The Weeks' weeks thanks & blessings... take II

I did intend on writing and posting this on Sunday (as in two weeks ago, at the present moment!)... yet, it is now Monday, Wednesday, a WEEK PAST the day I first attempted began writing this post... and is TUESDAY Wednesday... (again, of the FOLLOWING week!
Whew, I think I might just have to start "pre-writing" posts, when I get the itch, and write as much as possible! HA!).
We've I've been busy around here gearing up for the big day of LOVE that is tomorrow putting Valentine decorations and goodies away! As it, (again!) was LAST WEEK (!!!) (Valentine's!!! Day!!!).
Which, I think I had once said wasn't one of my favorite holidays... I've changed my mind! I am loving all of the extra LOVE that comes with Valentine's, and yes although some consider it a "hallmark holiday", I do think it's really fun to show those you care and love about how much you care and love about them EXTRA on this day!

The kiddos and I have had had a lot of fun creating all sorts of new crafts that are red, pink, and heart shaped!
I'll try to get have some fun photos tomorrow sometime soon, of our LOVEFEST over here, to share....

Here are last last weeks Weeks' Thanks & Blessings... We are still very thankful and feeling blessed!
1. Finding a fun place to take the munchkins on rainy days that they BOTH enjoy, and will eat lunch their too! So fun, in fact... we took Daddy there on Saturday night for dinner and playtime! (our first choice was to go bowling, but we didn't plan in right -timewise- and it was over an hour wait for a bowling lane... we'll try that again next time!).

 

BIG Bouncy house with BIG Slide! 

This guy was in heaven!!!!

 Cutie driving her pink car!

2. Coming across an "old" SWEET SWEET photo on my phone!

3. Brian, being the best hubby in the world.. and coming home early (& surprising me!)... just because he knows I'm exhausted and not feeling 100%! (and being so sweet on Valentine's Day! I awoke to find sweet little notes from him all over the house. And, some very special cards and a gorgeous plant! What more could a girl ask for? Nothin'!!! I'm so blessed!!!). BEST HUBBY award goes to... (drumroll...) Brian Weeks. He's just the best, and spoils me crazy!

4. Overhearing the following conversation between my two lovies:
Jackson: "maggie, why do you keep following me all around the house, every where I go?"
Maggie: "cause you my big brodder an i willy willy wuv you. dak, i wuv you wit alla me heart."
Jackson: "awww, maggie. you're so cute, come over here and gimme a big hug!"
I am one proud Mama!

5. Maggie deciding that maybe the potty is a good idea... she seems to still be in decision making mode, but at least it's a decision on her mind! We'll take it!!!

6. Having some fabulous MOPS friends "rescue" me when I (once again...) had taken on too much, and was feeling a wee bit a lot stressed about getting a project done by Friday! Thank you Thank you Thank you, C & C!!!!
7. MOPS Friday! I always look forward to the every other Friday that we have MOPS. Not only is it a great time for me to enjoy conversation and time focusing on my faith with wonderful friends, but the kiddos both have such a great time in their own classrooms too! (note: and since it's taken me over a week to write this post... we are looking forward to MOPS this coming Friday! :p)

 Silly girl riding the horse at MOPS like a craaaazy girl! :)

8. Decorating for Valentine's Day

9. Watching the kiddos get so excited about their Valentine's Day mailboxes, and patiently waiting for some incoming mail. :)
10. Jackson "writing" a card to his BF Bailey, because Bailey has been sick. He was soooo excited to put it in the mailbox, AND put up the flag for the postman to "come and pick it up, and drive it over to Bailey's house".
11. Seeing my sweet Jackson have such empathy and compassion for his friend, B. Even though he was disappointed that their playdate had to be canceled, he really was so much more worried about her not feeling good, and wanting her to feel healthy again... than he was about not getting to have a fun afternoon. In his words, "it's ok, mama. we can invite her over when she feels healthy, and has lots of energy to play with me. i think right now she needs to rest and snuggle with her mama. she'll feel better soon." aaaaawwwww! love that boy!
12. Maggie's evening, night, middle of the night, early morning, and mid morning "nuggles". Just hearing her sweet, raspy, half asleep voice saying "mama, you nuggle me two minutes?" is all I have to hear...
13. Hugs from my sweet hubby when he gets home from work.
14. My in-laws, who are not only amazing Grandparents, but amazing Parents and support to our family. Thank you Papa for accepting Jackson's invitation to his Valentine tea at school tomorrow last week, and inviting our munchkins over this coming last weekend, so that Brian and I can could have a special Valentine's Date!
(It was FABULOUS to eat dinner and actually carry on an uninterrupted conversation!!!)

I'll leave it at 14, as tomorrow is day 14 day 23 of the month! But, at this rate if I were to add 9 more Thanks and Blessings (which come to mind without thinking, it's the process of typing it all out!)

