Fabulous Five!

Well, I know I say this every year, but really...how did another year go by so fast?!?  My little boy, who is quickly becoming a big boy, turned five on Feb. 10.  This year Chance decided he wanted to celebrate by going to Chuck E. Cheese.  I was thinking that we had just celebrated his birthday there, but actually the last time we went was when Chance turned two!  Wow, time really has flown by!  Anyway, after spending a couple of hours where a kid can be a kid, Matt and I were ready to go home, where a parent can take a breather.  I think the kids could have stayed all day.

Who doesn’t love skee ball?

Matt  & Trinity trying out some snowmobile action. 

Our little animal lover (whether they’re real or not)

I’ve definitely got a couple of dancers in the family. 

Puttin’ out fires

On his actual birthday, Chance had full day of celebrating, starting with a breakfast of sweet treats that he had picked out.  I offered him anything, thinking he would choose something a bit more healthy.  I should have known better.  Oh well, we only have one fifth birthday!

And why stop there?  I brought in some very healthy donuts to celebrate with his preschool class.  :O)

Every Wednesday, Mikaela has an early day at school.  She gets out shortly after 1:00.  It turns out that Chance’s birthday was on a Wednesday this year, so we took this opportunity to continue the celebration by going to a movie that afternoon.  We watched The Princess and the Frog and all three of the kids really enjoyed it.

 

That night, we ended our day-long fun with some good ‘ole pizza making, cake and presents.  Chance had requested a volcano cake with dinosaurs, so I tested out my cake-making skills one more time.  My only gauge is the reaction I get from the kids, and Chance was thrilled, so I think I passed the mom-test again.  :O)

 

 

As I sit back and think about the past five years with him, I thank God for what an incredible blessing he is to our family.  He is definitely all boy, yet he still has such a loving, kind heart.  He loves to play rough and tough, but won’t hesitate to hug, kiss, and show his love for his sisters.  And while he craves the times he gets to wrestle with his dad, he never fails to know when I need him to crawl up on my lap, give me a big kiss, and tell me he loves me.  Every day is a new adventure and I just can’t imagine our lives without the fun-loving, energetic fireball that is Chance.

Happy birthday, Chance!  We love you so very much!!

Rewarded for Putting Up With Each Other for 10 years

Last week Matt and I had the opportunity to leave for a few days to celebrate 10 years of marriage. (Our anniversary was Dec 18.) Matt's mom flew out here and stayed with the kids for us, which was wonderful because we had no doubt that they would be well taken care of. (Matter of fact, I have no doubt that they were spoiled rotten!) We left on Monday, the 25th, and drove to Massanutten Resort. It's a beautiful four seasons resort in north-west Virginia. The resort is in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The big draw for Matt was that it's a ski resort. Unfortunately, there wasn't any real snow on the ground while we were there, but the resort makes it's snow, so we were able to hit the slopes anyway.

After skiing on Tuesday, we decided we’d try out the tubing hill.

Here I gooooooooooooooooo…

View from the top

We both enjoyed the skiing and tubing on Tuesday, but by Wednesday I had had enough of the cold, wind, and man-made snow. I sent Matt back up the mountain and took a little time for myself. Wouldn't you know though that the sun popped out and it was a little warmer. Oh well, shopping and relaxing were on the agenda for the day and I managed both. Plus, I still had more fun spending money than I would have on the slopes. :O) On Wednesday night, we went to a Murder Mystery Dinner that was a lot of fun. Neither of us had done anything like that before, and we both really enjoyed it. I think if a career change is needed anytime soon, detective work might be an option for either of us. Matt also took our camera up the lifts to take a few pictures of the valley below earlier in the day. Beautiful!

The resort also has an indoor water park. So on Thursday we checked it out. I wish I would have taken some other pictures of the slides and stuff, but I only brought out my camera when Matt tried his luck at the indoor surf.

Wipe Out!

Too bad I put away my camera before he actually got the hang of it. He really did get better and could do barrel rolls, 360s, and get up on his knees. I never attempted it for fear of losing my bathing suit!

Here are a few more pictures we took of the amazing views. They don’t really do it justice though.

This is the view from our condo.

It really was an amazing week. The resort was wonderful and we had a lot of fun. However, I really don’t think it would have mattered where we went. What made it amazing was being able to spend the week with my best friend.

The last 10 years have truly been beyond compare. It’s been full of joy, laughter, tears, amazing blessings in the form of our 3 beautiful children, new adventures with each assignment we’ve been given, some tough times and wonderful times, and through it all, God has continued to bless us with an unconditional love for each other that never wavers. I thank Him every day for making this man for me and I look forward with anticipation to the many years and adventures that lay ahead of us.

“Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Matthew 19:4-6

Lesson Learned?

Back on the 13th of January I was cleaning house and kind of "lost track" of Trinity. I'm sure she was only unsupervised for a couple of minutes (uh-huh), but when I did find her, this is what I found.

The minute I walked in and saw her she exclaimed "Pwetty!" Of course, I had to grab the camera before I could explain to her that getting into Mommy's makeup was a no-no. So you would think that I would learn, but....about a week later, I once again found myself searching the house for her. This time she had found a small tub of Vaseline and had rubbed it all over her face.

Now, I promise, I do watch my baby and keep her out of trouble (and in my defense, nothing dangerous is under that cabinet). But since then, I try and keep my bedroom door closed. I'm sure she'll continue test me to see if I've actually learned my lesson though.