Resurrection Sunday 2016

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! It was busy because we had a moving sale on Friday and Saturday, but we enjoyed beautiful weather and a great turnout! Saturday night the kids had the best time having a glow-in-the dark egg hunt with some neighbor friends! On Sunday we had church and then a family dinner at my sister's house. 

Our little family.

Our oldest and youngest. 

Lily and Ava chatting with out of town family.

These boys love books!

Papaw and his miniature self. haha

Love these ladies but wish we had thought to get a picture with my sister in law before she left. 

This is exactly what Monday looks like after a busy fun-filled weekend! ha!

xoxo,

10 on 10

10 pictures from our day - March 10, 2016

Good morning smiles.

Lily doing her reading lesson.

Precious little boy hands bringing me flowers.

My lunch - I meant to take a picture of the big beautiful salad before I started eating. oops!

Reading Black Beauty outside in the warm weather.

Conversation with Ava. (I found this picture on my phone - not sure who took it. haha)

My favorite things during my afternoon work hours - Northern Lights Black Spruce and Orange in the diffuser, my happy planner, a mug of orange spice tea.

Tea time.

Levi and Asher in their couch cushion fort.

Asher's last time going to bed as a 3 year old. 

xoxo,

Weekend recap.

We had a great weekend! It was a little hectic because Jacob was working a lot, but we made it through with some fun memories! 

On Friday, we had some errands to do in a town about 45 minutes away. I ran out of time to fix us lunch to take with on the road, so I took the kids to Chick Fil A. It was the first time I've taken all 5 out to eat by myself! It was a bit crazy, but we had no meltdowns, so I felt like it was successful! :)

I have a van full of blessings!

Jacob got all the tubs of kids clothes out of the attic for me to sort through to sell some at a local consignment sale and to get rid of some. Side note: we are moving soon to a smaller place and need to declutter and purge what we don't love. I am loving going through stuff! 11 garbage bags left our house yesterday which makes me so happy! Ha! Anyway, Miss Ava was thrilled to find little panties in her size! She spent an hour "folding" them and refolding them. :) She isn't potty trained yet, but I think she will be soon.

Saturday morning reading.

My mom made these dresses for me and my sister to wear at our Aunt Jan's wedding years ago. I found them while going through all the clothes and I love that Lily and Ava are just the right size to wear them! So special!

Jacob had a rehearsal and two concerts on Sunday, but I managed to get everyone dressed and to church on time...which is no small feat! :) None of the kids took a nap on Sunday afternoon like they normally do, which was a bummer because I had hoped to have a little quiet time to plan and read - but that's how it goes sometimes. We weren't even 30 minutes into the Sunday night service before Ava was sound asleep. I loved getting to snuggle with her, but it sure was hard for me not to fall asleep too. 

xoxo,

Our weekend.

Last week was a difficult week - everyone was just off it seemed like. Praise the Lord this week is going better so far!

Friday I got pulled over for the first time in 14 years of driving. It was like the cherry on top of a very rough week, and I was a hot crying mess by the time the officer got to my window. He said I did not signal when I changed lanes (from the middle lane to the right lane) even though I had used my blinker - just not turned it all the way on, I just pushed it up to make it blink a couple of times. The officer was kind when I explained that I had five small children, we'd had a rough morning, and I'd never been pulled over before. He just gave me a warning and told me to take a deep breath. HA! 

Miss Ava has worn my sunglasses the last few times we've eaten at 5 Guys. She gets lots of smiles and laughs :) I didn't notice until we were sitting down to eat, that she had picked out her own shoes! Haha

On Saturday we got to visit with two of Jacob's aunts that we hadn't seen since Christmas. We had a great time catching up and laughing at the kids antics! 

xoxo,

All about Lily // age six

Our sweet Lily turned 6 on New Year's Day! I'm not really sure how the baby who made me a mama can be six already! She is a precious, head-strong, loving, stubborn, encouraging girl. She loves writing notes and drawing pictures for anyone and everyone! When she gets to choose one thing from Target $ Spot, she chooses notecards over everything else. :)

She asked for pumpkin muffins, eggs and bacon for her birthday breakfast. 

We went to my family's for New Year's dinner. Mom helped Lily work on a little sewing project. 

Lily lost her second tooth on her birthday!

I find selfies like this on my phone all the time! haha. 

A few of Lily's favorites:

My best friend: Selena (neighbor friend)

My favorite food: mac & cheese and hot dogs

My favorite color: black and white

My favorite book: Heidi

My favorite place to go: the beach

My favorite animal: cats

My favorite sport: riding my bike

My favorite school subject: math

I would like to work on: being a better sister

I would like to learn more about: God

Hobbies: playing with Ava, drawing

What will you be when you grow up? artist and piano teacher

Are you going to get married? maybe, still thinking about it.

What do you love to do with Mama? go to Starbucks and Target.

What do you love to do with Daddy? go out to Starbucks

What do you love most about yourself? that I have a home and a family.

xoxo,

Highlight of the weekend.

Our weekend was a busy one! Jacob had several rehearsals for a concert and the kids and I stayed busy cleaning and playing outside - the weather was nice! The Saturday night concert was super special because Jacob (the concertmaster of the orchestra) played a solo - "Lark Ascending." It was such a great opportunity for him, but it took a lot of work! 

My sister in law kindly agreed to come and stay with Ava and Ezra so I could attend the concert with my big kids.

My nephew also sat with us! The kids did such a great job through the whole concert - my three were asleep by the end :)

It was so fun that a lot of family and friends were able to attend to support Jacob! In the picture are my mom, Jacob's mom, Lily, and Jacob's sister. 

Jacob did a phenomenal job! He had fun, but he's glad it's done!

I was holding a sleeping child at the end of the concert when everyone was getting pictures, so I had to snag one once we got home. I'm so proud of this guy! I love seeing him using his talent for the Lord!

xoxo,

Valentine's Day 2016

Ok, so I don't decorate very much. Like at all. I get so overwhelmed when I go to Hobby Lobby because I LOVE EVERYTHING...but I know I can't get everything...soooo I get NOTHING because I can't decide what would look best. OH my word, it's a vicious cycle. 

But anyway. Now I have a 6 year old daughter who wants to decorate all the things! I've got to step it up in the decorating department. Thankfully I have a sister, sister-in-law, and daughter who have a great eye for decorating!

We gathered these decorations along with a heart shaped wreath and a Target $ spot banner to make the house a little festive. The sign I've had since Jacob and I got married, and the chevron print is a printable I found on Pinterest and stuck in an unused frame. The kids were so excited when we got it set up. Holidays are such a big deal to children, and I'm so glad we were able to pull together few decorations to make it special for them.

I only had a small amount time between Jacob's rehearsal and concert on Saturday to get my groceries and valentine's gifts. I was running like a mad woman and everywhere I went there were crazy long lines. Anyway, I got the 4 big kids notebooks, crayons, and stickers from the Dollar Tree, Ezra got an outfit from Target clearance rack, and Jacob got some of his favorite foods - trail mix, cream soda, jerky, etc. Very romantic, I know :) Obviously I had thoroughly planned. Not! 

Jacob got me a new griddle (the one we had was practically dead), a selfie stick, and dove chocolate. I slipped 1 dove chocolate heart in each of the kid's bags. They were thrilled! :)

5 of my sweet valentine's before church.

My main man. I love this guy! 

We are enjoying the selfie stick! I love that I can now easily get in pictures with my kids. I want to capture memories with my kids...not just from behind the camera. 

xoxo,