Wishing you all a Valentine's full of Love and Special times! We hope you all had a Valentine's filled with a little extra Love!!!

We were blessed to have this AMAZING cake in our house... wishing it was still here! :)
xoxo

The Weeks' week's blessings...

   In hopes of posting and sharing more (and more often...) I am going to attempt to share my personal and our family (as a whole) thanks and blessings of the prior week. This "idea" is in no way my own, yet it comes from one of my Favorite Blogs, in which the author, Kari Patterson shares her "Week’s end with thanks". 
   And, although the idea of sharing our Thanks and Blessings is not my own, all of our Thanks, of course, will be my own, as well Brian's, Jackson's and Maggie's. We have so much to be thankful for on a weekly, daily, hourly basis... yet, I find that we don't share them enough.
  So... here's our 1st "Weeks' Week's Thanks" (did you catch all that?)...
1. Snuggles with Munchkins, even if sick... sometimes it's worth the day long snuggles.

2. Same day pediatrician appointments
3. "unknown-strange rash" on Maggie's wrist turning out to be intense eczema due to her drooling when sucking her thumb
4. Robot-Jackson and Robot-Maggie, talking in the BEST Robot Voices ever!
5. Car Carts at the Grocery Store. Happy Munchkins = Happy Mama. (although, is it just me, or does it take some serious muscle to push those things? Apologies to all of those I have bumped rammed into... it was an accident, I promise. I have very little control of those car carts, but they save me every time I take both kiddos to the grocery store for more than one item!).

6. Robots running out of batteries, and getting to tickle give said Robots new life batteries
7. Giggles... non-stop giggles, even when trying not to giggle
8. Jack and Maggie playing Robots together
9. Maggie to Jack, "I wuv oooo, Dack. Ooo my favowites color." 

10. Jack to Maggie, "I love you, Maggs. You're just such a cute little girl. Come and give me a hug."
 
11. Grandparents
12. Grandparents/Mom and Dad/Nana and Papa (aka Brian parents) moving closer, being closer, helping closer
13. Amazing (above said) Grandparents picking Jackson and Maggie up on Saturday morning, returning them home Sunday afternoon 
14. Sleep... lots and lots of sleep to finally (!!!) get over a nasty bug (accomplished due to #13)
15. Sewing
16. Jackson jumping up and down as I'm sewing and trying to keep up with the needle bobbing up and down
17. Teaching Jackson how to sew (on a mini sewing machine... he's a natural, and loves it!)

18. Playing dollhouse with Maggie, me being the "big girl", Maggie being the "mama"
19. Buster panting hard from playing fetch with Brian in the backyard 
20. Our family, even with a rough week behind us of all being sick, mounds of laundry, and dealing with all that goes along with munchkins having the flu... I love them more than words can describe.

21. This amazing man that brings me happiness every day! 

22. Sunshine Days

 (Maggie swinging on the "big girl swings" at Jack's school!)
23. Jackson getting a big bed (thanks Kara!!! We love love love you!!!)
23. Being back home at First United Methodist Church
24. Making Valentine's with Jack and Maggie
25. MOPS, friends from MOPS, support from MOPS and the goodness ahead 
I promise not each week will have such a long list... but, we do have so much to be thankful for! And, of course, that includes each of you!
Hope you all have a fabulous week! xoxo

 

Thankful and Blessed don't even describe it!

Maggie's Special Day...

Our Sweet Little Miss Maggie had a VERY Special Day on January 8, 2012 when she was Baptized at First United Methodist Church, our Home Church in Vancouver, WA.

(note: We were active members when Jackson was a baby, and then we moved to Gig Harbor and then back... Needless to say, after MUCH "church shopping", we just weren't finding what we had been looking for ... which was First United Methodist. :) The drive is about 30 minutes, but it is completely worth it! We love being back at FUMC, and are hopeful that maybe in the future (who knows when....), we'll be a bit closer!)

Our Sweet Girl!

After Church Service, all those who were able, joined us for Lunch to celebrate Maggie's Special Day! We went to Beaches Restaurant in Vancouver, and it was really fun. The kiddos had a great time finding treasures in the "treasure chest", and making their own ice cream sundaes!!!

Maggie is nothing but a Pure Joy in our Lives, and in all who she surrounds.

We are incredibly Thankful to all of our wonderful friends and family who were able to join us for such a special and memorable day (and, of course missed those who were unable to be with us). Maggie was spoiled too (of course) with some incredibly special gifts.

All, that I know she will cherish forever!

 Jackson's ready to make his own Ice Cream Sundae! With the supervision of Daddy, of course! :)

 Still Adorable, even with a stinker face! :)

 Making Ice Cream Sundaes!!!

 Treasure Hunting ... (fyi: they both chose those "dinosaur clencher thingies"... you know the kind with the dinosaur mouth that opens and closes with the little handle. they have not only been used to "pick up toys" (which takes FOOOOORRREEEEVERRR!!!! but, apparently they are also great "swords" for pirate fights.... Oh Goodness!)

