the little things....

that make life so sweet.......

Grace was invited to go on a date with her daddy last night. She had many wonderful ideas to share as her daddy asked her what she would like to do. She narrowed her ideas down to eating Chinese food at the mall (her favorite) followed by a trip to Build A Bear Workshop. She maybe has been to one of these once before, but none of us remember. Anyway, all throughout the day yesterday she was counting down the hours to when she would be able to leave for her date. She spent much of her day 'getting ready' for her big night. She requested that I curl her hair and polish her nails. At the last minute I decided to meet Torrey at work to drop her off since we were in that area anyway. Before I could even say good bye to her she was out of the van and in Dad's jeep, buckled up and ready to go. They ate their food and visted the workshop. Torrey thought they would make the date last a little longer, maybe browse around the mall or something to stretch out their time together. But, she was eager to get home. I guess, wanting to share her new bear with the rest of us. She had a big smile on her face when she walked in the door.

She chose her bear, filled it with the perfect amount of stuffing and a 'Best of Both Worlds' sound byte and dressed it in Hannah Montana clothes. She finished the process by completing the 'birth certificate' where she got to fill in important information, like the bear's name. She chose "Laura". This melted my heart. I forget some times that these sweet little girls miss their Auntie Laura as much as I do.

Eric and Ana loved her bear. Ana did her best not to be 'too jealous', Eric did not try as much...he wanted that bear!!! Gracie has a tender heart and is pretty sensitive most of the time and she really wanted her sibs to have a bear too...she even wanted to pay for it so that they could have one. We made a quick trip to the mall this morning and made one for each of them. Eric is loving his already. Ana has not seen hers yet. It is waiting for her to come home from school. (we'll post pics later:)

These little things that happen in our little people's minds and hearts change me in big ways daily. I'm so blessed.

p.s. - did you notice the new bangs on Gracie? She had her haircut last week and LOVES her new bangs. Don't they make her big, brown eyes look even BIGGER? She is so cute!Little E - other than the fact that he is the littlest person in our household, there is very little that is 'little' about him. His body is growing like a large, out of control weed. As is his vocabulary (remember this is the little guy who hardly spoke two words before age 2) and his attitude. He is quite the mischievous pest. Thank goodness he has a LARGE amount of cuteness!
A few days ago he found a lollipop in my purse. It was a weak moment at about 8 am, but I agreed to let him have it when he asked. A few moments later as he was licking his lollipop like a mad man, he came up to me with his big, goofy smile and said, "Momma, I'm happy!" My heart.....he has never 'verbalized' his emotions before. Precious.......my heart is blessed

My Ana.....she too is growing into a lovely youg lady. I see little things happening in her life and she carefully tucks them away in her BIG heart. I thank God for the way she is growing and changing. She has had so many experiences this school year and is learning so much. She also is very sensitive and it is a joy to see her heart growing bigger for God and for those around her.

she was recently given a snow board. She has been asking for one all winter. She got to try it out for the first time this last weekend and LOVED it. Of course, being the 'natural' that she is with anything athletic, she was a pro right at the start. Not sure how long the snow will hang around, but she will love it while it is here. She is still loving her ice skating lessons. At her first lesson of her session this time around they advanced her to the next level, which is "power skate" Her full one hour lesson works her hard - she is getting stronger and faster and better each week.

I thought I had some pics of her on her snowboard, but they are videos...I won't even try to load them on here...but here is a cute picture of her, dressing up as a rockstar for a birthday party.

As for other little things that are making life sweeter...there are probably too many to mention. Certainly the three little blessings above are a given. Torrey has been pulled from home a little more than any of us prefer for some things with ministry and church...and though they were all very worth while, we are certainly happy to have him home a little more this week. I value and treasure the little moments we can share with him... and the 5 of us together. We never want to take that for granted.

We have lived in Alaska for a year now. Wow! Sometimes it seems we have been here longer....other times it seems like only months ago that we arrived. There have been a few BIG things that have caused us to feel at home here, but many, many little blessings that have added up and encouraged us in our move here and the process of making this 'home'. We continue to be so grateful for a loving church family, new friends and of course the huge amount of love and encouragement that gets sent to us from loving family and friends who are far away. I e-mailed this picture to many a few weeks ago, but this family photo captures so much of my BIG God's goodness to me. I'm so happy to be able to share it with you again.

Blessings to you as you enjoy the little things God sends your way. It's so easy to overlook them, isn't it? But Ihave learned over and over again, especially this past year - that they are allpart of the BIG pricture. So glad He cares and knows how much we can take. God bless!

I'm thinking it is time for a blog make-over. What do you think? I have no idea where to begin the process.....but stay tuned. It may take me awhile, but I'm going to give it a try:)

A diary...of sorts.....

Wow! February is a busy month. So much happening, so much to share. Throwing a family vacation into the mix of birthdays and anniversaries in our home is only going to make this blog entry extra long. So if you're in for it...get comfy. This might take awhile:) I'll start at the beginning of it all.....

