Catching up...

Well I've been really bad about keeping up with my blog lately...I guess I just feel a little unmotivated. And we have been busy with life too!

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but Jeff got me a Mac computer for Mothers day...not exactly what I was hoping for but I am enjoying it. Although I still find it frustrating because I don't know how everything works yet. I do love that it uploads pictures much more quickly than my other laptop.

I had a great Mothers Day!! We went to church in the morning and then had a relaxing afternoon before we headed to my parents house for a family dinner with Jeff's parents and his grandpa. It was a beautiful warm day and we sat in the backyard and even went on a little walk.



Here are a few pictures of me and my angels on Mothers Day...


The weather has been so up and down around here lately, so when we had a nice warm day last week I took Gabby and Marty for a walk to the park. I had both kids in the double jogging stroller and they are definitely getting heavy in there:) I think I got my workout for the day! We had packed a little picnic lunch to take to the park and for most of the time we were the only ones at the park. It was just nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather while we had it! The kids loved playing and having a picnic and they were both tired and had a great nap when we got home.



Jeff has been hard at work in our backyard this week. He was putting in new drain ditches for better drainage. He is currently working on the 3rd drain and then he will be done. He has been working on it every afternoon/evening after he gets home from work. Last night his friend came over to help him and they worked until 9:30pm. Next, on the house projects is re-surfacing the driveway and then start working on the front sidewalk/deck and front yard landscaping!! It going to be a BIG job, but we are excited about it.

I planted raspberries for the first time this year in our backyard. We all love raspberries and we had lots in the garden when we moved into this house, but we ripped them out when we put the hot tub in. We have an unused "garden" area in the backyard and thought it would be the perfect area for raspberries. I planted them several weeks ago and they are looking great. I'm not expecting to get any fruit this year, but hopefully next year! I also planted 2 large boxwoods in planters on our deck. We decided we need some more "green" on our deck and we think they look awesome. They just add so much to the look of the deck. I can't wait to hang out there now...just waiting for some warmer weather!!



It's been so long since I last blogged that I don't think I've even mentioned that I've gone back to work one day a week. I only work for 5 hours, but I really love it. Jeff's mom graciously takes our kids every Tuesday and usually I just run around and do errands on those days, but now I'm working instead. I do miss my "day off", but working feels like a nice break too. I really love the girls I work with and I enjoy my job too. It's super flexible, so I only work 9am-2pm...so that I can drop off and pick up Megan from school. When all the kids are in school I would like to work 2 or 3 days a week, so this way I keep my foot in the door!

Jeff has been itching to get out on his road bike more. He has been sick with a cold and nasty cough for about 4 weeks now and is finally feeling a little better. He went for a few bike rides last weekend and he's hoping to go again this weekend. He really loves it! He took some pictures of his bike last weekend because he said it's not going to look new forever:) Marty loves bikes too...



This weekend we have a family fun night at Megan's school and the kids are SO excited about it! Megan is hoping to win a cake on the cake walk. I remember going to my family fun night at a kid and my favorite was always the cake walk! Then we have no plans for Saturday and Sunday, Megan has another birthday party to go to and then we are going to Jeff's grandpa's for dinner...should be lots of fun!!

To my Mom's...

I am currently writing this post while I sit outside in our backyard on the laptop! I am LOVING the sunshine!! I'm really hoping Spring is finally here...it's been a LONG winter. Marty is inside napping and Gabby is playing here by my feet.

Well, it's Mother's day today and I just have to say I think I have the 2 best Mom's in the world!! Thank you for being Godly women who I truly respect and admire...


I am so thankful to you Mom for always loving and encourging me. Thank you for your calm and gentle spirit (which I wish I had more of!), thank you for being an incredible grandma to our kids. I love you more than words can say!




And to my Mother-in-law, thank you for loving me as if I were your own, thank you for always being there for us, thank you for your amazing love for our kids and for us. We love you so much!


