Farewell Tribute

Joel and I have been so very blessed to have so many wonderful friends. Among these friends are two very special people, Daniel and Amy Voss.



Not only are they our closest friends, but also our pastor's family, and they will be leaving us in two more days. I put together a video tribute to show this Sunday at their last service with us - it is a tribute not only to their family, but to Daniel and his ministry at the church.


To Dan & Amy: I hope you know how very precious you and your children are to us. Miles may separate us, but your friendship and love will always be a part of us! We love you and pray God's blessings upon your future, your new home, and your new ministry.

Dancing the Night Away

Friday night was the girls' end of the year dance recital. This was Zora's second year and Lily's first year. I wasn't close enough to video on recital night, but I got some good videos of the dress rehearsal. So here's my little cuties (sorry that the videos of Zora are a little shaky - Lily was climbing all over me while I was trying to record!)

Lily's tap dance

"Uptown Girls"

Zora's ballet dance

"Glory of Love"



Lily's ballet dance

"I Just Called To Say I Love You"



Zora's tap dance

"We've Got The Beat"

Ten Behind, A Lifetime Ahead!

It was ten years ago today that I said "I DO" to the love of my life. I can't believe that it's already been ten years! And to think back on all that we've shared is unbelievable...

... the joy we had at the births of our precious babies... the sorrow at the loss of loved ones...the humor at some of the silly things we've done... the feeling of contentment by living out our dreams... the peace we have in serving God together and bringing our children up to know how awesome He is... and the list just goes on!

Joel gave me a single red rose last night and this morning I got a dozen of them - he sure knows how to make me smile! He also got me a very nice watch and some new workout clothes :)

I had a hard time this year figuring out what to get him, so I decided instead to celebrate all week long with a "week of remembrance".

On Monday I wrapped up a CD with the song I Cross My Heart by George Strait because it is "our song". He sang this song to me when we first started dating.

On Tuesday I had great intentions of him opening a little Nutcracker figurine, but it's a little hard to find Christmas stuff at this time of year, and even the shops that have stuff like that all year long just have Santa & snowman stuff. So, we just spent the night talking and laughing about our first date - the Nutcracker Ballet!

On Wednesday he opened the movie Grumpier Old Men which was our first movie date. I told him that I'd love him even when he was old and grumpy :)

Yesterday we remembered the day he proposed to me at Beaver Lake in Eureka Springs. He also took me on a train ride that served dinner after he proposed... what a sweetie!

Today we will be celebrating with our little munchkins at their dance recital. Afterward, I will surprise him by singing Unforgettable to him because that is the song I sang to him at our wedding (it was a surprise to him 10 years ago as well)! We'll have to follow that up by watching our wedding video which will probably bring some laughter and tears :)

Tomorrow night we get to enjoy dinner on a double date with our friends Dan & Amy (their anniversary was last week). A double date with no kids!!! We can't wait :)

So here's to all the precious memories of the last ten years and to the rest of our lives together!!!

A Sad Day

Today was a sad day because we lost a friend - our dog Jesse.

Thankfully she went very peacefully. Although we could see her aging over the past several months, she never got sick or seemed like she was in any kind of pain. As a matter of fact we played outside with her most of the day today and she was her normal, playful, loving self.

However, when Joel got home around 5:30 this evening he came in and told me that she wasn't looking good and that she was breathing very hard. We went out as a family and checked on her and made her as comfortable as possible and gave her lots of water and food thinking maybe she was just tired or getting sick. I began checking on her every 5 minutes and by 6:00 she was gone. The girls were very understandably upset, but they each gave her one last gentle stroke before we buried her in our backyard by the fence. It will definitely be different without her to greet us at the back door every day when we head out to work or play. She's been part of our family since Joel and I got married, and we will miss her.

Goodbye, Jesse, we love you!

April Showers Bring...

... May Flowers

And everything else that comes with May - a LOT more rain and busy, busy, busy schedules!!! I have been in over my head trying to do a Just Between Friends sale, work a booth at Rooster Days, and Mother's Day all in the same weekend!

I did alright at the JBF sale. I got rid of about half of what I wanted, but I guess that's better than nothing! Our Rooster Days booth also did a little less than we had hoped for, but we were at least able to talk to a lot of people and get our information out there! I was blessed to be able to spend my Mother's Day with my own precious babies, my incredible mother, and even my sweet mother-in-law. I'm absolutely exhausted this week and trying not to overcommit myself. Apparently I have a hard time saying NO!