February 10th...the countdown has ended and we are heading for the airport tonight for our long anticipated trip to California. The girls are thrilled. Eric knows he's going on the airplane to "see the mouse". Torrey and I are underslept and our flight leaves at 1am. We try to sleep before needing to get up to leave, but really, we are too excited to do that. The flight from Anchorage to Salt lake City is uneventful, but nobody really sleeps until the last 45 minutes of the trip. But, there was no screaming or crying, so I'm grateful.
February 11th- A 3 hour layover goes by relatively quickly. We call Laura and the girls while they are on their layover in Minneapolis...so cool to both be away from home and almost to each other...Yay! Our shorter flight to Santa Ana is also uneventful and again, nobody sleeps - well, except for me who dozes off briefly only to be awakened by Torrey who is attempting to get my attention to stop Eric who is standing in his seat introducing himself to the people behind us...oops! We arrive in sunny California, greeted by palm trees and a warm breeze. Temps in the low 60s...not bad - better than the 13 degrees we just left:) We check into the hotel and the boys nap. The girls are wired, knowing their cousins are going to be there before long. I doze for about 15 minutes, enough to dream strange things and awaken myself by yelling to Ana to "get out of the pool" even though she is laying in the bed right next to me. Oy...my sleep deprivation is not a good thing. But the girls got some laughs out of it. Soon we get the call that the D girls have landed and we will see them soon. We check out the hotel grounds while we wait for them to arrive. Of course, the reunion is precious and wonderful...missed those ladies. We catch up, unpack, swim, eat dinner at the hotel and plan our next few days. Lots of fun ahead! By 7pm I cannot keep my eyes open. We all fall asleep early and sleep for 12 hours. (Actually, I think Laura did not because she was in the room next to the giggling girls who refuse to go to bed early or sleep in late ~ sorry, sis.)
Thursday Feb 12 - Day One at Disneyland. We meet Minnie Mouse first, get our Disney hats and ears and make our way in. There is so much to see and do. It's hard to know where to begin. So we go on a few rides, visit some shops, eat lunch, do some more of what we just did and take it all in. Makayla and Ana were totally into the rides and were willing to wait in line to ride them. Haley and Gracie liked some rides, but were content jusy to find characters who would sign their autograph books and such. It was a fun day for all. I think we left for the hotel by about 6 that evening. Little E went the whole day without a nap and was a trooper. And poor Makayla woke up that morning with a fever. But she didn't let it get her down, bless her heart. Her momma did a good job of pumping in the drugs to keep the fever down and as long as they were in her body, she did great. What a toughie! She was passionate about not wanting this day to be ruined for anyone due to her not feeling well. She's so sweet. We all slept well again that night!


Friday, February 13th - Happy Birthday, Torrey! The girls greeted him that morning with song and begged him to hurry and wake up so we could get a start to day #2 at California Adventure Park and make it there before our lunch date with the princesses. We could tell it was quite a bit cooler that day and rain was in the forecast. We wished it wouldn't be, but it was and it did most of the afternoon. We got to enjoy a couple of shows while it poured...along with some ice cream. Because what goes better with freezing cold rain than refreshing ice cream:)? We shopped a little too and that always warms one up. We left the park by 4, I think. Of course it stopped raining when we got to the hotel. Laura treated Torrey and I to some babysitting of our kiddos so that we could go on a date to celebrate Torrey's birthday. We decided to go back to the park. We had a quiet New Orleans style dinner and got to go on all the rides the kids wouldn't have liked to wait in line for. It was dark, so there were fireworks and shows to take in. It was very fun and romantic to be in this magical place to celebrate.

Saturday, February 14th - Happy Birthday, Ana! (look for her montage...it's either here or coming - scanning those 9 year old pics is time consuming!)...Happy Valentine' s Day, everyone! Gifts were exchanged, Ana had a smile on her face from the minute she woke up that morning and the sun was shining. We were ready for our last day at the park. We all had our ideas of what we wanted to do before we left and we got to pretty much everything and ended our shorter day there at the much anticipated High School Musical 3 concert. It was very fun! They involved the audience quite a bit and Torrey managed to find us the perfect place to see the show. So, for two of the songs they sang they chose two of our girls to dance on stage with them. First, it was Ana. How cool for the birthday girl to get to be on stage with the singers and dancers of one of her favorite shows. It was very sweet. And then later they chose Makayla to go on stage. And if you know Makayla, then you know that THIS is right up her alley. We were all thrilled to tears for our girls. We planned to leave the park early that day so that we could return that night to be there in the dark - because it is SO neat at night. We had a great afternoon back at the hotel with swimming and napping and doing some long overdue hanging out. We needed more of this. And we needed the rest of the family there too. It's so good to be together!
The night time trip to the park was fun. I think this was the busiest of all of our time there. We enjoyed the 'Fantasmic' show and the wonderful fireworks. The kids and the grownups soaked in the last of the togetherness. It was a precious time. As we were heading out of the park, Gracie fell asleep sitting on top of Eric's stroller up against her Auntie Laura while watching the workers make caramel apples in the candy store. Eric stayed awake waiting for more excitement (and apples). We all left the park so glad to have been there.

