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:)