I don't really have any pictures to post of the past couple of weeks, but I've gotten so many laughs from my girls these past few days. Every day one of them seems to say something that either has me laughing hysterically or melts my heart. Lily is really the one the cracks me up the most... she is an absolute clown! Last Friday as we were on our way to playgroup but we had to make a stop at the post office first. While I was putting the bill in the mail I noticed a cat in a nearby field ready to pounce something. I pointed it out to the girls thinking I would get in one of those "teachable moments". We watched as this cat chased a mouse and Lily said, " Cats and dogs eat mice, Mommy, but people don't". I say, "That's right, Lily. There are also other animlas that eat mice, like owls, snakes..." Lily interupts me to say, "Snakes are bad, Mommy. The devil is a snake. He's bad. The devil makes you do bad things like toot in people's faces."

WHAT???

I swear I don't know where my kids get these ideas! On the other hand, Zora said something that absolutely melted my heart. Our pastor's family is moving to Arizona. They are our dearest friends and a huge piece of our lives will be moving with them. Lily was talking about how much she will miss Eva and Zora said, "Lily, don't you want other people to know about Jesus? Daniel has to go tell the people in Arizona about Jesus." So sweet :)

While this week has been rather calm we are gearing up for next week - it's recital week!!! Both of the girls will be in the dance recital so I'm sure I will have plenty of pictures to post. It's also mine and Joel's 10th anniversary! We'll be spending it at the girls' recital, but what better way to celebrate these last 10 years than watching our babies dance their hearts out?!?! I am more than blessed... a husband who treats me like a princess and two babies that are my pride and joy!

Humiliation

Just leave it to my kids to embarrass me...that's what they're for, right? Well, mine didn't just do it in public where I didn't know anyone and could escape quickly, they did it at CHURCH.

This morning during the potty break Lily commented to her Sunday School teacher about little boys being physically different than little girls... I'm sure you get the drift.

Then, this evening while I am just wrapping up choir practice and I have a group of adults sitting and listening very quietly about what will be going on for the next couple of weeks, Zora and one of the little boys from our church approach and interrupt. In a less than quiet voice the little boy - bless his heart - tells me that Zora just showed him her panties. I ask Zora if it's true and she says yes with a very sheepish grin on her face only to "justify" it with, "But he's my friend, Mommy!" I apologize to the little guy and quickly scold Zora and send her away only to realize that I still have a group of very quiet adults sitting right in front of me. WONDERFUL! They all thought it was hilarious because they have already "been there and done that" with their kiddos. I felt about an inch tall, but some of the gracious women in our church tried to make me feel better by telling me some of their kids' stories from long ago. At least we all got a good laugh, huh? I guess that's how God keeps us humble... our children reminding us that we're NOT perfect parents :)

I'm sure that one day I'll look back on this and think it's absolutely hilarious, but for now I'm going to "lay low" at church and try to keep my kids quiet!

Just Catching Up!

It has been absolutely GORGEOUS here this past week (until today). The weather has been so wonderful that we have spent as much time as possible outside. We got to have our first picnic of the year, had several playdates with friends, and of course we had to go to the zoo!!!
With all this beautiful weather I've had to FORCE myself to stay on top of Zora's schoolwork. We have finally finished all 7 continents! We wrapped up Africa last week. We are now learning about the human body and we will continue learning about how we can care for this beautiful earth God has allowed us to use. Which brings up another thing...we are really into this reduce, reuse, recycle thing!!! I used to think that I wasn't really a wasteful person, but after doing these lessons with Zora I realized that we weren't doing all that we could as family to help take care of our part of the big picture. So, we have started a compost in the backyard, and we are now recycling paper, plastic, glass & cans. What I love is that we've only been doing it for a week or so and the girls already know what trash goes where!

Zora has lost another tooth, so now she has a double gap right in front! Too cute!

She also did something the other night that I just have to post. Joel went in to check on both of the girls and retuck them in as we were headed to bed and he called me in there laughing. This is what was in Zora's bed with her...
I'm so glad she loves to read! I guess it's better for her to be sneaking books and a flashlight than something else into her bed!

Last Thursday we went to another art class at the Gilcrease Museum and the girls had a lot of fun building collages. They were supposed to make a collage of their favorite place. Lily choose McDonalds - imagine that! - and Zora chose the pond at her Papa's house where Joel took them fishing. Here are some pics of them hard at work!

We also took advantage of the beautiful Woodward Park and took lots and lots and lots of pictures! Here are several!!!

Have a great week!