{All things princess}

our little girl turned 4 this past week. FOUR! she's getting so big and it's going by so fast! the Lord has used this little girl to teach, stretch and humble me in more ways than i could have ever imagined. i am so thankful for her silliness, her sensitivity and even her strong will! i look foward to watching her grow into the little lady God intends her to be and i feel so priviledged that the Lord chose me to be her mommy.

 when i asked her what kind of party she wanted she said "a princess party". how could i resist such a thing! i love all things girlie and i so enjoy creating sweet things. i got right to work on making all the decorations including little tutus for all the girls attending. everything was pink....and papa curtis made her a castle out of cardboard to play in, which was a big hit! we decided to have an icecream bar, decorate jewelery boxes and just hang out and play. and although it may look over the top it was actually really layed back. our little princess enjoyed a wonderful night of family and friends and i got to enjoy watching her little face sparkle at the sight of all things princess! below are a few pictures taken of night...enjoy!

boys will be boys...they didn't want to play inside with the boy toys
...they wanted to be where all the festivities were!

shhhh...don't tell daddy! he wanted to dance with his sister!

Yum!

{a date with our girl}

when you have more than one child it's not everyday that you have special one-on-one time. and in our case it's very rare to have one-on-one time with just peyton because ethan usually doesn't leave our side. that all changed friday night. grammy and papa curtis wanted a special date night with ethan which made a perfect opportunity for jeff and i to take our sweet little girl out on the town. we didn't quite know how peyton and ethan would react to just ethan going to grammy and papas (peyton is usually the one to have sleep overs with them) but surprisingly ethan hopped right in grammy's car and peyton waved him goodbye with a smile.

she was very excited to go on her date! we picked out a cute little sundress and she wanted a ribbon in her hair. we were all ready for when daddy came home from work. she was especially excited to eat at a restuarant and she had requested to go visit the disney store and look at all the princesses...so that was our plan. we decided to go to islands for dinner which was very yummy and jeff and i laughed at how simple life seemed with just one little girl, who is almost four! in fact we had to remind ourselves to slow down and enjoy our dinner because usually with a two year old at the table we are just trying to eat and keep him occupied! :) not to mention how in a few short months we will be adding another wee little one to the table! after dinner we headed to the mall to find the disney princesses that peyton so wanted to look at....unfortunalty after walking the entire mall we found out that the store was closed for remodeling! i think i was more dissappointed than peyton...she made a sad little face but once in the car she responded with "it's okay". all was not lost because we headed to target and peyton was happy and content to walk around in the toy isle and look at all the princesses there. never once did she ask for one she just wanted to look at them! we had such a sweet night with her and were reminded once again that children are such a sweet blessing from the Lord.

{Yes, it's been a while}



i know, i know it's been a while but i definitly have an excuse. and while i would love to say that i have spent the last 3 months trying to be a wonderful mommy to my two sweet kids and a supportive loving wife to my wonderful husband...all i can say is that i spent the last 3 months being sicker than i have ever been in all my life! my two sweet kids basically survived with a mommy who could barely make it off the couch to take care of their basic needs and my wonderful husband came home from work everyday and did everything i couldn't do! i am praising the Lord for the family and the friends He has given me and i am so thankful for His continued promises. i am thankful that He only gives us what we can handle and allows us to rely on His strength and find joy even in hard circumstances. i am now almost 17 weeks pregnant and beginning to feel a bit more like myself. i thought that since i felt better i might as well add some pictures to our blog so that you can at least see that life still went on! enjoy



going to church with daddy



posing with mommy easter morning



easter morning

so sweet

i love my munchkins

folsom lake on mother's day

admiring the water..it was freezing!

snuggles with my girl

being a boy!

it was only a matter of time...he fell in!

if it's messy, he's in it!



cubbie award night...so proud of her!



look mom..i was playing with chalk!

Happy 2nd birthday buddy!







joel and ethan loved their cupcakes!





my handsome little man

drive in night at cubbies

posing with daddy

{a time away}

it's been forever, or at least it feels like forever, since jeff and i have gotten away together. no kids, no schedule...just each other. i have to say that it almost didn't happen considering we were headed to south lake tahoe on the day of a huge winter storm. all week we considered canceling the trip but it was non-refundable and so, the day of, we got up the nerve ( i shouldn't say "we" because i had no nerve it was all jeff) and headed up the hill. it was definitly not a short drive. 5 hours later (normally a 2 hour drive at the most) we made it to south lake tahoe! we enjoyed every moment we had together. we had a beautiful room that overlooked heavenly valley ski resort and we bundled up and enjoyed our walks around town. it was definitely fridgid weather outside so we made sure to carry a nice hot starbucks where ever we went!

huge hail as we were leaving sacramento

and the snow begins

beautiful tahoe....view from our room

jeff trying to throw a snowball at me

on our stroll around town

the great poser

it's cold!

our friend...starbucks

keeping my hands warm

the pond inside our hotel

sideways picture of jeff! this is inside our hotel lookin down into the atruim

our only pic together! i love this man

{Nana and Papa come for a visit}

it has definitely been a transition being away from nana and papa. the kids were so use to seeing them every single day when we lived in AZ and now we have to be patient and wait for them to visit! they came out at the end of january and we had such a great time seeing them again! we love you nana and papa...and we look foward to your next visit! below are a few pics...

on our way to airport...my sweet baby girl!

papa and ethan

peyton and nana with peyton's new dolly!

so cute! we love you nana and papa!

{My little Cubby Bear}

it only took 4 weeks.....4 weeks of trying to get peyton into the classroom. she's painfully shy...to say the least...yes my loud, boisterious,goofy, joyful,stubborn,persistant,sweet, kind, caring, full of energy little girl is painfully shy!! but this week i put her in and walked away. yep,i walked away as my little 3 year old screamed her little heart out! it's an awful feeling! but i also knew that the only hard part for peyton is letting go...once in, she enjoys every moment! so knowing that, i walked away from my little girl screaming...and it only lasted a few seconds!! i looked thru the window and there she was quiet! I'm so glad I walked away because she had the best night ever! and she participated in everything. she made friends, she said 4 little verses to her leader, she got her cubby vest and her book.....when i walked over to her class she came running out with a huge smile on her face saying.. "mommy i had a happy heart and friends!"  praising the Lord for His goodness! i love how the Lord always perfectly orchestrates a little glimmer of the fruit of your labor...keeps me mindful of the promises in God's word..."Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galations 6:9. i am so very thankful for these times! the Lord always knows when you need a little encouragement! below are a couple of pictures of my little cubby bear!

I can't believe my baby girl is in cubbies!

she was running around like crazy during game time
so please excuse the hair!

she loves her new book!