SNOW!!!!

Last year proved to be a disappointing winter in regard to snow…it just didn’t fall!

To our utter and shear delight, the snow-less trend broke this past weekend as we woke up to snow and lots of it!

It truly looked (and still does) like a winter wonderland outside, so much so that we had to get outside and enjoy it!

B was quick to get to work with his snow shovel, he shoveled any and every surface he could find…

B’s concentration continues to amaze us, oh to get into his little head.

Ella was like a puppy as she bounced from snowy spot to snowy spot…trying to catch snow balls that C and B threw her way.

Little A wasn’t quite sure what to think of her mittens and boots…the mittens didn’t provide a whole lot of dexterity while the boots hindered her beloved mobility a bit.

However, it wasn’t long before she warmed up to the idea of playing (or in her case, standing) outside.

Once her little legs got tired, A snuggled in with C and watched her big brother work.

I like how this photo captures the different boot sizes of these two…

It wasn’t long before B started to slow down…

And then all of us headed inside to warm up.

I snapped this photo to capture the ‘gear’ that was shed in effort to get warm…it was all over the kitchen, little puddles and all.

And of course,  playing in the snow wouldn’t be complete without hot cocoa, with marshmallows and a cookie…so we all indulged in a sweet bookend to such a simple wintry joy!

Be blessed.

2012 Manger Painting

Here’s a glimpse of years past as we continue to enjoy this sweet family tradition…2009, 2010, 2011 .

This year was no different, messy and lots of fun! C and I haven’t had a chance to give our manger slats the time they deserve yet, however, the nuggets have and for the most part enjoyed every minute.

Little A took a little time warming up to the idea of paint on her fingers and hands, but as the photos reveal…she warmed up to the idea (as did her face) just fine!

Stay tuned for a glimpse of the this year’s completed manger…until then, we hope the photos provided a sweet glimpse of our silly and often messy life around our neck of the wood.

Be blessed.

Sibling Pups

Could eat them up!

Be blessed.

6 Years!

Suffice it to say, we enjoyed celebrating our anniversary, marveling at the past six years and the journey the Lord continues to take us on.

It’s hard to believe that six years have come and gone since this photo was snapped…and I can’t begin to imagine what the next six might hold.

What an adventure…there’s no one else I’d rather enjoy it alongside!

I love you C!

Happy Anniversary.

-Iz

A Bit Late..

B sort of understood the concept of our Family’s Thankful Tree.  We added leaves at dinner time, so often the leaves identified food that B was thankful for (that he was in the middle of eating) or food that he was thankful we hadn’t prepared for dinner. It will be fun to watch his little heart grow as I’m sure next year will be much different!

Thanksgiving Day and the anticipation of provided many reminders of thankfulness as we celebrated a HUGE miracle first hand and looked forward to a house filled with people we love.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Be blessed.

Advent Reading Plan

We have come to really enjoy this Bible.

It is fantastic! Yes, maybe a little bit above B’s total comprehension level at this point, but great none-the-less!  We love how it depicts God’s gracious and grand plan through a ‘Rescuer’…His Son, Jesus.

With that said, I stumbled upon an Advent Reading plan taken from The Jesus Storybook Bible and felt compelled to share.

http://themommyhoodmemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/jesus-storybook-advent.pdf

I hope they bless your family…as we’re looking forward to reading ourselves!

Happy 1st day of Advent!

Be blessed.

Blessing in My In-Box

I found this in my email in-box this morning…the Psalms mentioned are so encouraging to my often hard and grace-lacking heart.  The Chris Rice video is pretty great too!

http://gracefullmama.com/beautifully-worshipful/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GraceFullMama+%28Grace+Full+Mama%29

Be blessed.

Some Simple Math

We couldn’t be more grateful (and humbled) to finally share our news…

Come this May, Our Neck of the Wood will be a party of 5!!!!

Our hearts are swollen with gratitude this Thanksgiving week.

May your hearts be blessed.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

On the Far Side of Poplar Pond

A friend just published this book.

If you’d like to learn more about her heart and how God is working in and through her, please visit her blog.

The illustrations are adorable…and the story, nothing short of beautiful!

If you, or any one you know has a heart for adoption this book may need to find itself in your family’s (or classroom’s) library.

