March 20, 2019, at 9:56 pm | There is some serious New England Patriots love in our house, all emanating from one adorable individual. He checks out Patriots books from the library:
He makes school projects about them:
He sleeps under a Patriots bedspread (note little brother is still a Steelers fan!):
And he cherishes his Patriots trading cards:
So when the Patriots won the Super Bowl, we had a very happy Jimmy in the house (and a sad Dad Jim who was still wishing the Steelers could have made it in!). But the best part of the Super Bowl as far as the kids were concerned was meeting this little sweetheart:
Cinnamon is our friend Julie’s new puppy. She definitely stole the show!
March 18, 2019, at 12:08 pm | One of the best parts of being married to Jim is seeing how well we complement each other, especially when it comes to parenting. I impart to the kids my love of the written word, Jim imparts his love of technology. I help them communicate their feelings, Jim helps them communicate their opinions. I can teach them to draw, Jim can teach them to drive (well). And I can teach them some team sports like soccer and basketball, but when it comes to winter sports, an area in which I am clueless, Jim takes the reins and has already introduced them to snowmobiling and now…skiing! See, if it were up to only me, I would never introduce the kids to any sport which involves mind-numbing speed and the possibility of high-impact collision…but thankfully, Jim is much braver than me and so our kids can learn all sorts of wonderful activities!
The kids have really, really taken to skiing. I was blown away by how quickly they progressed from falling over when walking to hurtling down the slopes. Jimmy is learning to snowboard while the other three big kids are doing traditional downhill skiing, and not only do they ALL love it (especially Becky, the kid who can’t stand winter!), they ALL are really getting the hang of it. I’m so proud! And I have no doubt that Tazie will soon be joining their ranks in a year or two, as every time we receive a package to our house, Tazie calls out, “Is it my little skis?”
    
And although I did join in on one evening ski session, I’m quite content keeping a watch at the bottom of the hill! 
March 15, 2019, at 10:56 am | After the Arizona cousins had to go home, we distracted the sad kids at the arcade. Nothing like flashing lights and cheap prizes to make my kids happy!
    
Thankfully we still had Alli and Erik to keep us company for another day before they had to return to Michigan. We were SO happy they joined us this year!
Here are the kids sporting Krispy Kreme gear and showing off our final few dozen donuts. I can’t even count how many dozens of donuts our whole gang consumed that week, yikes! It was worth every calorie 🙂
We dodged our one and only (thankfully brief) rainstorm of the week and then visited Old Town, where the kids enjoyed climbing on the monster truck and racing go-karts like always:
And then we returned for our last dips in the pool:
 
Our last evening before flying home, we finally made it over to the Disney boardwalk, and we were thrilled to see how gorgeous it was at night. We can’t wait to go back next year!
 
Tuckered-out boys on the drive home from the airport. At least they cuddle when asleep, lol!
March 13, 2019, at 12:36 pm | I just love this picture of the three big girls feeling especially giggly right before bed. Love these kids!
 
And I included this picture to remind me of the beautiful, warm quiet mornings on the deck!
Tazie spent a lot of time “playing” Connect Four (why do kids love making messes so much?!?):
One last round of min-golf:
 
And a shuffleboard championship – the kids are getting really good!
March 11, 2019, at 12:57 pm | More Universal pics!
Some of the less-adventurous kids opted to attend a performing animal show in lieu of a roller coaster:
You can see from the look on Danny’s face that this was nearing the end of our very busy theme park day:
Although Danny did perk up when he got to pose beside a real-life Transformer:
A beautiful Florida sunset:
 
The girls posing in front of the Islands of Adventure portion of Universal – we’ll have to do that next year!
Tazie finally succumbed to fatigue right as we were leaving:
And everyone rallied for some Panda Express take-out:
And shuffleboard, of course!
March 10, 2019, at 9:51 pm |
March 8, 2019, at 4:12 pm | Every year we try to do one (and only one!) theme park, and this year we did Universal Studios. I really didn’t know what to expect beforehand, having heard mixed reviews, but I was blown away by the park! It really captured all the magic I could have hoped for, and there was something for everyone in terms of the rides. Even though the Harry Potter world portion was very, very crowded, it was still my favorite part – and this is coming from someone who’s never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie! I just loved how they made you feel like you were in a whole different world!
  
We did the “child swap” option on many of the rides, allowing us to wait in line together and then have the parents take turns staying out with the youngest kids. Although Tazie really wished she could have gone on with the big kids, she was a trooper!
Jimmy really loved the “Fast and the Furious” cars and ride!
 
Check out the size of Jon’s “lad lard” donut from the Simpsons land!
March 7, 2019, at 10:52 pm | So my computer isn’t letting me upload quite a few of my favorite pictures of our next few days in FL, but I’ve still got plenty to share!
Here we are visiting Jim’s cousin’s beautiful family in their beautiful home. Spending time with them was definitely a highlight of the trip!
 
Even though we hadn’t seen these folks since last year, the kids all picked up playing together like no time at all had past!
Here we are getting ready to take a walk in Celebration, my favorite spot in the Orlando area! The rest of my pictures from that day aren’t working, but it was a gorgeous afternoon!
Here’s the kids enjoying the waterpark with their cousins. So fun!
March 3, 2019, at 10:08 pm |
February 27, 2019, at 7:23 pm |
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
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