My Beautiful Days

Monte and I made a pretty big decision this year regarding Valentine's Day: we weren't going to hire a babysitter and go out.  Instead, we decided that we were going to make the day about celebrating our kids and showing them that this holiday doesn't have to be about the romantic love that it is made to seem, but instead we can celebrate the love we have in our families and, most importantly, God's amazing, unfailing love. Best.  Idea.  Ever. We had so much fun celebrating the kids, and from their responses, I think they had a lot of fun, too!  They all woke up to a small card and a gift box full of Hershey's Kisses - but little did they know that was the least of the surprises they were going to have. Shortly before they arrived home from school, I hurriedly made some heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for them to enjoy them as an after-school snack (and yes, I cheated and bought the ready-to-bake rolls instead of making them from scratch!). The cinnamon rolls be...

It feels like it has been a very long journey, but in reality it lasted only a mere month before we received our answer.  My darling baby boy is now fever free, and I'm still having a hard time believing the cause.  According to blood tests that were done, Ethan has a "very severe peanut allergy" (those words being a direct quote from his doctor).  I couldn't fathom how a peanut allergy could be causing his fevers, especially considering the fact that he isn't old enough to eat anything but baby food! Once we took extreme steps to contain the peanuts in our home (those steps being making sure that the counter is wiped down each and every time my kids make a peanut butter sandwich on them, making sure that the kids wash their hands and brush their teeth any time they eat peanut butter, making sure we only wipe Ethan with clean paper towels instead of a wash rag, etc), his fevers have gone away completely!  I found it really hard to believe, and really hard to gra...

We planned it on Monday.  Or maybe it was Tuesday.  Regardless, we planned this trip earlier in the week and somehow managed to keep it a secret from most of our family and friends.  We lined up a babysitter.  We lined up a flight.  We finally found what we've been slowly searching for and made the decision to pursue. Saturday morning my alarm went off at 3:30am.  Considering the fact that the prior night was a night of interrupted sleep for me (due to my sweet baby deciding that the middle of the night was a good time to want to eat and play!), I was not too thrilled with the timing of my waking. I dragged my tired butt out of bed and got ready for the day.  At 4:30am, completely ready to go, I went and woke baby (since he had already been "complaining" a little bit for the past hour).  Changed his diaper.  Fed him a bottle.  Cuddled him back to sleep.  I was still holding him when Holly (our babysitter) arrived at our house at...

It's no joke that I've been walking around my house singing the chorus to Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It".  That's how I feel.  I'm done with this and I'm not taking it anymore.  Yesterday morning I was feeling incredibly defeated.  I was congested, I could feel the fluid in my lungs, my cough was awful and I hardly had a voice.  I was certain that this was going to take over my life for the rest of the week.  It already has consumed Ethan, Colin, Monte and myself, and I was allowing it to do so.   The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't even like my attitude!  I'm a fighter and I don't have to take this sickness trying to consume me.  So, I have prayed about it and in faith am believing God is healing our family.  You know what?  I truly do feel MUCH better today and I believe that a lot of it is because of my choice to change my perspective.  Yes, I'm still coughing and have the occasion...

Yesterday was amazing!  As I'm sure you all know, yesterday was Valentine's Day.  My husband went above and beyond to make the day wonderful for me - and it was as wonderful as it could be, given the circumstances.  You see, I woke up yesterday morning with the flu and a bad cold.  I had already felt the cold coming on and had taken some preventative measures, but it was bound and determined to hit me, no matter what.  So, when Monte came to kiss me goodbye before he left for work, I mentioned to him that I really didn't feel well.  He gave me some medicine and promised to check in with me later that morning.  I fell back asleep and didn't get up until Ethan started to cry for his morning bottle.  I got up, changed his diaper and fed him - still feeling exhausted and just plain icky.  After Ethan finished feeding and burping, I put him in his swing and called Monte at work.  I told him I really didn't feel well enough to take care of Col...

