A long weekend!

We had a wonderful long weekend full of fun! Friday the kids were off and we filled the afternoon with a trip to open gymnastics and a birthday party for a friend at Crazy Bounce (they were the ONLY ones in their class who had never been....whew, glad we took care of that!). Needless to say they fell asleep quickly that night! Saturday the kids had basketball, we had a great brunch with Bill and Joan and we played all afternoon! Sunday after church I took the kids snowshoeing and out to Starbucks to warm up. Tom worked all weekend on our laundry room re-do, which is looking AMAZING!

We are on the birthday count down....the kids can hardly stand it! I usually spend this week soaking up the miracles that are my children. It is so hard to wrap my mind around how far they have come.

Valentine Houses

Today at school the kids made Valentine Houses. They had a blast! Noah's was very unique and very tall! I have no idea how he made it all the way down the hall to the display case! Sophie and Abby showed traits from their early finger painting days! Sophie had both hands COVERED in frosting and Abby had only the tip of her pointer finger! They all had a blast and so did I being in their classroom! They are off from school tomorrow and we are looking forward to a relaxing quiet morning and a very busy and fun afternoon!!

Baby it's cold outside!

Temps are in the low teens this morning at bus stop time. As I type I still can't quite feel my fingers! The kids were all bundled up for school! It takes us about 10 minutes to get the winter gear on. The blessing is that they can do it all themselves now!

A beautiful Snow Day!

Beautiful words.

Beautiful Sophie playing with Playmobil

Beautiful Abby with her beautiful 'birds of prey'

Handsome Noah with his beautiful (and cool) bug from art class

We were surprised (and I do mean surprised...like 5 minutes before it was time to get on the bus) to find out that we had a snow day today! Yippee! We wasted no time getting back in to our jammies and are enjoying a relaxing day at home. We did end up having to get dressed because a friend came over to play! What a great day!

Take a few moments today to enjoy this blog, it is one of my favorites. Scroll down and watch the trailer for her new book. It is amazing.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/01/its-all-for-you-one-thousand-gifts-and-trailer/

Have a beautiful day!

Let it snow!!

Happy Girl!

If you know Abby, you know she LOVES birds. I'm not even sure 'love' does it justice. Not only does she love them, she actually knows a lot about them. She studies her field guides and blows my mind with her ability to identify the birds she sees. She got a bird feeder for Christmas and today when I got home from work I saw three birds at her feeder (there haven't been many in the past few weeks). I showed her the picture when she got home from school and she was THRILLED! My brother in law took this great picture of Abby in California in October!

FYI: Abby's love of birds stems from the fact that I have called her "Birdie" for years. Her name is Abby Jane, which I shorten to Abby "J" (like blue Jay, etc) which somehow became birdie. My birdie!

A Relaxing Sunday

Sunday night movie night (one of my favorite weekly traditions)

The chair we moved upstairs for "my spot". I love curling up with a book (more often finding all 3 kids piled in the chair together!)

We had a beautiful snow falling all day today. It was like our house was in a shaken snow globe! Tom took the kids sledding and other than that we relaxed at home.
7 years ago today I went in to the hospital and began my journey of bed rest. That day God placed me in a loving protective bubble. I was cushioned in the palm of His hand like I have never experienced before in my life. I am thankful for that month, it made a world of difference in the lives of my children. We told the kids at lunch today that today was the day mommy went in to the hospital and that I was there all the way up to the morning of their Star Wars birthday party (on Feb 5). "Wow" is all they could say. "Wow" is really all I can say too when I look in awe at my miracles.

The year of 'Yes'

I like to think of a word for the year. This year will be the year of 'yes' for me. If you are interested, read on for a glimpse in to my heart as to why this word is my choice for 2011. Happy 2011 everyone.

When my triplets were first learning to talk I was determined to not have their first words be “NO”. It’s easy to have it become the first spoken word , at that age they are full of curiosity and mischief that leads easily to many parental ‘no’s’ a day. I tried very hard to avoid this by reserving that word for instances of instant danger or injury. Sure I used similar words occasionally like, “uh-uh” and did a lot of redirecting. With triplets you can imagine that there was a lot of redirecting going on at my house. My wonderful husband and I succeeded in our goal. Our triplets’ first words were not “No”. Nor their second nor their third.
Flash forward to the start of their 7th year and somehow the word ‘No’ is one of my most frequently spoken words. This does not mean that my kids are constantly in a state of danger. I speak this word for a variety of reasons. Least of all when they are in danger or their health is question. Mostly I speak the word when I am too tired. Or when I don’t want the mess. Or when we don’t have time. Or when it’s almost bedtime. Or when I’m busy. Or when I just want quiet. Or when I have other ideas. Sometimes I have observed that it is the first word I say to them in the morning (when they burst through my door BEFORE the set wake up time).
Not only am I speaking this word more than almost any other to my precious children but I am saying it to myself as well. Maybe not directly, “NO Anna” but more indirectly in my thoughts. Things like, “I can’t”. “There is no way” “It’s not possible” Negative self talk.
I am even saying “No’ to God. Not directly in my prayers, but indirectly when He places amazing new experiences and gifts on my plate. He blesses me with new experiences that obviously He knows I can handle. I respond with fear, frustration and the famous negative thoughts I mentioned above. I am not embracing the opportunities but focusing on the obstacles.
Somehow in the past 6-7 years I have lost my ‘No’ filter. It is no longer a word reserved for extreme bodily harm. In 2011 this will change. I want to fill my children’s heads and hearts with positive, affirming, strong words. Words that will make them grow. Words that will probably exhaust me a little more, words that will surely make more of a mess, words that might even make us late, or change the plans. I want to embrace all of that this year. Truly, I don’t want a quiet neat as a pin house (ok, every once in a while but not all the time!). I will also fill my own head with ‘yes’ words and phrases. I can. I am. I will. Finally, I will answer my God with a strong, bold YES when He places gifts and opportunities in my path.
2011 will be the year of Yes for me.