Cinderella

Every year since before I can remember we have gone to the Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing to see their children's productions. In keeping with tradition, we are introducing it to the new generation in our family. We met my grandparents along with my uncle and his girlfriend to see Cinderella. My uncle was even chosen to dance with the ugly stepsisters at the ball.

Afterwards you are invited to meet the cast in the lobby and get their autographs. This was the first time Emma was actually interested in meeting them. She was a little shy at first, but by time she'd made it down the line to Cinderella she was ready for a photo op.

 

I have very fond memories of all the shows I have seen here. I love that I am able to share it with my kiddos too!

 Grandma and Grandpa

 Not a great shot, but the best I got of the crew

Thanksgiving 2014

 Sadly, this is the only pic I got of my kiddos for Thanksgiving. We actually had a low key day with just my mom, Joe and the boys, but I never managed to get out my camera. This photo was actually taken with my mom's phone I think. It's too bad too because they looked adorable!

Jason only came Wednesday night to Thursday, but the kids and I stayed a few extra days. We decided to get a jump start on our holiday baking. And really, by we I mean my mom and Emma.They wore cute matching aprons. The smaller version used to be mine. A certain young lady is all about the camera these days so we had to take a few snap shots first. 

 

As you can see, it quickly got out of control. Grandma also caught this cute boy's mug while he was painting in the bathtub. Pretty sure those crayons are supposed to be for the wall. He decided to adorn a tribal look instead. Looks like he gave grandma a makeover as well.

 

Meanwhile, we used a giant cake pan to keep the littlest lady happy. As long as we could keep the dogs away from scarfing up vast amounts of cheerios life was good. This allowed me to partake in a little of the baking festivities. Now I have a freezer full of goodies ready for all the Christmas parties on our calendar.

Woman's Devotional

I have been looking for a devotional that I would enjoy. One that I would want to reach for each morning, not simply because I had to, but because it spoke to me. Something that I could glean information from that would be applicable in my day to day life. And let's be honest here, as a mom of three active little ones, it needed to be brief. When this devotional came across my email I knew I needed to give it a shot. 

Photo credit: Amazon



I love the brief daily devotions. Each one includes a devotion that is about a paragraph long, two bibles verses and a short prayer. I wish they had used the same translation for all the verses. However, that is pretty minor and just a personal preference. I have been reading it for about a week now and really enjoy it. Most of the topics are easy to relate to. It isn't a struggle to read every day either. I am thankful for one more way to dig deeper into God's word!

Thanks to Bethany House publishers who sent me a free copy. It is not required that I give a positive review, but to express my own opinions of this book 

Road Trip!

Jason decided the Commander *needed* a set of tracks, especially if this winter shapes up to be anything like last year. He found a set on Craigslist, but they were in Wisconsin. Turns out it was also time to get more food for the mink. Which we purchase in Wisconsin. We decided to load the truck up a make a very short mini-vacay out of it.

Friday night we hit the road, with the three littles snuggled in the back. They each had their own tv screen thanks to some dear friends who loaned us an extra set. Seriously, I don't think we would have survived without them! We didn't reach our hotel until late. Like 11:30 late. And miss Elissa is the most inflexible sleeper ever. So I stayed up for another 1.5 hours trying to get her to sleep while every once else had the chance to snooze.

Since it was a rough night, I sent Jason on ahead with the truck and trailer to get the goods. I called for a later checkout and did something we never do. Room service! What else was I going to do with 3 small children in a fancy hotel with no vehicle to leave?!? Thankfully, we use credit card points for all our hotel stays, so I was able to justify the outrageous cost of a plate of pancakes :) The kids enjoyed breakfast in bed while watching cartoons. Another first for them.

When they finished their food we threw on suits and headed to the pool. I had to get a few shots of Elissa in her adorable suit a friend recently handed down to us. It fits now, but I don't think it will last too much longer. Unfortunately after our little photo shoot, my sweet girl threw up all over the hotel room. Not sure if she was coming down with something or just indulged in too much breakfast. Needless to say, she sat on my lap and splashed in the water while her big bro and sis went swimming.

Jason returned shortly after we finished up at the pool. I had hoped to stop in Chicago on the way home, but everyone was cranky and tired so we decided to keep on rolling. Even though it wasn't much of a trip, it was a nice break from the traditional day to day grind.

It Returns

When I was little I loved winter time. Sledding, ice skating, igloos built by my dad. However, as I grow older some of the magic continues to fade each year. Lugging kiddos in 12 layers to and from the car. Maneuvering an overflowing shopping cart through deep slush in the Meijer parking lot. Simply trying to get my van out.of.my.driveway. Many of these everyday tasks make it less appealing.

 

Last week we got our first snowfall of the year. On my way to our weekly playgroup a dude fishtailed and slid his car all the way down my driver side. Not cool. Luckily no one was harmed. The van still runs and drives fine. This week mother nature is continuing to bless us with more. Lots more.

I am praying that this isn't a sign of things to come for the rest of the season. It's not even Thanksgiving yet-it may be a long winter!

Good Company

This past weekend we had some special visitors. My cousin Lindsey and her daughter Haddie came to stay with us Sunday night. Elissa and Haddie are only about 5 months apart so they had a blast playing together. To say they are busy is an understatement. It was hard to get many pictures of them because they were always on the move.

 Having friends over is hard work

 

The big kids loved playing with Miss Haddie too. She is such a sweetheart. Growing up, Linds and I were very close. I pray that our children are able to share that special bond as well!

My Little Daisy

Emma officially became a girl scout tonight! This is uncharted waters for me since I was never in girls scouts, but I'm hoping it's a positive experience for her. So far she loves it. I am extremely proud of this little lady!

If you need cookies in the future, you now know who to ask :)

Little Sicky

My poor boy came down with croup yesterday. He was doing fine all morning until we were at a coffee date with some friends. Figures. I had no idea he was sick or I wouldn't have exposed other little peeps! He was running around the room playing and all of a sudden he came running to me, climbing in my lap. Through tears he told me he wanted to go home to take a nap. His breathing sounded off to me. So we loaded up. He was asleep before we left the parking lot.

Once home I wanted to hold him while he slept so I could keep a better eye on him, but he wanted nothing to do with that. He got worked up and his breathing got worse. After talking with the doctor's office, they told me to bring him right in. Everyone back into the car.

The doctor walked in the room, heard his breathing and declared we had our first case of croup. Since it was only 4:00 in the afternoon, she was worried how bad it may get by bedtime. She sent us straight to the ER to get a breathing treatment, some steroids and have him monitored for a few hours.

Can I just say sitting in an ER room for three hours with a two year old and a one year old is not fun?!? I brought in our dvd player from the car so Easton was happy to watch for a little bit, but all Elissa wanted to do was get down. The last place I wanted her playing was on the floor. Yuck.

Thankfully the steroids worked very quickly and we were able to go home a few hours later. Easton was not a fan of the breathing treatment so I pray we don't have to do that again any time soon! He slept well last night, with no flair ups. Can't say the same for mommy. Sick kiddos make me anxious! Praying he is over it soon and we don't have to go back.