February 15th - people not as happy today. We need one more day. We're not ready to say good bye again. But in tears, we do. I don't know that it will ever get easy. But, again, it was such a blessing to be able to share that experience together.
Our family of 5 heads north to the Pismo Beach area - about 200 miles. Within minutes of sitting in our rental van, the kids and I are out like a light and sleep for half of the trip. Bless Torrey for being such an attentive driver with us lazies. He was tired too. We got to spend the next rainy 24 hours with friends from seminary. It was fun to catch up and spend some time with these friends. More fun memories were made.
February 16th - we head back to the Irvine/Santa Ana area and stay in a hotel. We sat in the hot tub in the dark and drizzling rain ~ fun memories, then returned to our room , watched a movie and ordered room service. We've never done that before! Another good sleep was had by all.
February 17th -

Happy Anniversary to us! 13 years ago today I married my best friend. I love this man. God has brought us through thick and very thin. I'm so grateful to be at his side still today. I'm so thankful to be able to look back at our years together, the good and the bad, and to honestly be able to say, "I'm glad we went through that". God has given us so much substance to our marriage. I'm awed by the love Torrey chooses to give me each day, despite......you name it. He is a blessing to me and I am blessed. There are no words. I love you, my Torrey.
Speaking of substance, by now we are all pretty tired and plan to spend the rest of our day in an airport or an airplane. Again, the trips are uneventful, the kids do well, sleep, catch up on homework. We arrive in Anchorage before midnight, our bags are the last to come off the conveyor and we drive home in the cold, sparkling snow. Our house is cool, but welcoming. It's good to be home and it warms up quickly once we settle in for the night. Kiddos are happily tucked in bed by 1:30am and sleep til about 9:30 the next morning. Vacation is over........ but I have to reflect on a few of my favorite parts of the trip......
~the anticipation for the girls~ it was fun to share their excitement
~ the fact that there was such a small amount of whining and crying and fighting. In a place that is overwhleming, there was little adverse effect (it really MUST be the happiest place on earth:) ~my magical date with my love - Iloved making those memories
~ sitting by the pool with my sister
~swimming and snuggling with my nieces
~hearing and seeing the girls express their gratefulness each day we there
~ watching my little, busy boy sleep in my arms ( it happened once and never happens any other time
~ knowing and believing that God provided for this trip and was with us each step of the way. We are blessed. We are renewed and refreshed and our brain are a little less frozen. Thank you, God!
February 21 - I have worked the past two nights. I'm amazed how life just picks up once you return to it. I forget we were just on vacation. I anticipate my birthday tomorrow. I tell a trusted friend that I wish my birthday wasn't on a Sunday. It's a selfish thing to say, a selfish way to feel. But, I don't want to share my husband on this day. He honors me that night with a little date at home after the kids are in bed, knowing we won't get much time together the next day. He is wonderful. And again, I know I am blessed.
February 22- I seek forgiveness for my selfish thoughts and go into this day so grateful to have my day be on the Lord's day...because even though it is my birthday, the day is His....so thankful to be able to worship Him. The kids and I head home after church in anticipation of company for lunch and small group later that night. The girls are so sweet and bless me with little gifts all morning - pictures, stickers, coins from a piggy bank, used gift cards. They want so much to bless me...and they do. Eric says "Appy La-La, Momma" (that's "happy birthday, Momma"). Torrey sneaks home quickly after church for a surprise mini birthday party where they shower me with gifts and cupcakes. I am so loved. We continue our day and share lunch with our first Sheboygan guest. Northern Lighters, you will be so jealous when you learn that we got to have lunch with Aaron today. Here! In Anchorage. We honestly have not seen the guy since we graduated from high school, but now that we live 3500 miles away, we see him. His wife's family lives here and he was here doing some ministry and spared a few hours of his time to be with us. What a blessing. It was a joy to reminisce and to hear of how God is using him and his sweet family in this world. We love you, Aaron! The day ended nicely with our small group. We are still growing as a new group and we are thankful for each evening we get to share with these new friends. This day was perfect. I am blessed. ( have I mentioned that?)

February 25 - Happy Re-Birth-day to me. 19 years ago, I learned of my Savior's love for me. I grew up believing I knew what loving God was supposed to look like. For the most part, I was doing a good job according to what I believed. But on this night, I learned that this God I loved had a perfet plan for my life, that He sent His Son to die for my sins, so that I could live a life forgiven and free and in service to Him. I quietly and tearfully took Him in....not ever knowing before that this was even an option or how my heart would now be changed. My soul rejoices at the blessings he has given me, how His mercy is new each and every day and how His grace is so perfectly sufficient. I strive to serve Him selflessly each day.

Thank you, God for the countless gifts you bestow upon me each and every day. I am Yours.