Pretty much forever ago (and by forever, I mean about two or three months ago) I was browsing the aisles at Costco (which is a very dangerous thing to do without a specific list!) when I came across the most perfect bulletin board.  Why on earth would I get excited about a bulletin board?  I'm glad you asked!  You see, I have a rather narrow wall in my office that I've wanted to have a bulletin board on for awhile so I can use it to hang family pictures and different things of that nature.  So, when I came across this bulletin board and saw that it was very reasonably priced, I became extremely excited!  I bought said object and brought it home, showed it to my wonderful husband and asked for his help in hanging it.  I put it away in the corner of the office to keep it out of our way.  That was a very bad idea.  A month or more passed before I realized it was still not on my wall, so I politely asked my husband to hang it.  Unfortunately, he ...

Today is a very special day, because today we celebrate this man: This very handsome man who has stolen my heart and will forever keep it as his treasure.  The father of our children, the lover of my heart, my very best friend.  Today we celebrate you, my husband, and the fact that it is indeed your birthday.  I love you baby!  I hope you're enjoying our camping trip and are in complete bliss as today is all about YOU!

Today, my husband and I got a rare treat in the fact that we were able to run the many errands we had on our schedule together.  Claire stayed home and watched the boys, so Monte and I headed out mid-morning and ventured out to Costco, then to our apartment complex to fill the soda machine and collect rents, then to my appointment with my OBGYN, then to the bank and finally back home. On the drive home, Monte and I were discussing possible names for our baby and the ones he was coming up with were just driving me crazy!  I'm uncertain if it was just my husband trying to push my buttons (which he does quite frequently!) or if we really are that far off on our opinions, but part of me thinks that my husband is under the impression that we're birthing an 80-year-old baby, because he kept suggesting names such as Roy, Jeff, Renaldo, Melvin or Albert.  After taking it all in for awhile, my response to his suggestions could no longer be held in as I looked him in the face and...

Our bathroom is almost ready to go (in fact, much more ready than it appears in this picture) ... My awesome hubby and adorable son painted some pull-out drawers for inside our cabinets ... Claire was a villager in "Beauty and the Beast" ... Iain, Claire and Ellis enjoyed some pool time while visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Arizona (Colin did too, just not in this particular picture) ... We toured Luke Air Force Base.  This is Monte trying on a helmet with night vision goggles ... This is our whole family (including Grandpa and Grandma) at Luke Air Force Base ... We hiked near Canyon Lake and got some amazing photography opportunities ... That's our life in a nutshell.  So, how are you?!

In preparation for Christmas, we have enjoyed Colin's preschool Christmas concert (he's the one in the first row on the far left, wearing the green vest): We have enjoyed Claire's band concert: We have enjoyed baking many, many  cookies: Monte and I enjoyed a Christmas party at MckMama's house.  Here, my dear friend, Jolene , and I are enjoying drinking the two  glasses of sparkling juice that Israel served us: I have thoroughly delighted in spending time with my hubby and enjoying the goofiness of our personalities: I have enjoyed the curiosity of my children as they observe our construction: And I most definitely have enjoyed that the construction has finally  began!! Merry Christmas to all of you wonderful readers!  May God's blessing thoroughly abound in your hearts and homes!

You know what's great?  When you already have a blog post in your head that you want to write about, and then there's an incentive given to you to write about that very topic!  Aaaahhh yes!  JuiceBoxJungle (you know, that widget on the right side of my blog) wants to know if and when my hubby and I go out to dinner.  Add on top of that the fact that  Restaurant.com  is sponsoring this blogging frenzy and I've got a few reasons to blog about this! Monte and I have been really good about a weekly date night ever since we were married a year ago.  Maybe it's the fact that we're a newlywed couple with four children, maybe it's just the fact that we're a newlywed couple, or maybe it's just that we like each other's company that much!  Whatever the reason, we have found time in our schedule to head out together once a week.  Don't get me wrong, we do miss a week here and there (because sometimes our schedule is just that busy!), but overall we tr...

Let the tree decorating begin ... While most of us decorated, Iain spent a majority of the time observing and reading (though he did help once we got the sentimental ornaments out!) ... Colin played with an angel ... I wore the tree skirt ... Ellis wore the candle greens ... It's almost finished ... Who says the star has to be on straight?! I just LOVE decorating the Christmas tree! My studmuffin husband was definitely helping out, too, but he was usually the man BEHIND the camera!