Happy Monday.

Be blessed.

The Bear Family

In effort to keep the children’s book theme going, this year we decided to dress up as this beloved bear family.

After all, we often feel like we live in a tree house and both nuggets are consistently referred to as ‘bears’!

We’re trying to be humble…but to have to share that we WON our neighborhood costume contest…now the pressures on for next year!

Be blessed!

Texas!!!

A couple weeks ago, we were blessed to be treated to a trip south by Gigi and Papa!

The trip was two-fold to enjoy time with family and to cheer on our favorite Frogs for homecoming…of which we enjoyed both!

Gigi and Papa surprised our nuggets with a new set of wheels to enjoy while visiting…C was privileged enough to be tasked to assembly!

The wagon was put to good use as we headed out to the Texas State Fair. 

Our time at the fair was fun. We explored…ate and explore and ate!

C and I got a kick out of simply ready the variety of fried treats…sugar, snickers, oreos, queso, butter, cupcakes,m frozen margaritas (seriously)….the list went on and on! C’s heart was content once he located the famous Fletcher’s Corndog stand…which the kiddos enjoyed the dairy barn where they got their favorite…milk!

B was quite fascinated by the children’s learning area in the barns…

A even got to touch some lambs wool!

The best aspect of the fair, at least in B’s opinion, was the John Deere ‘parking lot’.  He could have ridden, explored, touched and talked about these pieces of machinery the entire afternoon!

 

And suffice it to say, we could have watched him play the majority of the afternoon!

It wouldn’t be a trip to the State Fair of Texas without photos with Big Tex…sadly, these photos are some of Big Tex’s last.

Before heading home for naps, B enjoyed a quick trip to the children’s Midway…and of course, ate it up!

The next day, we packed up and headed down to Mimi’s where we enjoyed some good old Chick-Fil-A for lunch and a trip to the farm!

‘Farmer D’, a dear family friend of Mimi & Grandy’s, graciously opened his farm (and tractor) up for our little guy to explore.

B got to see a seed truck…

A seeder…

And a tractor!!!

To our surprise and total delight, Farmer D’s son, invited C and B to join him for a ride as he was headed out to seed a field across the road!

C said that B was speechless throughout the entire ride…simply taking it all in. C himself was fascinated by the caliber at which the tractor plotted it’s course and got the job done.

Once the perimeter of the field had been seeded…C and B descended from the cab and watched Farmer D’s son continue his work.

It’s hard to tell who was more delighted by the entire experience, B or Mimi?!

4 generations together on the farm!

Later, the group headed ‘downtown’ for the big homecoming parade! Aunt S was in the parade for her high school reunion, so B was able to see one familiar face…though honestly, he was most impressed by the amount of candy that was thrown to all the parade-goers!

After the parade…we were able to snap a photo of Mimi and her great-grands…such sweet nuggets!

The next day, I wish I had photos of…but I don’t.  Gigi and Papa graciously watched the nuggets while C and I headed over to Cowtown to see friends and cheer to frogs on in their brand new stadium!  The game was fantastic, though our Frogs weren’t able to pull off a win and it was so great to have breakfast at our favorite bakery, enjoy ice cold sweet team and connect with friends over REAL Mexican food (we’re really missing the all you can eat chips and queso!)  While we were away, the nuggets enjoyed a fun-filled day with Gigi and Papa. They explored a pumpkin patch together, rode a tractor train, cheered on the Frogs from the comfort of the living room and had pizza!

The next day, we headed back to Cowtown with the nuggets for church. Oh, what a gift it was to be nestled into our old ‘spots’ in the balcony, to hug friends’ necks and gain a glimpse of how grown up kiddos have become.  It was a fast and furious morning, but a gift none-the-less!

Afterwards, we headed back to Gigi and Papa’s for a special family dinner…though not before feeding the birds, something that is quite novel at Gigi and Papa’s!

Great Grandpa J…along with the rest of the group enjoyed the chaos that ensued with these four running and crawling around, what a treat it was to be together!

We were once again able to pack several memories into a short amount of time…memories that we hope our little ones will hold onto as tight as we do!

Thank you Gigi and Papa for providing such sweet time!

Be blessed.