Welcoming Calvin Michael Endyk to the World

 There is just something so magical and emotional and wonderful about welcoming a new little life into the world! Our dear, sweet friends, 

The Endyks, 

welcomed their little boy

Calvin Michael

into the world on 

March 28th! 

He was a few weeks early and teeny! 

He weighed as much as Arianna when she was born- 4lbs 14 oz.

Amazing- this miracle of life! 

We couldn't be more happy for Val and Bobby and Julia! 

(and for our church nursery!) 

 look at all that dark hair! 

and Val looks gorgeous as always! 

Thirty- Three

Today I am thirty- three.

Here are thirty- three things I love about my life-

 in no particular order:

1. My God- I am blown away by the love He has lavished on me by choosing me to be His child.

2. Jesus Christ- God's wrath deserved for me was placed on His Son when He shed His blood on the cross. Then, His Holiness was transfered to me. What a glorious exchange of which I am so unworthy!

3. My husband- God blessed me abundantly when he allowed Mark to choose me as a wife. I often feel like I got the better end of the deal:) 

4. Sophia and Arianna- my firstborn twins! I LOVE having twin girlies and they make me smile, laugh, challenge me, and are beautiful little girls inside and out! 

5. Ella- Oh, Ella, there is so much I can say about this little girl who steals my heart with her big eyes and sweet little smile! She is spunky and loves that we are "twins".

6. Elijah- God knew I wanted a boy so badly and I couldn't ask for a better one- he gives the best kisses and hugs and I LOVE his little dimple on his right cheek:) 

7. My out of town family- they are all over the USA and I am so grateful for the phone calls, visits and love they send from afar! I miss you all so very much! 

8. My "in-law" family- they really are the best and I love them all so much- I am so blessed! Sunday lunches are something I look forward to every week- good times! The love they show my children and us is so special.

9. My church family- they hold such a special place in my heart... the bond we have in Christ is awesome! They are some of my very best friends. 

10. Our community group- they challenge me to be honest and a follower of Christ and they make me laugh:) especially Ada:)

11. Our home- it is a place I feel most myself, a place I can relax in, a place that is filled with love

12. Food- If you know me at all you know that I really like to eat- most anything- food is the best! 

13. our minivan because it transports all of us around town and its paid off!!!! whohoo! 

14. God's Word- it is a wealth of rebuke, encouragement, inspiration... it shows me Christ and His love for me! 

15. Books- I really like to read a lot- mostly fiction and theology books

16. Valor- its where my husband is employed and it enables me to stay at home (I've been a stay at home mom for the past 6 years and I realize that is such a HUGE blessing and something I do not take for granted) 

16. Pinterest- face it- its just cool:) 

17. My blog- Its fun and I love to be a small part of the blogging world! 

18. Music- I love music- music that focuses my mind on Christ- and music that is just plain fun! And I love to sing at the top of my lungs in the car! The kids like it too- or so I think:) 

19. My Kindle- it enables me to bring a "book" anywhere I go. Thats cool.

20. Coffee

21. Hopkins Elementary- my twins school- and especially all their teachers so far- Mrs. Johnson, Miss Stephansen and Mrs. Sustr- you have inspired them to love learning! 

22. Target- who doesnt just love walking the aisles of Target

23. The Office- one of my all time favorite shows

24. Prayer- its amazing that anytime, anywhere I can talk to my Father for things that are on my heart.

25. All Spiritual blessings - super cool that because of Christ, I have access to every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus! Blows my mind! Ephesians 1:3- and that those blessings include trials and things that prove my faith is real! 

26. my kiddos friends- they really have a great group of friends that they enjoy being with

27. Our friends- leaving Massachusetts was one of the hardest things because of the close friendships we had there but God has blessed us with numerous friends who we can share our lives with, who encourage me to love Christ and who are just fun to be around! 

28. Technology- I like it.

29. Denver- its really nice to live in Colorado. The scenery is beautiful and the weather is wonderful.. I really like it here! And I love living in the city:) everything is so close! 

30. Facebook- it keeps me connected to so many wonderful friends from elementary, highschool, college and beyond! 

31. Babysitters- really, I am so thankful for the many teenagers, family and friends who watch my children for free so that my husband and I can enjoy time away! SO GRATEFUL! 

32. Date Nights- oh yes! 

33. For 33 years on this earth- every breath I take is a gift from God! 

Kitchen

 Moving forward with the Gomez home tour... the kitchen. 

