Snowman

Today we had some snow and ice, but these pictures were taken from a little over a week ago. We had a very light dusting of snow, but the girls wanted to go and play in it. They came in and wanted me to go see their snowman. Well, I really did not want to go outside, so they brought their snowman to the porch, I stood inside the warm house, and took a few pictures of them in the snow! Then I sent the water camera out with them, but I haven't downloaded those yet.

Here is the snowman...more full of grass than snow.

I love this one because A is running in the background!

Poor hairy snowman!

Here she comes...

We went to my aunt's house a few weeks ago, and my cousin Sarah gave us a really fun gift...a party in a box. Not only was this a party, but a Miss America party! So, on the day of the Miss America pageant, we got to have our party in a box!
She sent us plates, cups, nail art, wands, tiaras, eyeshadow, ribbon to make sashes, and Miss America trivia and most importantly, a score sheet with all of our names and all of the states, so when we watched it, we could mark which ones we liked! It was SO much fun!

We went through a lot of options trying to figure out what kind of food to make....we came up with all kinds of "good" ideas to make crowns, and such, and we even thought about eating salad and then eating pizza at the very end of the pageant because we thought that might be what those girls do! But we decided to go dainty/tea party kind of like. Autumn made tortilla wraps and chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches. She also made nutella and peanut butter and then cream cheese and jelly sandwiches in the shapes of hearts and stars. Cheese and tomatoes are kind of a given for our parties!

Also we had our little debbie fancy cakes and strawberry shortcakes for the fancy occasion as well as fruit "scepters" even though Miss America doesn't really have a scepter! Oh, and notice the shoes in the background...Sarah had those and party poppers in the box too. Oh, and we ate just about all of that food!

Miss America...dog version....Maggie! Yes, she got dressed up too!

Mr. America...Hudson put on his "tie" for the occasion.

They got to dress themselves from our huge selection of dress up clothes and old curtains and such to dress up with. Notice the lovely "backdrop" they put up for the pictures! Just to note....only for a party with just the six of us would I put blue eyeshadow on them that dark! We had fun putting on makeup, doing nails, and doing hair.

We each picked one state before it even came on, and 5 out of 6 of ours made it to the top 10!!! CRAZY! Here is M being crowned (that tiara came from high school, not the party box)

lovely Miss California

She picked Oklahoma for her state, but she didn't want to pick a state...she wanted to be Miss Cinderella!

Miss Cinderella/Oklahoma

H being crowned. And notice that she isn't in her formal wear, she is in her talent competition costume!

Miss Texas

A being crowned.

Miss New York

SO MUCH FUN!!! Thanks Sarah and the gang!

Eating my words

I don't like to eat my own words, but I have to today. Remember that sweet little post when I might have said a few LITTLE words about the youngest child being a LITTLE left out? Hmmm....remember that one? Well, I will tell you that S's anniversary has come and gone and I did NOT post about it. I know, I know....I am eating my words. But, enough of that and on to the real reason of the post...Happy anniversary S!!!
Three years ago, S came to live in our home forever!

Wow...this little girl has grown up so much! S is a blessing in our lives. We fought hard to get her into our home...not because we did not like the foster home she was in because the foster mother is a great mom. It wasn't that at all. It was just that all of a sudden, it was very very VERY clear to us that these four girls needed to be together forever, and that our home was the place to do that. We had been very sure that we would do only foster care, but through realizing that S needed to be with her sisters, the Lord made it very clear that we needed to adopt them.

S is a funny girl. She has a noticeable smile that really does light a room. She smiles when she is happy, and if she thinks it will help her case, she smiles when she is in trouble too! Even when you talk to her on the phone, you can hear her smiling. S is very mischievous, and very smiley when she is stirring up trouble! She loves the color yellow, elephants, polar bears, yellow gum, and Skippy (Becky's husband and our good friend). S is a nurturer and a leader. She is a mother hen for sure. We love her dearly and we are so thankful that she is in our lives!

A couple of small things

I realize I haven't posted a lot lately...maybe I'll post a couple today. Maybe. It is cold and snowy and icy outside. School is canceled and the roads are too slick for me to want to try to drive on, so we are being lazy at our house. I've got me some yummy Starbucks Christmas blend coffee, we all have blankets, and we are watching fun movies....I really like days like this. I would love to get out and take some pictures in this beautiful weather, but I just don't want to get out in the cold. So I might or might not get some posts done on here. I love the small details of life, but as you know, I forget them easily, so I thought I would share a couple of things that have happened lately. Nothing big, but I don't want to forget them.

• A lost another tooth! She was actually spending some time on her bed away from sisters....we all need a little time by ourselves sometimes! I was frustrated at the moment, and trying to get some laundry done (never-ending process) and A came down with a very excited look, telling me her tooth is bleeding! I did one quick yank, and she didn't even flinch, and it was out! The bad news is, the tooth fairy just doesn't do a good job at our house. That darn tooth fairy always leaves the tooth and the money always gets kicked around or left somewhere besides under the pillow, and Autumn always has to go in and help "look" for it. Autumn pointed out the quarter to A and told her that she must not have known what it was and A said, "Oh yeah, I thought this was something else cause that guy on here had a Mohawk." Hmm...whatever....glad you have your quarter.
• M and H cooked dinner! Well, I guess I should say they prepared dinner. They made salad, which meant they had to cut a lot of toppings to put on the salad. I was very proud of them and they did an excellent job using a knife. They were so proud of themselves, and it was a good reminder to let them be involved and have ownership of things.
• S has had a few great weeks at school. She has gotten green a LOT, which is a very good thing and a great accomplishment for her!
• Conversation with A:

A: Trinity, I know something.

