It's My Burfday!

I can't believe I'm 31 today...Well, actually I couldn't believe I was 30 last year. Time flies. It seems like it goes by especially fast after you have kids. I don't know why, but it does. Reagan will be 4 soon-WOW!!! I will post b-day pics later today. I just wanted to post these pics that Emily took when I was in AZ last yr. I am soooo excited for their visit in a couple of weeks. Emily, bring your camera if you can. I will pay for the film!

We went up to the mountains to celebrate my birthday this past weekend. It was really cold and windy up there. We took the kids and met up with my sister and her family and my parents. We went to a Japanese steakhouse. (I go there every yr.) And I don't know why I do b/c Reagan is terrified of the cook and "the fire" they make. Cara Grace screamed everytime the cook made the fire! And she screamed when the other tables around us made fire. Oh well, next yr. maybe I'll go to dinner with Austin- alone! We had fun anyway. I was so stuffed, I didn't have room for my cake. But, I suppose that's a good thing!!!

So, tomorrow is the beginning of May and the start of my extremely BUSY month. It's going to be madness, but so much fun! Many things to look forward to in May....

We are possibly going to get a new p&w leader at church. He has been leading worship the past couple of weeks. It has been so wonderful! What a difference one person can make! And yesterday I got a chance to talk with a guy whose organizes missions trips for the church. I am very excited!!! Hopefully we'll get to take a trip next yr. I told him if he ever got a trip together to go to China I would go.... He said that he'd been thinking about that lately. That would be so awesome!! I've wanted to go there for some time now! I hope to be able to go on a trip soon. That would be so great!

I will post some birthday pics later!! Hope you all have a wonderful week! Be Blessed....

A Very Sad Day in History

My heart grieves as I watch the news this week. There were so many thoughts that ran through my head yesterday while watching the memorial service held at Virginia Tech. How could someone do such a thing? What if that were my child? I had to stop and thank God for my salvation and for the Holy Spirit. I praise Him and thank Him for His protection and guidance upon my life and my loved ones. Life is so precious... We never know when it is our "time." And we never know when it is someone else's "time." If we as Christians ever feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to share God's love with someone- then we should do it!!! What are we afraid of? Humiliation or rejection? But on the other side, what do we have to gain? A soul! I'm sure the 32 people that were murdered on the campus of Virginia Tech didn't wake up Monday morning and think, "My life is going to end today..." "Today someone is going to come into my dorm room or classroom and shoot me point blank."

The point is no one ever promised us permanent safety and security in this world. We are not promised tomorrow. Our safety and security is found in the Lord. He alone is our refuge. Ps. 18:2 says, "The Lord is my rock, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
Ps. 27:5 states, "For in the day of trouble He will hide me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

It is my hope that some of the people killed in this awful display of evil knew the Lord. But, what if they didn't? Were they ever approached by a Christian with the choice of accepting Christ? With all this said, let us make the most of every opportunity we have with others to share the love of Christ and His message of salvation.

I'm Bored...

I went to a website called meez.com and made a "me!" Well, it doesn't really look that much like me, but it was fun! So, as you can see, these are all my favorite things- coffee and shopping! Check it out if you're ever bored. Me, I did this at 6:30a.m. while drinking my coffee and trying to wake up!

Good Times

My good friend Kamie has a little boy named Eli that is 10 or 11 weeks younger than Cara Grace. We think they are going to date and get married one day! Ha, Ha! But hey, you never know...:) Anyway, we try and get together about once or twice a week. Here are some pics we took a couple weeks ago of our little darlings! We were cracking up while taking the pictures. Cara Grace kept trying to grab Eli. Maybe she wanted to put him in her mouth. She is teething! Right now she wants to put everything in her mouth! - and chew on it. It is so fun to watch the two babies together. Kamie is such a great friend- I'm glad the Lord allowed our paths to cross. Love ya girl! Oh, and I am sporting Mac makeup in the pic of me and the babies. Kamie gave me a "Mac Makeover." Well, sort of.

Easter Pics

We had such a fun time with family yesterday! We all went to church together and came back to our house for a big Easter lunch. After lunch, we had an Easter Egg hunt in our yard. First, the adults hid the eggs for the kids and then they hid them for us... Reagan had a blast looking for eggs. She'd say, "Oh! Look! Here's one!"- everytime she picked up an egg. The kids got a little more creative with their egg hiding. We had a hard time finding some of them. Probably because they were hidden in strange places- window ledges, cars, ect. But, I found the most eggs in the adult hunt. My "prize" was a spanking. Wow... I didn't get any pics of the girls in their Easter dresses. But, we did go and get professional pics made. They will be here on the 2oth. They got their pics made with a little lamb. It was very fun and cute! Oh, and for those of you that don't know, my sister is pregnant again! Her baby is due at the end of October. She will get an ultrasound on May 4th to find out the gender... I can't wait. They want a boy really bad, we'll see...

