Ella Bella Ballerina

 My little Ella Bella Ballerina started creative dance today! She has been counting down the days and she could hardly believe it when I told her today was the day! We signed her up at a local rec center and it was perfect for her. Its sorta an introduction to dance and lets them move a lot which at the age of 4 is a good thing.

 Ella is taking this class with her friend Julianna and they seemed to really bond during the class. 

They were holding hands randomly and always stuck by one another. 

The parents had to watch through a little window.

Daddy and all the kiddos came to watch too- Ella was SO excited that we all wanted to be there to see her dance. It was pretty tight so they didnt watch for long.

Ella took the whole class pretty seriously and paid very close attention to all the teachers instruction. I love that about Ella- she seems pretty focused overall- She was pretty shy when they asked her to go out by herself and perform what they learned today, but at least she went out and did a few things! 

The class lasted for 45 minutes and I can hardly wait for next Saturday to watch my little

Ella Bella Ballerina!

Vintage Royal Wedding Hats

Gazillion of Easter Activities, Gymnastics, A First for Sophia and A field trip to the Zoo are all topics that I really need to post, but I just had to show you the finished products of the vintage hats I recreated since all the buzz in the blogging world is The Royal Wedding!

I stopped at a really cool antique store by our house that is HUGE and has some really good deals. I found these 3 vintage hats for under $10! I spruced them up with some fabric and satin flowers and pearls and some tulle and feathers! 

They turned out perfect!

Why would I need a vintage hat?

Am I invited to the Royal Wedding?

Sort of:) 

I am headed to a friends to watch it tomorrow morning

  complete with scones and crumpets, 

cucumber sandwiches and little muffins

and even a wedding cake:)

And dont forget the pearls and hats!!

Oh and a gazillion little kids running around, 

but it will be fun to be sure!

He is Risen!

Easter 2011

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend,

The agony of Calvary

You the Perfect Holy One,

Crushed your Son

And drank the bitter cup reserved for me.

Your blood has washed away my sin,

Jesus thank you.

The Fathers wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thanks you.

Once your enemy now seated at your table

Jesus, Thank You!

Nature Hike

 We had such a great hike the other day in the great outdoors- actually it was the Audubon Center and we did see a LOT of birds! I made up a scavanger hunt game so that helped keep an interest!

The kids overall did REALLY well! Hardly any complaining:) and we hiked for around 2 hours

 They loved the river- we spent a bunch of time throwing rocks in it. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

 We came to this area where TONS of trees where chopped down by beavers! It was amazing! I cannot believe the size of the trees that they were able to chop down. We saw their dam and then a HUGE hole that probably was their home too and access to the water below. Very intriguing!

 Then, they met a horse along the way! Her name was Star and the lady let us pet her and we visited with her for a while! I LOVE that we saw a horse out on a path in the woods- too cool

 I think this pic of Elijah in the tall weeds was my favorite from the day:)

We are thinking that this summer, we will test our kids love for nature by doing an overnight camping trip somewhere close by so if needs be we can come home! 

But I have high hopes-I think it will go well! 

Clouds are Rolling In

Yep- its cloudy and overcast and cold here today- thinking I am going to try a new recipe- curry cashew chicken over rice. I REALLY like curry but have never tried my hand at making it- today is the day!
If I take a picture of it and put it on my blog, you will know it was a success!

Here is a video of Arianna "skating" for the first time back in December. It was a LONG 2 hours and my arms were about to fall off afterward. I have WONDERFUL memories of our church renting out the rollerskating rink and blasting Patch The Pirate while we skated to our hearts content:) I was pretty fast too! Enjoy! Happy Wednesday!

April Showers

 We woke up to a very dreary Thursday. 

Dreary weather makes me want something homemade and baked,

so I whipped up some blueberry muffins! 

(see my recipe page- I posted it there)

Top it off with a cup of AMAZING coffee in my new mug

(birthday present from Erika)

My morning got better and warmer:)

I've been reading lately. I go in spurts. 

I try to have one spiritual/theological book and 

one fiction book going at the same time.

Right now, here is what I am reading...

#1. April in Paris by Michael Wallner- this story takes place in France during WWII and is a love story about a German soldier and French Resistance Fighter- I am not very far into it but it has been good so far. 