 LOVE that tea set- it was my Great Grandmothers. My mom is sending me my great grandmother's dish set too! I'm so excited! And notice those pear canisters. I found them at Target a few years ago and only bought 2 of them (there is a large green one as well to the set). I got them for under $10 on Clearance. Well, I went on ebay to see if I could find the green one to complete my set and it was selling for over $70!!!! The orange one was around $50 and the gray one around $30! I seriously contemplated selling mine but I like them too much:) 

I have a green pear mug that went with the set and it was selling for around $20 on ebay! CRAZY! 

I wish I could predict whats gonna be in high demand because I would buy it all up and resell it! 

So there you have it! Our kitchen. I spend a lot of time in this room and I like the calm colors and the counter space and the plethora of cabinets! If I owned this house, I think I would paint the cabinets a darker color.

Red Dining Room

 I have had several people say that they would like to see pictures of my house on my blog so I thought I'd do a room to room view, starting with the dining room.

Its RED! very red! especially in the late afternoon when the sun comes through the back window and the whole room glows. I like it. Its bold and bright with accents of black, orange and white.

 I have a VERY large wall on one side that my sweet friend Megan basically decorated for me with pictures of our family that she took!  

 We have needed bar stools for forever and I FINALLY found the perfect ones at a yard sale. They are old and vintage and wrought iron and have so much character and did I mention, have burnt orange vinyl seats?! They match perfectly and I got them for around $10 a chair- steal of a deal!

Here is the view when you walk in the front door. 

Now for the crazy part.. here is the dining room when we first moved in 3 years ago. It is amazing to me how my style has changed so dramatically but it really has- even the way I dress has changed and I'm not sure what started the change! I think its amazing how VERY different my style was then and is now! I think part of it is that I never really bought things for the house in the beginning- I was given a ton of stuff by my mom and her style is country and more romantic, so I just adopted that style because it meant I could use all her things that she didn't want any more and not spend money which is a good thing. I was very grateful for them because my home would have been VERY bare if not for her:)
But as my style began changing, I just worked at one room a little at a time switching over to a style that was more me. In my head that was too much work but it just took time and patience to switch over . I rarely buy items full price. I find them at garage sales or at deeply discounted sales or I make it. So once I decided I wanted the room red and actually painted it, then I sewed some curtains and worked a little at a time to transform it to what I wanted in my head. I really enjoy the "hunt" for the perfect things  to add to the room and get even more excited when it costs little!

Next to come, the living room! 

Artist

We were so proud of Sophia whose art work was chosen to be displayed in an art museum along with others from the Littleton School District.

                                She made the bunny with the color wheel belly:) 

Grandma and Grandpa came along with us to see her work displayed! 

No Pinching

We are all wearing GREEN! 

No pinching allowed

Enjoy the Warmth

 We have been having some pretty splendid weather here lately! High 60's for days in a row now:) We have been taking advantage of it by being outside a lot! We took a trip to DeKoevend park on Saturday while Mark was preparing his sermon to preach on Sunday. The Mondragons joined us:) 

LOVED how Breck has to get in on the fun! 

 

 
     

 We did some exploring in the woods by the creek. It was so fun! I love my kids huge imaginations!

 classic picture:) 

 We are trying to grow Ellas bangs out but boy is it hard- nothing stays in her hair to keep it out of her eyes! ah well...

Love this picture of me and my Lij! Hes a funny kid and I am blessed to be his momma!

I started exercising again. You know me, I go in spurts:) But took a 2 mile walk/run today and am working out with Mark at night with a fitness DVD. Im sore! 

Hoping to get my stomach into shape. Thats the goal! 

Well, off to work on my Etsy shop! 

Nerds Rule

"Nerds need love too"

Catching My Breath

 

Wow- what a busy past few week. My blogging has suffered but its not on the top of my priority list lately. Lets see if I can catch you up briefly! 

1. Girl Scout Cookies have ended! AHH! I was the cookie troop mom and boy was that a TON of work and time! Glad its over and glad we earned over $1000 for our troop for a summer camp in the mountains and badges. I dont think I will be doing it again next year... someone else's turn:)

2. Our church is growing!!! It is SO very exciting but with growth comes more responsibility and time! We also have lots of babies being born and a wedding! So, I have been planning showers which is just up my alley:) Stay tuned for pictures! And I must say Pinterest has saved me tons of time thinking up ideas! Its my favorite spot to look for them. 

