Happy Easter

 "There is love that came for us.

Humbled to a sinners cross.

You broke my shame and sinfulness.

You rose again victorious.

Faithfulness none can deny

through the storm and through the fire.

There is truth that sets me free.

Jesus Christ who lives in me.

No beginning and no end, 

You're my hope and my defense.

You came to seek and save the lost.

You paid it all upon the cross. 

You are stronger. You are stronger. 

Sin is broken. You have saved me. 

It is written: Christ is Risen.

Jesus, You are Lord of all."

Praising God for my family and the good gifts He so GRACIOUSLY gives. 

May His Name be lifted higher- not only on Easter but every day! 

Birthday Family Fun

34 years old. Yes, I am getting older but with age comes many blessings.
I think back over the years and could not be happier to the place God has brought me. He is good.
I kept thinking of this song all day...

"Hitherto Thy love has blessed me

Thou hast brought me to this place

And I know Thy hand will bring me

Safely home by Thy good grace

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wandering from the fold of God

He, to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood"

Birthdays are good reminders of the grace and love that God has poured out upon me in giving me life. 

We took a break from the norm this year and went out for Birthday breakfast:) We heard good things about a restaurant called Perfect Landing over near Centennial Airport. It did not disappoint.  Not only was the food terrific, the view was super cool. There are big windows that overlook the small airport and we saw many planes only a few feet away landing and taking off. It really was fun!

The kids did awesome in picking out presents for me this year:) But to be fair ANYTHING at Anthropology, I will love:) So, Mark did good in steering Ella and Arianna in that direction:)

The Rifle Paper Company Stationary from Anthropology- beautiful and picked out by Ella.

A "C" coffe mug from Anthropology- picked out by Ari

My sister in law got me into these adorable charm bracelets by Alex and Ani. 

She got me one for my birthday when I was in PA that said "Sister", and I LOVED it.  

So, Mark let Sophia pick me one out and I LOVED her choice. 

{LOVE} Alex and Ani charm bracelet- picked out by Sophia

And Elijah told Mark he wanted to get me a movie, so les Mis it was since it is now my favorite movie!

After breakfast, we saw The Croods with part of the Mondragon clan. It was a good time and the kids GREATLY outnumbered the adults:) The movie was super funny and not crude at all. It was a good time.
After the movie, we went swimming at Lonetree Rec Center which is always fun!
By then I was super tired, because I am getting close to 40!
Took a quick nap and then loaded the kiddos to Grandma and Grandpa's house so Mark and I could enjoy dinner and coffee. Special thanks to them for giving us a nice night out!

We headed to Old Town Littleton for dinner at The Tavern (pretty good but not like Merles next door- its the Best!) Then to a little coffee shop across the street to end the evening with a cup 'o joe and a game of Yahtzee.

It was a fabulous day. 34 never felt so good. 

 IT snowed today- ALOT! I say there is probably around 12 inches out there and its still flurrying away at 7pm. Mark preaches tomorrow so it was a good day to stay home and chill. The girls played outside and Sophia shoveled the whole walkway (so sweet of her). Elijah tagged along after daddy all morning starting fights:) and then played video games in the afternoon. Ella played by herself for a LONG time in the basement. The twins took LONG baths. I organized spring/summer clothes. It was a very productive day:) The kids are now happily painting away and Im sure there is paint all over while I blog but whatever! I love listening to their little conversations while they create. Warms my heart.
Tonight we are going to watch The Hobbit! I am beyond excited.

 Its funny how crazy the weather is here in CO. By Thursday it says it will be in the 60's. The trees are all starting to bud. And weird spring snowstorms are common. Last week we got some rain (just a tad) which was rare and very fun for the kids. They love umbrellas. 

yes, that is a sled in the background. They were using it to sled down the grassy hill in the back. Who knows? 

In other news, Sophia has been having belly pain for a good 2 months. We finally took her in and after an xray, they found she is "stopped up". Its so weird though because she hasn't had problems going. We have tried MANY things to clear her up since the problem as diagnosed. We were told that she must drink lots more water! She is taking Milk of Magnesia every night in hopes to help her.
She also had strep that went into her digestive system and was giving her belly pain as well. So she is on antibiotics for that. Poor thing. She seems to be doing better though and has not complained about her belly as much. And she thinks its pretty awesome that they gave her a slide of her xray to take home!

Elijah has been VERY into "rough housing" lately! 

I am so glad he has Mark to wrestle, punch, fight, box, etc! 

For his small stature, He is a pretty crazy little dude. 

And he can certainly make some crazy faces:) 

Ella has been doing very well in school. She is one smart cookie! 

She had to write a little poem and record it and 

they performed it during a special school event for the parents. 

Just wanted to close with a picture of some pretty awesome friends!

 I am blessed to have these ladies and many more like them in my life. 

Family

My Dad's side of the family

cousins

my handsome brother

My beautiful Grammy passed away on February 28th. I was able to go home to PA for the funeral and spend some great time with my wonderful family. It was great going thru lots of pictures and remembering my awesome childhood. My Grammy and Poppy would always take us to the Jersey Shore every summer. We would stay at their camper at Tip Tam and go swimming in the ocean, go to the boardwalk, go deep blue sea fishing, and so much more. They made every summer so memorable for me. Pop passed away about 12 years ago and now Gram is gone as well. My uncles were so wonderful and let us grandkids go thru Grams stuff and pick out whatever we wanted to remember her by. I picked out a few of her rings, a cross necklace, some pewter figurines for my kids, and her pasta machine. I remember her making fresh pasta and letting us kids cut it off when it got long enough. I am excited to try it out with my kids and continue the memory. She will be missed greatly. I think the hardest part of the trip for me was going to her house and walking thru the door to her not being there. The funeral was also very moving. My dad, Poppy and now Grammy all had their funerals in the same room at the same funeral home. It was tough. Uncle Kenny read a beautiful written eulogy which had us all in tears.

I was also able to spend a lot of good quality time with my mom and Tim and brother and his wife, Erika, which was awesome! Whenever I come home, I am usually really busy running all over the place visiting everyone but this trip was much more relaxed and I loved it! Mom got me hooked on the gym:) We did lots of shopping and eating at all the yummy places of my childhood! And we were able to have some good conversations. Love her so much!

It was also great being able to reconnect with my step-siblings, Cindi, Sandi and Jake, and all my nieces and nephews who are growing by leaps and bounds! Wish we all lived closer- it would be fun with so many kiddos running around-15 kiddos total.

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who watched all 4 kiddos for 7 days! He did have help from Grandma and Grandpa and our church family for which we were both so grateful... We are so blessed. It was absolutely wonderful seeing the kids when I got back:) hey talked my ear off for a long time and kept hugging me- its great to be missed!

I am now happy to be home and back into the swing of things. The house is cleaned, the fridge is stocked, the laundry is done and my to-do list is full again:) Its an awesome privilege and responsibility to take care of my family and to love on my community. After a week break from the norm, that love is renewed and the excitement and passion is rekindled!