Friends, fun, and memories

These past two weeks have flown by so fast! We have been so busy! Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to!

Maci is now eating solids. She is so messy. The first few days she spit it back out as fast as I put it in, but now she can't take it in quick enough. She leans for the dish, instead of the spoon. Here is a video of her eating. (And yes, that is Chloe in the background begging for greenbeans as she is laying in bed trying to find an excuse to come out)

The girls had friends over and we thought it would be fun to bring in the picnic table and enjoy lunch like this! I wish we had space to have this up permanently inside, but we don't. They love that it's their size and I love that it's so easy to clean! They played for 3 hours (without fighting) while their girlfriends were over!

Chloe is loving being a big sister! I let her help me feed Maci and she really feels like big stuff! Wish I could convince her to change the diapers...oh well someday, right?

Here is a picture of the girls at church. They were hugging and it was really sweet, but couldn't quite get them both to look and smile at the same time. They are really starting to play well together and I love to watch them interact.

Steve bought me flowers for Valentines day and took me to a dinner theater, Clue. It was a blast! Steve and I both guessed the right person, room, but were wrong on the weapon! It was fun getting (sort of) dressed up. Chloe and I went to get our hair cut, and I paid the extra $ and had them style mine as well. This was a fun date, and it was kid free! Our church did childcare for $10/kid from 6-10:PM. What a steal! Our girls had a great time and even slept in the next day!

Here are a few picts of Chloe's b-day invites. I totally love and enjoy putting together a fun birthday party for my girls...I try to go all out! Spoil them! I shared my birthday with my mom, and my sisters was only 10 days later, so I didn't feel like I really ever had my special day! We are having a princess party this year!

Steve's call!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghTQfVJDNlU


Sorry I couldn't post it directly on here!

New job!

I am so proud of my husband! He has served at our church as the interm pastor for that past 14 months. He has fallen in love with leading the church and felt called by God to submit his resume for Sr. pastor. This past Sunday, our church voted him in at 95%! What affirmation! We are so excited about God's call on our family! Our church website is: http://ballwinbaptist.com/ if you want to see what we are all about!

Other things I should mention...we are going back on the market this weekend. We want to sell and move into something a little bigger! Our cute little one bathroom house is shrinking by the minute! Beyond that, Chloe's 4th b-day is fast approaching and I am working on giving her the best "princess" party ever! Picts will come after her party in March. Maci is turning 6 months next week and it's about to send me into baby withdraws...just kidding. It is so hard to believe that 6 months has gone by so quickly. I am resolving to play on the computer less and hold her more...it won't last much longer. She is becoming very verbal and loves to grab things. She is eating cereal now and we will soon be adding veggies...it's so messy, but she is doing really well. Emma is able to say whatever she wants now and is so funny in how she asserts herself vocally! "Me want milk!" or "Emma want snack" Too cute! And as for me...I am serving on MOPS leadership again and am very excited about it! I've missed having my hands in something like this! I posted a pict of me with Maci. I think my kids are going to think I was extremely ill when they were little because I do most of the picture taking and have very few of me with them.

The gift card arrived...and was gone in three days!

One last blog for the day, since I know inquiring minds want to know! My Babies-r-us giftcard finally arrived in the mail...when I was out of town, non the less. I went to Toys-r-us first and bought Chloe a birthday present and a few odds and ends, then off to Babies-r-us. There I bought a few boxes of diapers, a few baby shower gifts, an outfit and some cute socks for Maci, bibs, sippy cups, other random odds and ends. Then off to internet shopping! I bought my new camera...which I am really excited about! It should be here on Wednesday! And a baby shower hostess gift as well. The following day, I went back to Toys-r-us and we bought the girls a picnic table that will seat 8 kids, a 2nd Wii remote and a new game. The rest of the card was spent the next day at Babies-r-us. I decided that diapers was the smartest thing to buy so I finished it off buying boxes and boxes of them. It's amazing how fast that card went...but it sure was a blessing!

I'm slacking...but with good reason this time!

The secret is finally out! I can not tell you how difficult that was to hold in! If you are family and you are reading this, thank you so much for letting me tell you and for all of your prayers and support! Steve was announced as the Sr. Pastor candidate at our church, Ballwin Baptist Church. We are very excited about this and are in awe that God would use us in this way. It has been a journey this past year and one that I have learned many lessons from. When it all came about I thought that I knew what was best for my family and Steve. Wow, did God show me His grace on that one! Notice the emphasis on "I" here. He used many different things to show me He had a plan and that He was calling me to trust in His plan. This year has been a year of affirmation and growth and I am so blessed to have watched God use Steve again and again for His glory. Next Sunday, on Feb 8th, the church will vote and everything will be over! We are praying that the Lord is leading His people to vote for Steve, but are trusting in Him no matter the outcome. We have been away for the last week and enjoyed visiting a friend of mine and her family. We went to Knoxville and here are a few pictures that Krisa took of us while we were there.

Lots has changed with the girls this past month! Chloe is saying some of the funniest things ever! Here is her newest thing to do:

Chloe: Knock knowck

Me: Who's there?

Chloe: pickles

Me: Pickles, who?

Chloe: Pickles that tickles

(then she tickles me)

She is taking swimming lessons and loving being back in the water. She was sick this past week. Didn't act sick really, just had a horrible rash all over her face. Long story short, she had a strep infection. She gets it on the outside of her body...very strange. Here is a picture of her with the rash on her face!

She also has learned a new song that she LOVES singing...here is a video of that as well:

Emma has been learning new phrases very quickly. She is a little parrot and can say anything she wants! She is so funny these days. Below is a picture of Emma digging into the family birthday cake she had! She is such a mess! Our little cookie monster! This is our child who doesn't like to play with play-doh but has no problems getting into her food!

And last but not least, little Maci! She is growing so fast! She is really verbalizing and has a lot to say! She has learned how to use her hands and loves to grab things! Yes, hair is included! We have tried cereal two times and as you can tell from the look on her face, she did not like it. It was more of a mess then I expected! Guess we will wait a little longer to try again.