33!

What a special day to turn 33!

All day I've had a verse running through my mind:
"I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live!" Psalm 104:33

I am incredibly blessed in Him; to Him I sing praise!!

In the tradition of my super fit Uncle Tom, I decided I'd challenge myself to 33 push-ups this morning. They are probably the worst push-ups in history, and I really think I could do better, but none the less, here they are.

Ethan picked me out a beautiful necklace.

He was so proud of his choice. It was perfect!My dad sent me a Snuggie! ;)

Chris booked me a massage and gave me clothes cash...super fun!

The family worked on this perfectly imperfect footprint stone. I love it! I love that they went through the effort to make it for me (including two trips to the store and lots of baby screaming) and I love how excited Ethan was to surprise me with it. Sweet!!Papi Frank came in town today, so I got to spend my birthday with my Mom, Frank, Chris, and my kiddos on this gorgeous day.

We went to the Rangers game tonight

(Ethan in a cotton candy induced trance)

It was a SUPER fun game...The Rangers did great, which means I got to yell and scream A LOT...and that always makes for a fun game!
The night ended with "The best fireworks show in Texas".

I sat in the dark watching the fireworks and thought about the 33 years under my belt.
Tears welled up in my eyes because I know God loves me.
Honestly, I KNOW God loves me.
That's the best gift in all the world.

Does this hair make me look masculine?

I don't think so, either!

But Ethan would disagree. He walked in from school this afternoon, took one look at me sitting on the couch, twisted his face, and said, "Why did you cut your hair like that? It looks like a BOY!" (he wasn't used to the bangs, I guess)

Well, at least he was observant! That's more than I can say about myself!

And also, I don't give a hoot what anyone else says, Sadie Fair is the cutest dog in all the world to me and Ethan.
Even when she has the same look on her face as Pepe, the dog on the card Jenny sent me:
The inside says, "Pepe just figured out your age in people years."
Made me literally LOL!!! And that sent Audrey and Norah into hysterics. Best birthday gift so far!

Easter 2010

Why sooo many pictures?
We are sorely missing our families during this special time of year, so I'm doing my best to fill in the gaps with photos.
Love you all!!!

We did sparkly eggs and regular eggs with silly face stickers this year

Ethan's silly Goo-goo goggles

We got to join Ethan's class at his Easter picnic and egg hunt

The girls had so much fun with the older kids.
Audrey found the only mud puddle within the first 5 minutes!

This is Audrey's new "thing"--walking with her hands behind her back

Ethan and one of his best buddies, M

Lined up for the egg "hunt"
Whatever happened to actually hiding eggs instead of just throwing them out in the grass??

Our annual cookie decorating
We missed Ethan's best buddy this year, but his family had a touch of a bug this time :(

Pretty Norah

"You're exasperating me with all these pictures!"

Audrey wasn't feeling it, either

Easter gifts from Mom & Dad and Grandma & Grandpa

We gave the girls Easter purses, a juice, a Princess cell phone, and Princess keys

Ethan got a chocolate cross, a small Transformer, and a juice (we went S.M.A.L.L. this year and really focused on the true meaning of Easter)

Checking it out

Playing with his Transformer

Texting:
"OMGoodness, ths phone is PINK!"
"IDK how to talk yet, but I can txt!"

We were trying to hustle out the door for church, so we snapped two quick family pics with the timer
(Our sweet Daddy was hard at work today)

We are all tuckered out after a beautiful Easter! Audrey fell asleep while eating strawberries tonight at dinner at 6:30. I don't want her to think this is a nap, so I tried to rouse her by washing her at the sink, walking around with her, and changing her into her diaper and jammies; she slept through it ALL....in fact I had to double-check to make sure she was indeed asleep and not passed out! If she wakes in an hour, I'm going to pull my hair out!!

Happy Easter! And to our families, we miss you and love you! Can't wait until we get to spend time with you!!!!

SUNDAY IS HERE!!!

It's SUNDAY! We celebrate Jesus' death and His Resurrection! Can you believe how much He LOVES us?! Can you believe the depth of His MERCY toward us?! Can you believe the gift of SALVATION that is offered to us?! The FORGIVENESS?! The PEACE?! The HOPE?! The JOY?!

Jesus, my Jesus! I am amazed by You and I am in LOVE with YOU!!

"It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:34-39

Good Friday

Today we celebrate the precious and amazing act of love that Jesus displayed when He died on the cross to heal the whole world of our sins. I can't tell it better than Ethan's storybook Bible...I want to share this Love story, but I will only leave it up through the weekend, as it is copyrighted.

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Romans 5:6-9

One of the most touching yet simple versions of the true story of Easter can be found here....


It pains me to remove the stories from this blog....what if someone stumbles onto this blog and reads about Jesus' great love for them for the first time ever?!

Anyway.... I don't want to break copyright laws, so here I go....delete, delete, delete.....









I can hardly contain my tears to read of His love ("Mom, are you crying AGAIN?!")....
This weekend, we call to remembrance the work of Christ on the cross.

But, boy, I cannot wait for this Resurrection Sunday to celebrate His conquering of death and sin, when we proclaim, "HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!!" HALLELUJAH!

Teeth

My Audrey-girl woke up this morning and had two top teeth! They have been working on breaking the surface, and I could barely feel them as of two days ago. Today, they are here and they look big! The problem is, Audrey is a bit of a biter....and poor Norah has always been the only victim. Up until now, it has done little harm since she only had her two bottom teeth, but with four teeth, I'm afraid that's going to pack a painful punch~

Norah has two bottom teeth, but her second one came in crooked (!). Maybe it will turn in time....or maybe we need to start putting away for her orthodontist bills :( :( I think she's also working on a top tooth.

OK...we're running out the door to grab some groceries, but I think my timing couldn't be worse--I hear the thunder rolling and the skies are black, but if I don't go now, we won't have anything for lunch or dinner!