some time ALONE with Matthew and REST.

Hurry up July!

Still enjoying her birthday...

Nora's Aunt Beth sent her a check for her birthday last month. Nora's accountant finally cashed it and we went to the store today for her to pick out some presents.

Her gifts: a golf set, a Princess kite, bubbles, pink shovel, and Princess Memory game

Thanks Aunt Beth!!!!!

Spring?

I had to check my calendar this morning to make sure it really is March 28th.

Because it was snowing outside this morning!!!

Nora saw the snow and asked, "Is Santa coming?"

Elyn saw the big, giant flakes falling from the sky and pointed outside and asked, "Bubbles?". No, silly girl, those aren't bubbles falling from the sky.

Interesting "spring" weather!

What happens in Vegas....

We (me and Matthew) are planning a vacay for this summer. It's "adults only"...no kids allowed.

We were thinking of going to Mexico.

Our passports have expired (mine still has my maiden name on it) and it would be an extra expense to get those.

Since we are only going to be gone for about 3 nights, I wanted to spend as much time at our destination as possible.

The flights are ridiculous. To get a good price, we will have to depart the US at 10pm and arrive in Mexico at 5am and then leave Mexico at 7:30 am to return to the US. Basically, we were going to be spending 2 days traveling on our 4 day vacation.

Plan B...Vegas Baby!

Neither of us have ever been and there are a TON of hotels to choose from. I am turning to my blogging friends once again.

If you have been, what hotel do you recommend? What is a must see/do?

I know you won't let me down!!!

Spring Break Fun!

Although our spring break is not officially over, we are home from our visit to Mississippi and to Little Rock. So, this is what we have been doing...

On our way to Mississippi last week, we stopped in LR to eat lunch with Matthew's sister, Julia, Julia's husband, Brian, and our nephew, NOAH. It was our first time to see him since his birth. If you remember, we didn't get to hold him because those strict NICU docs wouldn't let him out of his special bed. We enjoyed our hour with him. Nora LOVED him and insisted on holding him right away. I think, when the time comes to add a new baby to our family,one day, she is going to be way more into being a big sister.

We enjoyed our time in Mississippi, visiting Pops and LeeLee. Nora loves Pops and LeeLee. Elyn really didn't like Pops until the very last day of our visit. She's in an anti-man stage right now.

The girls eat at the bar for their meals when we are at their house. These poor cushions have definitely seen their better days. LeeLee was looking at recovering them. I hope she holds our for a few more years because lots of kids are going to be using these.

These are the girls after church Sunday.

The dress that Elyn is wearing was once worn by her Aunt Julia! It's held up pretty good for being about 3 decades old.

Pops and LeeLees house is not the most "kid friendly". I am nervous each time we go, wondering, what is going to be destroyed this time. Thankfully, they have this leather couch that is a great trampoline. Both girls loved running and jumping on it and Pops and LeeLee encouraged them to jump! Their bulldog, Sam, runs and jumps all over it too, so Nora and Elyn weren't going to hurt it anymore than a 75 pound dog.

Because of their couch, I know that leather couches are almost indestructible! If you have one, don't be afraid to break it in!

They got a pool in the fall and we are SO excited! Even though it was only 75 degrees outside, 3 members of my family still broke the pool in. The water was freezing...from what I hear.

Nora lay like this for about 15 minutes after getting out of the pool and her lips were a light shade of blue. But, she insisted on getting back in the next day.

One of our favorite things to do at night is to go out on the golf course and let the girls run around. Nora loves to go to all the flags and put the golf balls in.

We went to the Hattiesburg Zoo this time. We have never been and had pretty low expectations. Jim (Pops) kept saying, "Cats and dogs, cats and dogs...that's all we expect". When went on a train ride first off. Nora loved the zoo just because of the train and was content to have just done that.

But, she was excited to go see the animals too!

I have never been to a zoo where you could see the animals so close up. Literally, the only thing that separate you from the animal is plexi-glass. Nora was enjoying looking at the jaguar, until...

he got a little bit too close. She did not want to get close after that!

She is becoming such a big helper, always wanting to help with anything involving Elyn.

A rarity...a family picture!

Cute picture of Matthew and Elyn, but not the reason for the picture...see that little girl in the background? Isn't she a cutie? Well, LeeLee, wasn't really paying attention and felt that little girl walk by her and assumed it was Elyn and picked her up. It was hilarious! Thankfully, the little girls grandpa thought it was funny too and didn't turn us into the cops.

