Lent

Today marks the first day of Lent
40 days until Easter, 40 days until we celebrate our risen Savior.

I have to admit up until a few years ago I naively thought that Lent was something that was only practiced in Catholicism not Christianity so I disregarded it and didnt give much thought to it.

We looked forward to Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter.

However after giving much thought to it we have agreed that this is a time when we can reflect. We can dwell on thoughts of what He did for us. Remembering the Ultimate Saving Sacrifice, with such a small token of our own sacrifice.

Easter unfolds fresh and glorious and bright,
after a season of remembering the days of Gethsemane, sacrifice, beatings, and the silent suffering that He endured
for you.
for me.
so we can have Hope.


For Lent, I am giving up some little things... some normal things,
and refocusing on things that are good for me.
So that I can dwell on Him more.
So that I can think on Him whenever I have to stop and resist, or make a good choice.

During these 40 days, I turn my eyes to the dark history of Jesus's suffering. And I remember with the help of the little things, everytime I reach for one of my little indulgences that I have given up I will remember....

P.R.A.Y.E.R.

I know that I have a lot of sweet prayer warriors and sisters out there that read my blog and I don't very often come out and specifically ask for prayer but today I am.
I have a sweet, sweet friend that is in desperate need of prayer for comfort, healing, restoration and peace. My heart is broken for her, my knees are dirty and now I'm calling on all of my dear friends to join me in prayer.
God orchestrated this special friendship that I have with her in a way that only He can, He had a very specific purpose for our friendship and I'm so thankful to Him for that.
My sweet friend has been standing for her marriage for almost 3 months now. They have the most beautiful one year old daughter and in December, the night of their wedding anniversary he dealt her a blow that no one we know should ever have to hear. He walked out and hasnt looked back. She has given him a gift of forgiveness and unconditional love more than he deserves. God has called her to stand for her marriage with every ounce of strength in her and she is. I admire her more than I could write in words. She is beautiful inside and out but she is hurting more than I ever want to see anyone hurt. Today he came to their house to pick up their daughter, and to add more salt to her wounds he arrived with his "gf" in the car.

We know that our God is a God of mercy, forgiveness, healing, restoration and grace. That if Jesus has called her to stand for her marriage and to fight for the husband she knows is lost and has turned to the ways of this world. His heart has turned cold as stone to his marriage and vows but we as sisters in Christ know that God can turn his heart of stone into a heart of flesh and a desire to restore his marriage.

Please pray alongside with me....and leave a comment so that she can know and experience the depth of sisterhood we have in Christ! Please wrap her in prayer with me.

Valentines Day Crafts...

Ok so lately I've been bitten by the crafty bug. I can only go so long until I have to really indulge my arts and crafts nature! Maybe its Valentines Day that brings it out, its such a warm and fuzzy time of year. Not to mention if I just mention "CRAFT" Mia and Jacob get excited and know its time to pull out the paper, glue and stickers!

For Mia's birthday I finally made her a bow memo board that matched her bathroom. She loves going in and picking out her bow or flower of the day...and I love that I can find everything when I need it. It was so easy and fun to make, my first time using mod podge to turn boring white letters into cute scrapbooking letters and I found this big white frame at Kohls for 90% off...it was 69.99 marked down to $6.99. It had an awful picture of a beach scene in it but I didnt care since I was taking that all out anyways. I think it measures 16 x 20. Of course if anyone wants one I can always make it an 8 x 10 or 11 x 14 :)

here is a little one that I made for a friends baby shower...


Valentines Day Crafts!!
The kids and I headed to the Art store to pick up some foam hearts, then we pulled out some scrapbooking paper and ribbon and created this super cute "BE MINE" garland. It was so festive and fun!




I had some left over brown ribbon left from last year when I made a diaper cake and some left over material from Mia's bow board so we created a little shabby chic garland with some 'love' scripture on it to hang in our dining room. The kids point to it at every meal and we practice memorizing each verse! So fun!!


...and then I saw these little boxes on a craft blog and thought how fun this would be for Mia and Jacob to hand out and mail to their little 'valentines'. Seriously for 10 matchboxes its .97cents at Walmart and then you just use some fun scrapbook paper, add some ribbon and fill with pink and red M&M's!! I love these!!






Looks like were in for a full 4 days of rain coming our way...and us Southern Cali's don't really know what to do in the rain but stay home...so I'm sure we'll be doing some more crafts come this weekend!

24 Month Appt

We went to see our favorite Pediatrician this morning for our 24 month appt. Yes its true we adore Dr. Ball, he is there for us day or night no matter how silly the concern may be, and I simply love that he has held our precious little ones since they were a wee 3lbs!

