10 Smile Tuesday

1.  libbs and magnadoodles.  this girl LOVES to draw on the magnadoodle…and she’s getting so good at drawing stick people.  she amazes me.

2.  an afternoon in frankenmuth.  on friday we (the girls and i) went up to frankenmuth with my mom, my sister and my nephews to spend the afternoon at the park with my gram.  we had such a great time visiting and playing.

3.  nadia’s first swing ride (which she had at the park in frankenmuth).  at first she was scared, as you can see from the picture, but then she seemed to like it.

4.  trying to get a pic of all 5 kiddies.  definitely something that’s hard to accomplish, but it was fun to try.

5.  a trip to the library.  jonathan and i decided to brave a trip to the library with the 3 girls.  they did well.  jonathan and i were able to scour the books for a bit and we picked up some books for the girls as well.  they love having some new stories to read.

6.  rocking with memaw.  the girls and i hung out at my mom’s for a few hours the other day and nadia was soooo cranky.  memaw rocked her and i thought it was so sweet. 

7.  nadia had her first hair trimming.  the front of her hair seems to naturally hang nicely across her forehead, but her hair was starting to hang in her eyes.  i’ve tried brushing it to the side, but it falls back down every time.  i can’t believe she already needed a trimming at not quite 6 months.  and it makes her look a little bit older (sniff, sniff). 

8.  jonathan got his first graded essay back this week and got a perfect score!  i’m so proud of him and how hard he’s working on his schooling.

9.  edy’s swiss orange sherbet.  oh my, this is sooo good!  it’s orange sherbet with dark chocolate square pieces in it.  just the right amount of sweet and chocolate…yum!

10.  my little dinner helper leila.  she helped me put together a casserole this week and just loved it!  and the casserole was so much taster knowing those sweet little hands helped make it.

11.  and a bonus smile…2 good nights of sleep this week.  (meaning the kids went down good and we weren’t woke up much…sharing a room with all 3 of your children is definitely not an ideal way to sleep!).

12.  oh yes, and i can’t forget teaching liberty and daniel how to roll down hills like a log.  i remember rolling down hills as a kid and having sooo much fun.  it’d been years since i’d done that.  it was fun, but i was nauseous when we were finished.  libbs and daniel had fun.  although they looked more like they were tumbling down the hill rather than rolling.  liberty wanted to do it over and over and over again!

10+ Smile Tuesday

1.  plans are in the works to be in our own place again in early august.  we’re so excited about that!  we are thankful to my dad for putting up with us all this time, but ready to be just the 5 of us again.

2.  jonathan starts a new job next week.

3.  a quick trip to fenton last week so jonathan could apply for a job.  the smile part is that my best friend angela lives there and we were able to meet up with her for a short time.  we took a walk around fenton and then let the kids play at the park.

4.  seeing more college friends on saturday at a baby shower (there are so many of these this summer!!).  i didn’t have my camera, so no pictures right now.

5.  sharing the love of creme stick donuts.  my dad got me into these, and now he’s passing on the love to my girls.  gotta’ love a gooey, messy, yummy donut!

6.  rhubarb cake.  YUM!

7.  playing with water.  the other day the girls were antsy and looking for something to do, so i got out a tupperware container and some plastic dishes.  i filled the container with water, put it in the grass, and the girls played with that for about an hour.  love that kind of fun entertainment!

8.  hanging out with my sister and our kiddos for a few hours.  we let the kids play in a little pool for a bit.  nadia did not like the cold water.  then back inside because it was soooo hot.  the kids played and the moms went bowling on the wii.

9.  a daddy-daughters date up to frankenmuth.  while i was at the baby shower on saturday, jonathan took liberty and leila up to frankenmuth to walk around.  and kudos to him because he didn’t even use a stroller!

10.  this pic of our nephew sidney in liberty’s girly sandals.  my dad was babysitting daniel and sidney and all the kids were outside playing.  next thing we know, sidney comes in the house wearing liberty’s sandals, and liberty comes in wearing sidney’s crocs.  i know it was liberty who made the exchange. 

11.  nadia can sit up for good chunks of time (30 seconds-a minute or so) on her own when you put her in the sitting position.  i got her sitting up, and one in mid-fall.  i can’t believe how much she is growing.  she’s 5 months old now. 

12.  a new pic of hubby and i just because we haven’t had one lately. :)

oh yes, i have to put in this picture as well.  yesterday liberty decided that she should try to shave her face like daddy does.  thankfully she didn’t do much damage, but she did get a small cut on the top of her lip.