Ahhhh, there's the right little girl!

And then, just about an hour before we were going to leave, Elyn warmed up to Pops. She must have known we were about to leave.

On our way back to Arkansas, we stopped in Monroe, LA to visit my friend, Karie and her kids. This is her youngest, Eden.

I have been friends with Karie since I was 8 years old! That is a long time people! We met at camp our first year as campers and never looked back. We wrote letters to each other during the year, were bunkmates at camp every summer, the best spades partners you have ever seen, buddies at swimtime, washed dishes together as assistant counselors, went to Africa together, we were suitemates in college, in each others weddings, and see each other at least once a year. God blessed me 24 years ago by putting us both in Cabin 1.

Here are our girls...Nora and Krimson. They first met when Nora was 10 weeks old and Krimson was 10 days old. Maybe one day, they'll be bunkmates at camp.

Elyn had fun playing on the playground too!

Who knew this would be our picture 24 years ago? Karie and her kids (L to R), Krimson, Eden, Jude, and Adam. Love you Karie! You are such a great mom!!!!

Before we headed home, we stopped in LR again for a few days. And guess who Nora loved staring at? This little guy.

Elyn wanted to constantly touch him too...she was less gentle.

Noah was having so much fun in his activity gym that Nora and Elyn wanted to try it out too.

Look at how big he is getting!

I will add some more pictures later, as I have accidentally deleted several while writing this. Grrrr. We have a few more days left of spring break, one of which is supposed to have snow! Crazy spring.

Getting our work done

Hanging out in Little Rock, checking our email.

Where in the world...

Hello all. I'm still alive.

However, I'm not blogging right now...although, technically, right this second, I am.

I am enjoying my Spring Break with my family.

When it is over, I will return.

I miss you and will see you Friday.

I'm lucky!

to have these little leprechans in my life...

The amount of carbs I ate is in direct proportion to the whining I heard today

I'm exhausted.

My house is clean. Sanitized.

Every single piece of clothing in my house is clean.

Everyone has clean sheets.

I listened to an extraordinary amount of whining today. Enormous amount.

I'm pretty sure I gained 4 pounds today. Every time Elyn cried and whined, I drowned it out with some form of carb.

I'm going to regret that tomorrow and feel guilty about it.

Right now though, both girls are sound asleep, I am about to finish the dishes.

Then, when Matthew gets home, I'm going to go for a jog.

Because I think my carb intake today is what marathon runners usually ingest before their Olympic races.

Amazing Race update tomorrow. Stay tuned!

There is nothing like the smell of vomit, first thing in the morning

Here I sit, at 7:07am, laptop balanced on my lap, in the bathroom. Elyn is splashing in the tub.

The poor girl has thrown up 3 times since 5:45am this morning.

I ask you, as a mom, is there a better way to be woken up? I think not (do you detect a hint of sarcasm? Just a touch?).

I am praying that she is done. Oh, please be done!!!!

I can't stand the smell. Especially when I smell like it too.

Happy Monday!

Women of Faith

This weekend I have been at the Women of Faith conference in Kansas City, MO with my mom, sister, and other women from my church.

It has been AMAZING! I have been attending these conferences for quite a few years. My first one to attend was in 1997, so this wasn't my first rodeo.

What made it so incredible? First off, this guy...

You might not recognize him, due to picture quality. But, this is Mr. Steven Curtis Chapman. You might remember this story that happened less than a year ago. He talked about his family and how they have been coping with the loss of his daughter. He was so sincere and open in his conversation. Tears were streaming down my face by the time he was done. And boy is he a fantastic singer!
This is me and Marty this morning at the beginning of the conference. My mom didn't get to go because she was sick. I hated it that she missed it, because like I said, it was the best conference I have been to in the history of going to these things. Hopefully she can make the one in Dallas in August.

Thankfully, she was feeling better by the time was conference was over and was ready to head for dinner.

We went to Grinder's. It has been featured on Food Network and is super!!!!!

Can you tell we were thrilled to be there?

This piece of art was right outside the restaurant. So funny!
And then, we were heading back to our hotel and saw the Crayola Factory. How FUN!!!
Except that it closed at SIX PM on SATURDAY night. Seriously? Do all kids in Kansas City go to bed at 6 o'clock? I was sad it was closed because it really did look like it was a fun place. Oh well.

I head back home tomorrow. I miss my little family!

Look at the Women of Faith website to see if there is a conference coming near you! I'm sure that you will be uplifted by it as well!