Utah Trip with My Man

 Mark and I were able to get away over Spring Break for 3 days on a little road trip and it was WONDERFUL! We are so very grateful to Mark's parents who watched the kids during the day - all 3 days! And for Megan and Alexandra and Alexis who stayed at the house overnight so the kids could get some good sleep and so Grandma and Grandpa could get some rest too! 

Seriously- THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! 

I think the last time we went away just the two of us for more than a night was many years ago! 

It was so refreshing and wonderful to reconnect! 

 Marks parents took us to The Original Pancake House for a birthday breakfast before we left!!! 

 A large part of this trip was driving across Colorado to Utah 

and the return trip

Utah to Wyoming to Colorado.

But road trips without kids are a blast in my opinion! 

and if you have a cool fancy new car that you rented to do it in! 

We cranked some tunes, watched movies, talked and enjoyed the beautiful scenery! 

oh and I checked Facebook a lot because it was my birthday and

 it was fun to see who was wishing me a Happy Birthday:) 

We stopped at Red Robin for my free birthday burger! 

 We arrived in Utah Monday late afternoon- Utah is SO pretty! I have wanted to visit there for a while now because Mark has told me how the whole city is surrounded by mountains that aren't far away! It was gorgeous! We checked in at a fancy schmancy hotel downtown! Loved it!  

 The view at night- we were on the 15th floor.

That night we walked around downtown- Fun times! 

 We found this cool little street!  

 view from our hotel in the morning

 The next day, we got breakfast and drove up to the mountains and hiked a bit up and took some pictures. 

 We then went and saw The Hunger Games and had lunch.

 Then we drove to the Salt Lake- it was crazy! It stank and the "beach" had tons of salt crystals everywhere. I couldn't imagine swimming in it-but it would be cool to see how easy it is to float! 

 After that we went to the Mormon Temple- WOW! It was some pretty impressive architecture- 

the sign said it took 40 years to build! 

 We ended the evening at Eva, a yummy tapa restaurant, for dinner and then the Cheesecake Factory for some chocolate fondue for dessert. It was the best! 

We spent the next day driving back to Colorado! 

It was a wonderful, relaxing trip! 

Superhero Baby Shower

Our church had the privileged of throwing Val a superhero themed baby shower for her little man, who was unnamed at the time- hence an "E" for Endyk! 

Of course, I used Pinterest for inspiration in my decorating and food choices! 

Special thanks to Erika, Laura and Debbie for helping with the decorations

and

Sandra, Sue, Glo and Melody for bringing all the food! 

 

 

 

 Yes, that is "Kryptonite" candy- it really glowed!      

 

 Seriously, isn't Val the cutest thing! She made her own special Party shirt:) 

 

Val got so many cute baby boy gifts! 

 

 

We are so blessed to have a church with lots of kiddos and even more on the way! 

And we are even more blessed to have a special friend like Val in our body! 

By the way, she had her little boy only 5 days after the shower. 

They named him Calvin Michael and he is as cute as can be! 

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.