Let it Snow (n-snow-n-ice-n-snow)...

and snow and ice it did! The sky opened up and poured for over 24 hours (which is a rarity in our neck of the woods). On Friday, there wasn't a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread within 100 miles but there were children everywhere bursting with excitement... "Can we go out yet? Can we go out yet?" was heard about 673 times before they were able to hit the door. By Saturday afternoon our neighborhood totaled about 4 inches of snow... topped with another 3-4 inches of ice... and a little more snow to grow on... Of course that didn't stop Wild Man and Little Miss from doing the "more snow" dance...while MeiMei watched from the toasty comfort of the dining room window. I'm sure she was wondering WHY they would want MORE of the freezing cold white stuff. I'm pretty sure she's never seen anything like it. They have palm trees in southern China--not snow. She would have been fine to stay inside the whole weekend but there was no way this Momma could let the first BIG snow pass her by.

At first she didn't know what to think...but it didn't take long before she was rarin' to go... Little Miss (who just HAD to wear a dress--even to play in the snow) had to teach her baby sister a thing or two about snow days...and MeiMei caught on pretty quickly. Monkey See...
Monkey Do...
Ahhhhh...
I'll let you decide what she thought of it...
The final attempt at a snowman was...ummmm...shall we say...non productive? They learned first hand why it's called a SNOWman (and not an ICEman)but they had a great time trying. Obviously this is not the best group photo but it makes me laugh nonetheless. To think I bribed them with hot cocoa just to catch the three of them in the same frame.
And even though my foyer floor is PILED with three layers of clothing x 5, I would still welcome a few more snows just like this one in 2010. There is nothing like the joy it brings to the faces of my three little Eskimos.

Womble Party of 5...in pics

Yesterday, in honor of our two month Forever Family Day, we had our first family photographs taken as a party of 5. We just viewed the gallery and I'm about to burst with excitement. We have been blessed beyond all we could ever ask or imagine. If you happen to know my first name and would like to see the images, click HERE. The only catch is if you view the gallery you MUST LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL ME WHICH IMAGE IS YOUR FAVORITE. Our photographer was AMAZING and I would recommend her to anyone in our area. If you would like more info, email me.

The Blueberry Patch...

We are on a roll this summer in the family fruit picking department. It was an atypical July day today--70's with almost no humidity--so we decided to get out and enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather. We donned the tennis shoes and bug spray and headed out to The Blueberry Patch for our first blueberry picking experience.
Wild Man and Little Miss LOVE blueberries but I do not buy them every week because of the the price tag. Now I understand why the tiny container at the grocery store costs a whopping $3.99! These little jokers are hard to pick. Let me rephrase--not hard--but TEDIOUS and time consuming. It is not at all like picking strawberries. The blueberry lady explained to us very clearly. "Always choose royal blue or darker". Ummmm... Okay... Anyone know how to explain the difference between fuchsia and blue swirl--classic blue--royal blue--navy blue to a three year old?
The Chief and Wild Man did what most typical men would do. Seek out the shabbiest row of blueberry bushes overgrown with honeysuckle and weeds in pursuit of the holy blueberry grail. Rows upon rows of nicely trimmed blueberry bushes and they have to choose the ones in the jungle. Boys--I'll never understand! Little Miss spent most of her time picking "the pretty PINK ones", eating the blue ones from my bucket (because the pretty pink ones are yucky) and playing at the playground. Playgrounds are WAAAAAYYYY better than blueberry bushes.

Fireworks with Dad...

VBS Family Night...

All aboard the Boomerang Express--it all comes back to Jesus!

Play Ball...

Like mother like daughter...Little Miss practicing her "googly eyes".

Strawberry Pickin' Time...

Last spring we took Wild Man and Little Miss strawberry picking. We had so much fun we decided to make it a yearly tradition. Unfortunately we could not find a weekend to go as a family so we went as a trio today sans Daddy. This years adventure was basically a repeat of last. I picked strawberries and played paparazzi. Wild Man hid from honey bees while inspecting berries from afar. He waited for me to pick them and then proclaimed "Look, Mommy! Look! It's a strawberry!" about 100 times. :-)
They played with the borrowed farm umbrella just in case it rained...Little Miss stole all the strawberries from my basket and claimed them for her own (but isn't she the cutest strawberry thief you've ever seen?)...
How about a group shot for Mommy? Show me your berries please...
Hey, Mom? Do you see the sky? You should probably stop taking pictures and look over your shoulder...
It's looking a little stormy... YIKES!
It was at this point I hear the ladies from the strawberry patch screaming from the main house..."Get out of the field!!!! A storm is coming!!!!" I grabbed all of our garb and we started running along with the other six people in the patch. I watched the two women jump in their SUV's and drive like crazy people from the main house to the strawberry patch. By the time they got to us it was lightning all around with strong winds. One of the women took Little Miss from me while Wild Man and I jumped over the rows of strawberries to get in the car. Little Miss FREAKED OUT! It all happened so quickly I think she thought they were taking her away. She didn't see us go around to the other side of the Explorer so when the woman tried to put her in she SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER until she realized it was me on the other side. The bottom fell out about the time we closed the door. While I'm trying to calm my screaming two year old the woman driving is going ON and ON about how the radar looked terrible--how they were afraid we were going to get struck by lightning--how storms are SOOO SCARY on their farm. Ugh! HELLOOOOO---terrified children in the back seat--one of which is screaming in your ear because she doesn't like storms (and she thought you were a kidnapper). Be quiet lady! Anyway...we looked like drowned rats by the time we made it from the car to the main house but at least we didn't have to run the entire way to the house. In honor of their bravery, they treated both of them to a popsicle...
Of course, Wild Man declined because he doesn't like strawberry popsicles--though he LOVES strawberries --CRAZY KID! Clearly Little Miss had no issues with her special treat...
Once at home we made strawberry-banana smoothies together... and 24 jars of strawberry freezer jam...
This is what Little Miss thinks about strawberry jam...

Let the Summer begin...

Made muffins together
Swimming with our Wednesday swim day pals
Play date with friends
Signed up for summer reading at the library
Cashed in Wild Man's AWANA gift card (almost a year later)
Purchased and planted new flowers

We're off to a great start. We have two months to pack it all in. Ready. Set. Go!

Happy Mother's Day

Breakfast in bed. A beautiful corsage. Worshiping the Creator of motherhood. A yummy lunch with my Mom. An afternoon nap-HALLELUJAH! A dinner prepared for the queen (that's me). My hubs and my babies (even the one I know in pictures). Happy Mother's Day to me!

A-one...ONE...1-2-3...HIT IT!

Making Gingerbread Memories...

I love family traditions! This year we added a new one to the holiday lineup...Gingerbread Houses. In our case, a train (for the boy) and a house (for the girl). They "helped" me put them together this afternoon so they could dry.
We decorated them tonight...girls vs. boys. Apparently the object of the game was to see who could eat the most candy without Mom or Dad knowing. They were sugared up by the time we were finished but it was great fun!
MG insisted on wearing her ladybug costume for the festivities. So sweet...
The finished product minus several pieces that disappeared from their original location...
Neither child claimed to know anything about the disappearing candy. Hmmm...