Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I love holidays! I love studying where the holiday came from. However, I also love the simple adventures and memories that can be made out of each special day. People are drawn to fantasy books. We like fiction. It is fun to dream of far off worlds and crazy stories that could never happen. I have always loved that. When I was a child, I even use to day dream about ants and would name the different trees that they lived at. Imagining what they might be up to each day. Really that is how each Disney movie has been made: someone's imagination! 

On Saturday morning, my girls woke up to a poem. I think a little leprechaun was reminding them to try to trap him! 

Lily loves a challenge!! She made this trap with her friend, Boston! They made it so that he would fall into a tunnel and land inside with no way out! 

Lily wanted to make sure that the Leprechaun wouldn't be angry so she decorated inside the trap so he would have things to do overnight! Isn't she thoughtful! 

Valerie, Bristol, and Daphne made their trap with little doll house stairs that led him in and then he would get stuck inside!

On Sunday morning, the leprechaun left them a game of sorts. He asked them questions and the whole family enjoyed spending time talking and laughing over these! I love family building activities!

On Monday, we had to wake Lily up because the other girls were excited to see if they had trapped the leprechaun. Unfortunately, we didn't! He was too clever for us. He did leave us with a sweet note and then clues!!!! We got to start our morning with a treasure hunt! 

The clues took us all over the house. The leprechuan was in our bathroom. He drove our car. He even took a nap in the bunk bed above Daphne's bed! Wow! It was so much fun! 

I would show you the treasure they found, but the girls want to show their friends themselves! I guess we will have to try to trap that leprechaun again next year! :) 

Another year...a new adventure!

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.…" Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

For a year and a half, we had the joy and honor of having our sweet, strong nephews join our home. God opened the doors for that time period and also closed the doors when it was time for the boys to go back to living with their biological family. We learned so much during that season of our life. Some things were very hard and other things were very easy. Loving those boys was the easiest part!

As we move on with this year (2014), we got to see God do something great in our hearts. Yes, change can hurt and we miss the little things that had become a part of our every day lives. It is especially hard for Daphne. She was less than two years old when this process started and she misses the boys in a special way. She only knew life with them constantly in her life. I love her little heart! We all miss them! As I was saying though, God holds us in his hands when we hurt. If we listen carefully, He will lead us where we need to go next! God has started to give us new excitement over future plans that He has for us. God is constantly wanting to use us and always has a mission and purpose for our lives. I am always reminded of the great commission: 

Matthew 28:16-20: 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

All the plans God has for us, can be brought back to that. Is what I am doing bringing others to Christ? Am I helping to disciple others? I am so grateful for a God who is with us always and is directing our path! 

Some of the fun parts of this new year have included: a new more relaxed schedule (life with three kids is shockingly easy), time with family..both our sweet little family of five and the extended family, time at Disney World and Cocoa Beach, and Jason and I celebrating our 10 year anniversary in Florida...right where we had started our honeymoon 10 years earlier! :)

The picture above is my sweet little sister who will some day be President of the United States of America!!! She is amazing! I am so proud of her and I hope that my girls watch her example and emulate her determination, hard work and drive for success!

The picture below is all about joy! I am so thankful that I get to spend each little moment with these amazing daughters that God has blessed me with. I love getting to pray at the dinner table with them, do school work with them each day, sing song in the car at the top of our lungs, and laugh over all the silly things we each do. Life is a gift!

Below was the first day of our vacation: We really needed this vacation. We needed time to connect together and just have fun! This trip had been planned for over a year and I know that God knew that this would be the perfect timing for this trip!

Disney World rocks!!! Such an amazing trip! Also this was the start of a new tradition: we went on vacation with my side of the family. We had thought about it for years and my mom once went with us on our California vacation, but this was the first time being able to get all of us organized and on the same vacation schedule. It was so great. Jason and Jordan were able to be buds and hang out the whole time. Lily and Dylan were able to play and be goofy together! Then we were all able to relax at our rental house together and watch the Olympics! We are blessed with family that we love to be with!

Some other blessings: My sister, Becca, is a party animal. She was able to get me to loosen up and go boogie boarding, she was able to encourage all of us to follow a schedule and make it on almost every ride at Disney World, Jordan and Dylan were such big helps with their little nieces and helped carry them around and make them laugh and my parents were a huge blessing and let Jason and I go on a Valentine's date alone without the kids! 

Last part of this post, Jason and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend, a man of integrity, a great father to our children, and most importantly the spiritual leader of our home. He has my heart and I love to follow him wherever he wants to go on this journey of life! I think we make a pretty good team! And with God as our father, I know that our marriage will only get stronger and the best is yet to come!