Cara Grace

I always seem to blog about Reagan. I guess she "is doing more" than Cara Grace right now. But, my little baby is doing so well. She gives me joy everyday! She has such a happy temperment. Well, as long as she is comfortable and at home. She loves to be at home! And she loves her mommy of course! She is very happy and content. Sunday I fed her some oatmeal cereal for the first time. I am in no hurry to start baby food. She is perfectly happy with her bottle and doesn't seem overly hungry. But, I thought we should probably start introducing a little cereal. So, of course more food ended up on her than in her mouth. Reagan wanted to help feed her so badly. I told her she could when Cara Grace got used to eating from a spoon. I think she enjoyed her first experience with cereal. She was trembling and flapping her arms the whole time I was feeding her. And everytime the spoon got close to her mouth, she would try and grab it! It was funny...Then she got impatient with the whole thing and wanted her bottle.

Tomorrow we go for her four mo. check-up. Which is very late. She turned 5 mo. on Sunday. She will be getting three shots. I hate that! I am curious to see how much she will weigh. She hasn't been weighed in about 2 mo. or so. She is now is 6-9 mo. clothes- she's a big girl! And she is drinking 6-7 oz. of formula every four hours. Most nights she doesn't get up to eat. It just depends on when her last feeding was. But, here lately she's been sleeping all night!

She has rolled from her back to her belly- but no belly to back yet. She is very aware of dangling toys and wants to grab them. Her bouncy seat has a toy bar that you can hook on to the sides so the toys will hang down in front to her. Now when I put the toy bar on, she immediately reaches for them! And she likes to grab handfuls of Reagan's hair whenever she can. Reagan doesn't like this very much though!

So, that is my little update on Cara Grace!

Earring Pics

These pics are in sequence. Before the piercing, during, and after. As you can see, Reagan didn't have a clue about what was really going to happen! :) I was hoping the earring would show up better on the last pic. Oh well, her earrings are pink rhinestone flowers- with a clear rhinestone in the middle of the flower. We must have picked the most expensive earrings, because it wasn't cheap. I asked Reagan this morning if she was going to show off her new earrings at preschool. She said, "No, mommy...I'm not going to take them off." Whatever! Reagan loves her new earrings!

Earrings!

Reagan has been interested in getting her ears pierced for quite some time now...I'm sure she has overheard me talking about getting Cara Grace's ears pierced. That is something I didn't do with Reagan when she was little- (obviously) -and I kind of wish I would have. I think little baby girls look sooo cute with earrings. But, then there's the whole issue of letting the child decide when to get their ears pierced and not making that decision for them. I guess my philosophy on the whole thing is this- most girls are going to want to get this done at some point, why not just go ahead and do it when they're little! I would have thanked my mom later if she would've pierced my ears when I was a baby...Anyway, with all the "ear piercing" discussions lately, Reagan decided she wanted to get hers done. I was a little shocked and told her that it would hurt some. She said, "ok, Mommy."

So, Saturday we went shopping with my sister and niece. We were getting ready to leave when I remembered there was a Claire's Boutique on out way out. Reagan said she was ready to get her ears pierced and she hopped right up on the piercing stool. Again, I was a little shocked. This is the girl who screams when we brush her teeth sometimes. She has a very low tolerance for pain. She picked out the cutest pink (of course, is there any other color?) flower, rhinestone ones. So, she got to hold the "Claire's Bear" to feel special. I was so nervous for her! I thought I was going to pass out. I can't believe I was acting this way! It was like they were going to pierce me! The manager looked at me and said, "Mom looks like she's ready to run!" Ha, ha! Reagan began to get a little nervous when they pinned back her hair and put the dots on her ears. She cried while it was happening and a little afterwards. Not long though... I let her pick out a prize and she was much happier. She hasn't complained with them at all since then. Just when I clean the earrings and turn them. She looks so adorable with earrings. My little girl is growing up! She is so proud of them and wants to show everyone.- And always wanting to look at them in the mirror. When we got home from the mall, she showed Austin her ears as soon as she got out of the car. She said, "Look Daddy, but be careful... don't get too close!" As she held her hand out by her ears! So now, I want to get Cara Grace's ears pierced. Maybe in the next week or so.... I have a few pics of the whole thing... I'll post them tomorrow.