10+ Smile Tuesday

i know i have been so horrible about keeping up this blog…but it just seems like time just gets away from me.  and we’ve been so busy.  almost every weekend there is something going on.  anyway.  i’ve got lots of smiles to share and pictures too, of course!

1.  seeing lots and lots of some of my closest friends from college last weekend (not this past weekend).  we went down to aaron & maria’s for a shindig.  it was so much fun and so great to see everyone again.

2.  church this past saturday was a good service, including foot washing.  it was a very humbling experience. 

3.  after church some people invited us to a picnic and walk at a local nature reserve.  it was a really nice time of fellowship and getting to know these people.  and good memories for me since i used to go there on field trips in elementary school. 

4.  and that same day we had a cookout at my mom’s since it was the 4th july.  we had a full, fun day.  my mom’s fiancé’ cooked out on the grill and we all hung out and enjoyed the evening together. 

5.  the funny things kids say.  take liberty, for instance.  the other night jonathan took her to the bathroom (after she had pooped in her underwear – AGAIN) and she told him that she was upset at him (not sure why).  he tried to talk to her about it and she said, “i’m very tired, just never mind.  never mind.”

6.  getting in quite a bit of knitting/crafting time.  i’m definitely enjoying this. 

7.  leila praying.  every night when we put the girls to bed we pray with them.  lately liberty has been saying a prayer, too.  well the other night we got done praying and i had to take liberty to the potty.  leila kept saying something over and over and we couldn’t figure out what she was saying.  finally jonathan figured out she was saying “Jesus,” so he asked her if she wanted to pray and she said, “yeah” in her quick whispered sort of way.  so he told her to go ahead and she did.  she said, “Jesus, amen!”  it was so cute and she was so proud of herself.

8.  clothes hung out on the line to dry.  (although the mosquitoes are so bad this year that i about got eaten alive trying to hang them all!  thanks to my hubby for retrieving them at the end of the day :).

9.  homemade nursing pads.  why didn’t i think of this a few years ago?  they are really easy to make and super cheap.  i paid about a dollar to make 4 sets.  all you need it some flannel.  you trace a cd or dvd for your circle shape.  layer four circles.  serge the edges (or if you’re like me and don’t own a serger, zig-zag stitch around the stack of circles).  and there you have it, reusuable, homemade nursing pads!

10.  a bridal shower…this last weekend.  it was for my cousin’s fiancée.  i was able to see lots of family i hadn’t seen in a long time and it was a lot of fun.  plus i hadn’t met my cousin’s fiancée yet, so i finally go to meet her, too. 

11.  jonathan has started going back to school.  i’m so very proud of him.  he started last week.  it’s going to be a busy time for him working, going to school and of course family time, but i know he can do it and i support him 100%!  he’s planning to get a bachelor’s of art in history (his forte’). 

12.  the girls’ sabbath school class.  i went with them to their class this past weekend because i am trying to get leila used to it (she has just been screaming and crying the entire time wanting to be with me or daddy).  the lady who teaches the class is so wonderful with the kids.  and the kids (including mine) all really enjoyed learning more about Jesus.

13.  bubbles.  seriously, they can keep my kids entertained for hours (well, as long as they don’t spill them everywhere first!).  and they get so excited to see those bubbles floating around.

14.  spending the night at memaw’s house.  last weekend liberty spent the night at my mom’s house and boy did she ever have a good time.  she’s still chatting about how much fun she had and when she can do it again.

15.  playing in the rain.  last week liberty and leila snuck outside and we found them playing in the rain.  and we let them continue playing in the rain.  there were so many giggles and smiles…it was great! (and yes, libbs did venture outside w/o pants on!)

16.  my bff angela.  we’ve been friends for…oh about 11 or 12 years now i think.  she’s always been there for me, and i hope i’ve done the same for her.  through all of life’s ups and downs these past years, between moves close and far away, we’ve stayed so close and i’m so thankful for her friendship.

17.  my hubby.  i love him and am so proud of him.  and even though i know i don’t show it nearly enough, i respect him for all he is and all he does.  he works so hard for us…working a job, going to school, taking care of things around my dad’s house, loving on our girls, leading us spiritually, loving on me.  oh how i love him!  thanks, jonathan…i hope you know how respected and loved you are!

and a couple extra pictures of my girls, just for fun!