I've also been appointed the Children's Ministry deacon (or deaconess if you so prefer) and it has been such a JOY working with the kids programs and workers! I really am enjoying it immensely. God has really burdened my heart to show children the grace of God through the Gospel! We are using the Jesus StoryBook Bible curriculum. I just LOVE how EVERY story, even in the Old Testament, shows how Jesus is the Hero, not man! I could go on and on about how much I love this but I'll spare you:) We also have split our very large community group into 2, one of which will start meeting at our house very week on Thursday! Its so much fun to share a meal together and then talk about Jesus! Good times! Come join us! It starts at 6pm:)

3. I have been busy at the girls school planning and throwing the Teacher and Staff Appreciation Luncheon. We went with a western theme and did  BBQ meat and salads. It was yummy and the room looked cute. I even made 50 chocolate mustaches for the teachers to take home:) You need a good mustache if you want to be a cowboy! Special thanks to Val Endyk who babysat my kids all day so I could throw this party:)

 

                   
 4. We have had such weird weather here lately. We have days (like yesterday and today) where it has been near 70! Its gorgeous! Then we have snow(see the above pictures of Mark with the kids building a snowman)! Tomorrow we are supposed to get snow and rain. ugh. We have been struggling with sickness a lot too probably because of the hot and cold temps! Ready for SPRING!

5. We have gotten in a few dates this past month:) We went to a new place called Cherry Cricket- its an old bar from the 1950's that now is a restaurant that sells AMAZING burgers! The Endyk's took us out since Mark fixed their broken computer (he's pretty much a genius:) I got a burger with cream cheese, jalapeños and raspberry jam but it was so yummy! Bobby got one that had bacon, and egg and peanut butter! Crazy combos but mouth watering! Special thanks to Jamie who babysat the kids free of charge- he really is the best EVER! The kids LOVE him and made him a sign that said "Welcome King Jamie"! Hes a hero in their book! SO thankful for teens who love our kids and love our family enough to let us go out without charging us a penny. I am planning on making him some pumpkin roll as compensation!

6. Mark has been so busy planning the Africa trip for Valor for this summer- please pray for him as he leads about 18 teens to Kenya and Nairobi. Its a lot of organizing that needs to take place now for then! They have some pretty amazing things planned and our family is going to try to help in collecting some supplies that the Kenyan people need. I'll try to post more about that at a later time! We are so grateful that he has this opportunity for a second year in a row! Someday I will get there with him too:) Cant wait for that day!

7. Marks niece, Alex, turned 18 on March 1st and Grandma and Grandpa took everyone out to a fancy French restaurant downtown- called Le Central- to celebrate. I thought the food was AMAZING! I had a fish dish and it was very tasty and their bread was delicious. Their dessert menu was off the charts awesome too! I got the Cafe Au Late which looked like a cup but was made completely out of chocolate and cake and ganache...yum! It was a good time! Hard to believe Alex is 18! Time certainly goes by so quickly!

 

 

8. Ella is doing great in preschool- hard to believe she only has 2 months and she will be a Kindergartener! And Elijah will be taking her place as a preschooler- talk about time flying! I cannot believe that my time with just him at home with soon be a memory. Makes me sad but excited too! I plan on joining a gym next year and working out a bit while I am childless for half the day. Then in one more year it will be time to hit the work force! yikes!
The twins LOVE school and are really doing well in their studies. I am so grateful that they dont struggle with learning (yet)!

9. Mark got glasses and I think he looks so handsome! I am just LOVING that guy:) Love is pretty much awesome! Speaking of marriage, I am ready The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller and it is fantastic! Go get it and read it!

10. It is my birthday in 20 days! Hard to believe I will be the ripe old age of 33! Anyhow, I have been getting tons of birthday freebies and coupons in the mail! LOVE that!  My fav store is Anthropology but they are wicked expensive. So, about once a year, I pick something out for myself with the coupon they send me! This year it was this cute juice glass. I love it!

Lij snapped this picture of me checking out the goods. I had no idea- I just found it on my phone:) 

11. We were given a dwarf hamster. The kids are in heaven and I am so proud of them- they have taken such good care of it! They have learned how to change its bedding and they feed it and give it water every day. Such a HUGE contrast from the time when they were 3 and got a hamster- needless to say that didnt last long- my sister in law rescued me by taking it and then gave it away too. It was big and ugly. This little guy is SO tiny! And the twins are MUCH older and know how to care for it! WHOOHOO!

 12. I have started painting the basement. It is a pretty lime green but lighter. with black accents. I like it- it really is opening the room up and it looks so fresh and pretty! Its beena  fun project- i really like to paint. I will post pictures when its done!

13. Wow, am I really at 13? I think I'm done! Im sure I missed a few things but overall these were the highlights! Please keep checking back. Going to try to blog every day once again- we will see! Much love to you all, my loyal readers!