I now I have the incredible privilege to be a mommy to my 3 angels! Some days it is the hardest job on earth, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am SO blessed to be a mommy to Megan, Gabby and Marty. They fill my life with so much joy!!

Megan doing some yoga and showing me her work around her classroom...


Megan had a Mother's day tea with her kindergarten class this week. All the mom's were invited to it. It was so special and fun to be a part of it. We got to go to different stations, draw a picture together, make a bracelet, get a hand massage and get a photo taken together. Then the class sang a few songs and did some yoga and dancing. Then each child presented their mommy with a gift. It was a homemade bookmark that each child had made. It was the sweetest little gift ever!! I, of course, was a little teary eyed and Megan asked why I was crying. I will keep that bookmark as long as I live:)



It was also Teacher Appreciation week this week and Megan and I decided to make her teacher a little gift. I saw this idea on a blog and I thought it was so cute. It's flower cut outs glued to pencils and then put into a little vase with easter grass. The little note Megan wrote says "Thank you for helping me to "bloom". Megan has a really great teacher, so I wanted to do a little something for her.

The Mothers day bookmark Megan made me...


I can not believe that Megan has less than 2 months left of kindergarten. I'm looking forward to having her home during the summer, so we can do some fun things!!

We had a super busy weekend last week and a pretty busy week this week. It feels like I haven't been home much, so I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Jeff has been feeling a bit sick this week, he had a fever for a few days and he's congested. It feels like sickness never really goes away in our family:( I'm hoping we have a sickness-free summer!

Jeff and I went on a date last night and we had a great time. We went out for dinner and then wandered around Home Depot and Walmart(I know really exciting hey?!?!) But, running errands without the kids is SO much easier and more relaxing. Jeff's parents graciously agreed to watch our munchkins, thank you so much!

Happy Mothers Day to my mom and my mother-in-law and to all my friends and family who are mothers. May you feel honored and blessed and loved in a very special way today!!

Easter weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Both sets of our parents were out of town for the weekend, so we spent most of the weekend with friends.


We went to church on Good Friday to focus on the sacrifice Jesus made for us. It's a hard day to remember, but so thankful that it's not the end...thank you Jesus for being our risen Savior!!



We had beautiful weather for most of the weekend and spent lots of time outside!! Sunday morning we went to church and had a great service of celebration. We had a little Easter egg hunt when Marty woke up from his nap. On Sunday afternoon, our friends had us over for their family dinner. It was so nice of them to include us. The kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt at their house too. Our house is over flowing with chocolate!




Every year, we have a potluck dinner with our friends over Easter. We had the potluck this year on Monday. We usually have it at our house, but this year we went to some friends house. The kids had a great Easter egg hunt in their "forrest"!! Marty was more interested in playing, the in hunting for eggs.




Group shot...

The kids were all dressed up in their "Easter" clothes on Sunday. We had to get some pictures of all three together!
Trying to get a picture with all 3 is no easy challenge...



I've been sick with a chest cold for the past week. I'm on the mend now, but yesterday Jeff wasn't feeling great:( Marty has a snotty nose, but the girls seem to be fine.

I'm on a women's soccer team again this year. We have had 2 games so far and I'm loving the team I'm playing on. All the ladies are so nice and encouraging to each other. We've lost both our games, but the score on both games was 2-1...so not too bad! I pulled my quad last year and I'm in better shape this year. I have been doing some running and more stretching and so far my quad feels great. I can tell I'm in better shape this year too because my lungs don't hurt so much when I'm running. Usually for the first month of soccer I'm so tired and so sore!! I'm still a little sore the day after the games, but it's a "good" sore:) Jeff is so supportive and encouraging of me playing soccer. I usually have to leave the house about 5:15pm and so he has to feed the kids dinner and bath them and put them to bed on his own. He is totally capable, but I know it's a lot of work! I'm a SO thankful to have such a wonderful husband:)

We have a busy weekend coming up...friends over for dinner, 2 birthday parties, church, etc. Should be lots of fun!!