The Unexpected

There are always unexpected things in life you can never plan for; and you learn a lot about yourself and family in those situations. I was reminded of this a couple days ago when the kids and I found ourselves in a car accident. We are beyond blessed to have walked away without any wounds physically or emotionally (wish I could say the same for my car which had to be towed). As for the other gal in the accident, she may not have been injured by the accident, but whatever possesses someone to drive into oncoming traffic is very concerning (please pray for her).

In situations like this, I don't really think, I just go into fight or flight mode. Which included important phone calls: 911, my husband, and the necessary people at church to say I wouldn't be there to teach. We were beyond blessed by the car that stopped with us to make sure everyone was okay. A car full of nurses (one a registered EMT), definitely a God thing.

Through this whole situation, my kids amazed me the most. They were totally fine and truly enjoyed hanging out with the fire fighters. Kristin of course asked them if I was going to jail. Kade was telling them about Jesus (stay tuned for this story in the future). And Kyler enjoyed sitting in the warm blanket the fire fighters provided since we were not dressed properly. Once I finally got a chance to really ask my kids how they were doing, Kristin's response was, "don't worry mommy, Jesus was with us when we were by ourselves in the car" (when I was outside talking to the officers).

The greatest thing I got out of this I learned from my children: put Jesus 1st and make him your focus no matter what the situation (panic mode is helpful to no one). The faith of a child is a powerful thing.

I have learned over the last year to really be thankful & find joy in every circumstance. I am so thankful for all the emergency crew who helped (especially the fire fighters), for the random strangers who stopped to help, for the bus stop benches that gave my children a place to sit, for family & friends who offered to help, for another insurance company that will pay for damages, for our insurance agent calling out of concern for our family, that no one else was involved despite the heavy traffic, for God keeping us safe, for Jesus being with my children and giving them peace, for my sons boldness to talk about Jesus, and most importantly for the opportunity I had to learn and be challenged in my faith.

On a other note, I also learned that we should dress more appropriately when leaving the house. Sweatshirts on my kids and flip flops on my feet were fine when we left, but when the sun starts to go down, the temperatures drop greatly.

Another Celebration

It seems like we start celebrating family birthdays in the fall and then we just keep partying until February.  Last month we celebrated our sweet boys 5th birthday.  I can't believe he is 5 already, my how time does fly.  He loved every bit of his celebration (which was a full weekend of events) and I'm thankful we now have a break from all the presents, I feel overwhelmed by stuff right now (definitely time to start spring cleaning).

(a special lunch date with grandma)

(a special sign his big sister made for him)

(the easiest cake I have ever make, this was all he wanted on it, no words)

(a family trip to the museum with daddy)

(a family birthday party)

Maui

Last week we had the opportunity to take a trip to Maui with some of Luke's family.  We all had an amazing time and it was like the ultimate field trip for the kids (yes we did a little school, I couldn't resist, it was an amazing learning experience).  The video below share some hi-lights of our trip.

Happy Valentine's Day

Our last minute, in-expensive Valentines we made, thanks to this great idea from pinterest.

January Happenings

I'm not really sure what happened to the month of January, but it has just now dawned on me that it is almost February!  Very little has really happened around here this month, which is nice since December was so busy.  

 Nothing like putting on new swim suits, in the dead of winter, to give a glimmer of hope that spring is coming soon.

 Found this little guy sleeping at the bottom of the stairs instead of his bed, thinking he might have been sleep walking.

 A fun trip to the museum to finish off our unit on the body.

Kristin's version of her body.

Ice Skating

Earlier this month we took the kids ice skating.  It has become a tradition to go every winter (at least once) for the last few years and we always have a blast.  This year Kade decided right away that he no longer needed the buckets to help him.  And sure enough he just took off skating.  He did fall many times, but only because he thought it was hilarious to fall on the ice.  He would try to skate as fast as possible just to see if he could crash.  Kristin is much more cautious and continued to use the buckets for support even though he had perfect balance.  Finally I convinced her to try by herself and she did it perfectly, it just took a bit of confidence. =)

Fashion Changes

Most days Kristin wears dresses or large fluffy tutus and leggings/tights.  And not just any dresses, usually the most sparkly, flashy, pink ones.  If you ever see her in jeans, it's probably because I suggested it, she hates jeans.  So it's very common to see he wearing something like this (even if we are just spending the day at home):

Now today she decided to completely change her look without my help.  Not even sure how you would label this fashion statement.  Which does include her raccoon tail hat and fluffy hair just taken out of braids.  love watching her grow  and find ways to express herself.

Birthday Fun

Our sweet baby boy is now 2!!!  I feel like the last year has just flown by and during that time he has changed drastically.  He has had some major growth spurts and will definitely pass up his big sister in size someday.  He is constantly surprising us by how much he knows, and he learns new words every day.  He is such a fun loving little guy and loves to entertain us.  His smile and big brown eyes are simply irresistible.  Here are some hi-lights from his birthday celebrations:

He was a pro at opening presents thanks to the practice from Christmas

His favorite toys right now are the wooden trains (IKEA sells a super cheap set)

He woke up to a room filled with balloons and loved it

His favorite thing to eat is a cookie, so a giant cookie for his birthday was fitting

Happy New Year

I can't think of any greater blessing in 2012 than these 3 kids.  Love them each so much.  They are such a blessing to us and I couldn't imagine a day without them.  It is an honor to be called their parents.  We look forward to many more great adventures with them on the road God leads us down in 2013.  Happy New Year to each of you!

An Unexpected Christmas

A Month Of Adventure

This last couple weeks have been full of adventures and the kids have loved every bit of it (I on the other hand am still exhausted and recovering).

We did a unit on Van Gogh and finished it with a trip to the art museum where we got to see many of Van Gogh's paintings.

We enjoyed a fun trip to Dave & Buster's thanks to Luke's company Christmas party.

Kristin and I had a fun night out with my sisters and saw the Nutcracker.

The kids had their Tumbling Christmas Program.

We did our annual baking of Christmas treats.

I went to see one of my favorite bands in concert, "For King & Country."  It was an amazing night of worship and celebrating Jesus.

Our sweet little girl turned 6 and it was a weekend of fun celebrations.

Catching Up - October

I have been a terrible blogger lately, I think partially because we have taken multiple trips this fall visiting family, and then you add in school and everyday life, and there's not much time left for anything else.  Below are some pictures of our trip to Texas we took in October.  These pictures are actually scrapbook pages for our albums that I have been working on (just click to enlarge them).  I tend not to share these pages out of privacy for our family and friends, so I apologize that these pages are lacking more personal pictures of our kids.

Thanksgiving Break

This Thanksgiving we were blessed with the opportunity to spend time with family in California.  It was a busy week filled with lots of visiting, and it was so much fun to see everyone again.  We also surprised our kids with a trip to Disneyland, SO FUN.  As an adult I still think it's the happiest place on earth. =)

Thanksgiving Chair

How often in a day to we really take the time to be thankful.  Instead of just focusing on being thankful for this season, we really need to take the time everyday to sit and be thankful.  It's amazing how much this can change your perspective on life.

Never a Dull Moment

sick boy

watching football with daddy

more snow

There Will Be a Day

Thanksgiving Projects

I've been feeling extremely crafty lately, here are some of the fun things we've done:

Orphan Sunday

Depraved Indifference

Something to remember during National Adoption Month:

Happy Halloween