#2. Just Do Something- A liberating approach to finding God's Will OR how to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses,  casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky,etc. ( I am not kidding when I tell you that is the title of the book:) It is written by Kevin DeYoung and is right on in my opinion! Its a very easy read for the common person- not too many big words and written in a way thats easy to understand!

So, there you have it- my Thursday. 

We have Community Group tonight with tacos on the menu- YUM! 

I cant wait! you all know I love food!

And as I am typing this- the sun is coming out!

Good thing because I am not getting much reading done with Elijah and Ella popping up all around me and getting the windex out and spraying everything in sight, and jumping on my bed, and helping themselves to animal crackers, and trying on every shoe in their closet .. you get the idea! 

Maybe we will spend some time outside before nap time and lunch.

I need to wear these kiddos out.

An oldie but Goodie!

This is from January that I never put up but its a keeper!
Ella LOVES to read and she memorized the whole book of
"How Does a Dinosaur Go To School" that we got from the library!
We read it so much that even Elijah picked up on a bunch of words!
(And Megan, this is is especially for you seeing as you LOVE the way that Ella says "Girl" )
Listen carefully to hear her pronunciation-
its pretty cute!

The Vintage Pearl

I REALLY love this style of necklaces and jewelry and actually Mark got me one for my birthday, very similar to the one in this picture (although from a different company using a groopdealz coupon- it was an amazing deal!)  It still isnt here but I CANNOT wait!
Check out this amazing $100 giveaway from The Vintage Pearl!!! What would you get with $100?!

The Vintage Pearl: happy birthday to me. (BIG giveaway!)

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

1. This week, we sent everyone back off to school (after Spring Break) It was wonderful to get back into the routine of life! Needless to say that routine is often very busy! I started watching 2 little ones in the morning from 7-9am. I really enjoy it and 6 kiddos is PRETTY busy!

2. This week, I sold most of my Stampin Up stuff (on ebay and Facebook)- I used to sell Stampin Up in Massachusetts and sadly there really is no time to sell it out here. Also, I found no one really interested in it, so I think that helped me to part with it all. It was VERY sad going through it all to remember all the GREAT times I had stamping with friends in MA and stamping cards for the HUGE moments in our lives- the announcement of our twins, the birth of out twins and the list goes on an on! I did hold on to a few of my absolute favorite stamp sets. and let me tell you Ebay is INSANE! I cannot believe how much I made for these Stampin Up punches on there! It really makes me consider doing an Ebay business.

3. I met a new friend- Tina!!! I  sought her out through mutual friends, Giles and Janelle. Her daughter, Ella, has CDH (a high risk birth defect), just like Elijah Litzner who I have asked prayer for many times! After reading her blog (click here), I realized she lived in our area! We met for coffee and can I say what an encouragement she was to me with her positive attitude about her struggles and her desire to be used of God through them. PLEASE pray for little Ella to grow stronger and to have a reprieve from her illness and for Tina as she takes care of her little girl! My heart has been so burdened for this family.

3. We had our weekly community group Thursday night- if you live in the area and want to come eat a meal with us and participate in a Bible Study- come on over at 6pm! It has been SO very encouraging to me to gather with a group of Christians weekly to pray, eat a yummy meal:) and study God's Word together! I look forward to Thursday nights every week:)

3. The weather has been GORGEOUS all week, so we have spent a LOT of time outside- playing, walking, swimming( I set up the little kiddie pool yesterday because it was around 80 degrees outside!), BBQing! SO much fun!

4. Little Teagon was born 5 days ago to Janna and Jeremy so we made them dinner last night and I was able to hold that precious little baby- ALMOST makes me want another- ALMOST! He smelled delicious, his little features were SO tiny and perfect, he slept so peacefully in my arms... it was great to welcome a new little person into the world!

5. And today is Sunday- a busy day for us with church and company! We are having Marks Africa team come over for food and a meeting. I am excited to meet everyone who will be spending time with Mark in Africa! (Special thanks to SO MANY of you who have sent money for his trip!) It is overwhelming to have so many wonderful friends and family to get behind Mark and support him in this mission trip! THANK YOU! I am SO VERY excited for him to get to experience Africa and help the orphans and AIDS victims there- I am excited to see how God uses this trip to even change our families lives! (Ella hopes Mark comes home with a little orphan girl:) and give us more of a vision for those abroad!

Well, that is all that is on my mind right now:)

Hoping you all have a wonderful week serving our great GOD!