Me: Good, what is it?

A: You never argue with a bear.

Me: Okay, well that is good advice.

A: Cause if you argue with a bear, he will eat you.

Lesson learned.

Zoo with a friend

This post is very long overdue. Back in NOVEMBER, My dear friend Jessica met us at the zoo. Jess and I went to high school together, and now she lives a few hours away from me, so we met in the middle-ish. There are people in life that you know their faces when you see them, there are people in your life that you know their names, there are people that you know a little about, there people that you are friends with and love to be around, and then there are dear friends that just get you...no matter how long it has been since you have seen one another. I am so blessed to have so many dear friends that fit in the last category, and Jess is one of those friends! We saw each other a few years ago, and besides that, we hadn't seen each other since close after high school. She is such a sweet and caring girl, and we had a blast with her. Sometimes it is just nice to spend time with a friend who knows your history. She is precious and the girls had fun not only at the zoo, but at the zoo with Jess!
Petting zoos are great for A. If you have read this blog at all, you know that she loves frogs and all animals in general. Remember, this is the girl who is sad to see the dead bugs on cars in parking lots. She loves all animals, so she REALLY enjoyed the petting zoo. I think she probably talks to them, and them to her. I am more like S...you can see in this picture that she doesn't hate being in there, but there might be places she would rather be!

I love that she is so concerned for creatures...okay, maybe I don't always love the amount of concern for all creatures (I am refering to her trying to nurse dead animals back to life), but I do love the tender heart God has given her.

Friends!!!......My face is funny in this one....I'm pretty sure that I am telling the girl taking the picture how to take the picture. Not because they don't know how to use a camera, but because I am being too picky about the picture...I've got to work on that.

Mama and all her little piggies!!!

The penguins were really fun.

They really are amazing creatures.

Right before we went to the zoo, someone had told me that I am never in pictures and I needed to be, so I made a point of it for this trip.

LOVE this one!!! True mother-daughter communication here!

We took a picnic lunch and it was the perfect day for it!

Mama's little monkey!

I took the point and shoot with me to the zoo instead of trying to lug the big daddy camera around...that means the girls took more pictures.

Out of order...but this is the funniest looking, smiling goat at the petting zoo...maybe A just told him a good secret! And check out Autumn's profile shadow on the fence! Didn't realize I got that!

Yep....pretty much speaks for itself.

Best-worst

I have a terrible memory. As you know, the main reason I like to write down all of these stories and happenings of my life is so I can remember them. I mean, I really really have a bad memory. I don't mean to, I just do. It isn't that I just forget to do little things, or forget where I placed things, but I forget big events and happenings of my life!!! Autumn and Bethany, or my cousins, or friends that I grew up with will talk about different memories they have, and I always feel so lost and left out, because I have NO idea what they are talking about, and I really should, because I lived that memory too! This really bothers me about myself, so I have been trying to figure out why my memory is so bad. I really think part of the reason is that I am a live-in-the-moment-kind-of-girl. This can be a really good attribute. When it comes to holding grudges, I usually don't because seriously, I forget why I might have once been mad about something....seriously. Now, that doesn't mean that I never hold a grudge, but generally, I don't. I live in the present time....soak up each moment...but then I think I forget to remember each moment! So I have been trying to start reflecting on my days and on different situations, and really try and ingrain them in my mind. I recently looked back at some of my firsts posts from this blog, and I remember most of the stories really well, but there were a couple that I just could not remember the ending! Good thing I wrote it down!
With all of this in mind...we have started playing a new game every evening when we eat dinner. We call it best/worst. We each get a turn to say the best thing that has happened in our day and the worst thing that has happened in our day. This is the best game, and now, the girls are excited to play it! The game has served a couple of purposes...it has helped us all reflect on our day and remember what has happened. We have been able to thank the Lord for the best things that have happened, and learn from or process the worst. We have all talked about things in our day that we normally wouldn't have brought up and it is very non-invasive and non-threatening way for the girls to talk about the not so good things in their lives. It has also helped us realize how we affect each other's days. When the best part of my day was when one of them said something or did something for me, it made them feel very good and important. Also, when the worst part of my day was dealing with some sort of bad behavior, it made them realize that I had feelings in it too, and that I really don't enjoy getting onto them!
So....try this very simple game with your family! I think you will like it!

Funny story

Sorry, I just couldn't think of a creative title. I do not know what made me think of this story, but I thought of it tonight, so I figured I should write it before I forget it. This happened a couple of years ago...our friends Bryan and Ann invited us over to eat lunch with them after church one Sunday. Their college girl daughter (also my friend) Emily was home with a bunch of her college friends for the weekend. The girls love Ann and Bryan and Emily, and they especially loved all the attention of all of the college girls. After lunch, the college girls left to go back to college, and we were sitting around the table visiting with Ann, Bryan, and Emily. Bryan found a card that the college friends left, so he opened it. Ann was a little curious.
Ann: What does it say? Read it out loud!
Bryan: Well....(he dramatically opened it and cleared his voice and continued to "read" in a booming voice)...Bryan is so wonderful (he said something like that....something he just made up)
Ann: Stop Bryan, it does NOT say that!
Bryan: Ok, let's try again...it says...(he made up something else silly)
Ann: Oh come on...it doesn't say that....what does it say? (we were all laughing at his silly jokes)

I think this continued another time or two when A leaned over to Ann, with her wide brown eyes as if she was cluing her in to something and A loudly whispered: Pwobly he can't read!

We CRACKED up! Obviously A did not get Bryan's silly jokes and thought the poor man just couldn't read the card and all we were doing was laughing at him!