So many special gifts!

We are so blessed in all the love and kindness given to our sweet little girl!

Big Brother, Jackson!

(he was just doing his part, in being "King" for Lunch... he played the role very well!)

The day prior to Maggie's Baptism, we spent some time at church with Pastor Tinney...

Jack and Maggie really LOVED being on stage and playing all of the musical instruments!

Marjorie Elizabeth Ann, you have blessed our lives more than you'll ever know! We love you more than any words could describe! We know you are going to continue to grow and be the most loving, sweet, kind and amazing girl, you've already shown us you are!

"Baptism is a sign of God's ever-present and ever-flowing grace." ~ Pastor David Tinney

Thank you all for loving our little Princess as much as we do!!!!

xoxo

No promises...

I have finally come to terms with the fact that having two small children, I cannot make any promises of how often the blog will be updated (yes... me writing typing this, is much more for me, than anyone else). :)

No matter how hard I try... I can't seem to keep up with our blog... so, no more promises from me, as I seem to set myself up, feel guilty (over something as silly as not keeping our family blog updated, that I'm fairly sure approximately 2.5 people actually read), stress over writing on the blog, and then end up with mile long posts due to not updating in so long.

I can promise that I will continue posting updates. But, no deadline promises, anymore!

(as I'm pretty certain, those were just for me... and, clearly it wasn't working...).

Here's what we've been up to... (ok, really what we were up to around Christmas time)...

Hope you all (2.5 peeps) enjoy!!! :)

(ps. I am going to attempt to blog my progress, through the book "Organized Simplicity" ~ if you have read it (please be patient with me), and if you haven't, you should check it out... if you feel that your home is not only unorganized, but lacking the feeling you would love it to convey). If this is something that I do indeed have time to do (that is, document my hopeful progress, it will be on a separate tag, so that those who have no interest, can skip it all together!).



Jackson's AWESOME "Parking Garage" that Jackson and Mama built... ALL BY THEMSELVES!

(yes, I think I was a bit more proud than Jackson! :) It was a two evening process... first the painting of the cardboard, then the actual construction... And, it was so much fun!)

 Cousin Love!
(this was actually taken towards the end of Summer, 2011! ~ But, it's such a great picture! It was the first Duck Game of the Season, and all of the cousins were ready to cheer on our Favorite Team!!!!

 Sweet Maggie Girl...

This is what happens (above photo) when little girls don't go to bed when they're supposed to... and then have to get up early to take their big brother to school.

They fall asleep in their beds while their Mama is doing laundry, just minutes after getting home from taking Big Brother to school! :)

(it was so sweet to find her all nestled in her bed with all of her "babies", that she had been playing with, surrounding her!).

 One Cute Daddy,

With Two Cute Munchkins!

 I know, Valentine's Day is upon us... 

and I feel like am still catching up from Christmas....

I'm thinking, at this rate,

all of the Christmas stuff in the garage that 

still needs to be organized, labeled, and (some) donated,

will just be there waiting for me next Christmas!

 Jackson having fun at the Disney Store (in December!) when we went on a special Mommy-Jackson date. We went Christmas shopping, and he had so much fun!

He was so sweet in picking out "Holly", the bear from Build a Bear, that he chose for Maggie for Christmas.

He washed, cleaned, brushed Holly. 

And, then picked out the perfect Christmas dress, with shoes and a bonnet for Holly to wear!

 Cute guy!

His feet were hurting, when we finally left the mall...

he told me, "Mama, you shop for sooo long. I can't shop for so long. 

You make my feet hurt!".

Ha, for most who know me, feel the same!!! :)

Making Christmas Decorations...

Adorable "Pinecone Trees"

 ... Maggie made one too!

 Here is Jack's beautiful ornament hanging on the tree!

 Maggie's looked beautiful too!

Maggie, caught wearing the "Birthday Crown".

It was worn (for a very short period of time, not even long enough to capture a photo)

by Papa as we celebrated his birthday a few days prior to Christmas!

Such a Silly Girl!

Two Tired Boys!

 Christmas is Exhausting!!! Especially when it includes a new Buzz Lightyear, and the BEST (boy) Cousin in the whole world!!!
We love you, Chris and miss you lots!!!

More Cousin Love!!!

Jack and Maggie LOVED having their cousins, Michelle, Chris and Ashley to play with them, and all of their new goodies!

Ashley teaching Maggie how to use her cell phone (????).

Oh Goodness, it's starting early!!! :)

We had such a wonderful Christmas, spent with Family. We loved having everyone at our home this year, and it meant so much to us to have Family with us, as we celebrated such an amazing day!
(We have so many more Christmas photos to share, but I'm afraid at this rate, it'll be Christmas 2012 before I finish posting everything from Christmas 2011! :p)....

Big Hugs and Love from each of us!

xoxo