It's official my babies officially dislike everything about the doctors office now! We stripped them down and Mia was yelling at the nurse NO, NO, NO!!! She did everything she could to refuse her weight check and height check while Jacob watched in horror and pure silence. Poor little guy was terrified...knowing that he was next. Weight and Height accomplishment complete and the babies got brand new books to look at while Dr. Ball did a quick examination. Then came their immunization...only 1 this time!! Daddy and I prepared ourselves for a screamfest but wouldnt you know it, not even one little peep and no tears. They got dressed grabbed their stickers at the door and ran for the EXIT!!

Here are their Stats:

Mia - 32 3/4 inches
21 lbs 11oz

Jacob - 30 3/4 inches
21 lbs 3oz

***both below the 3% for height and growth but Dr. Ball says their healthy, happy and he is pleased with their growth pattern, development and vocabulary***

waiting patiently in the waiting room


Take note...who's more afraid of the needle..Daddy or Mia??


I'm ready to go home now!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Mia Noel & Jacob Nolan!!

Mia and Jacobs 2nd Birthday has come and gone. The house is quiet and everyone is tucked into bed...but mommy of course!! When else would I find the time to upload my zillions of pics today and edit through them :)

The day started with giggling and whispers coming from behind their nursery door. Mommy and Daddy tiptoed past to get the coffee started (that we so desperately needed!!)...and then the celebrating began!! Mia and Jacob woke up to a gift from Mommy and Daddy in the family room....a real playhouse barn!! They loved it and Jacob immediately went in and closed the doors behind him!! (This little guy loves to have his own space) so we knew he would love it!! Inside they found Elmo books and Elmo puzzles, they had so much fun that we didnt even realize until later that the TV hadnt even been turned on or had been quietly requsted to be turned on (Ha!!) to Sesame Street...quite shocking if your a regular in our home!!
Mommy and Daddy showered really quick and out the door we headed for reservations at Goofys Kitchen!! Nana and Papa met us there and we think they had just as much fun meeting Goofy, Pluto, Cinderella, Captain Hook and Chip and Dale!! Even more funny we had the same exact waiter as last year who also has twins the same age as Mia and Jacob!!

After a fun breakfast we headed over to Disneyland!! Today was the first day that Jacob actually said "YES" to Disneyland. The last year we have always cracked up because if you ask Mia if she wants to go to Disneyland she yells...YES!!!! and right behind her Jacob always says NONONO!! Today I asked him this morning and he yelled YES...so that was special for Mommy & Daddy!

For the first time we took them on the Jungle Safari boat ride and they loved every minute of it. Mia was yelling and pointing out every animal and Jacob stood up on the bench the entire way making sure to miss nothing!! On our way out it started to rain and after all yesterdays festivities we decided to head home so they could play with their bounce house...their own little motor cars..and their barn....but not before we got caught in a down pour. Mia slept the whole walk back and we walked laughing in the rain as our little guy kept poking his head out to feel the "WAWA"

Enjoy the slide show!!

Now for a few things that I want to remember about this special time!!
Mia has always been a little chatter box..she is filled with a sweet joy and loves to chat and mimic away!! At Jacobs 18mth appt we got a referral for a speech therapist for Jacob since he had yet to say anything but Mama and Dada...and even that was stretching it. I put it on hold and just decided to wait and see and then would make the decision at his 24mth appt....well wouldnt you know it, in the last two weeks Jacob has probably more than quadrupled his vocabulary, he asks for what he wants, shows mommy what he wants to do and loves to answer yes or no!!!
A FEW OF JACOBS FAVORITE THINGS....
1. Jacob yells from the backdoor while Madison is outside Assison...Assison..Assison..over and over...we can't help but laugh so hard!! ..and what our neighbors must think!!
2. Jacob calls me Ma...not mama, not mommy...but MA very clearly and distinctly. Even through church he runs through the halls yelling Ma!!! and my husband was so sweet to say I think Adam Sandler called his mom that in waterboy...yep Kathy Bates that lived in the swamp and ate alligator! Thanks hon, thats nice :)
3. Jacob loves yogurt and would eat yogurt all day. I probably find him 10 times a day at the fridge asking for "ogurt, ogurt"
4. and his other favorite...comilk, comilk, comilk (code for chocolate milk)
5. The sweetest thing...a couple days ago before his nap he was looking for a book and kept saying..jesus...which sounds like sheeesus..sheesus....he wanted his big Jesus story picture book...oh how a mommys heart soars to hear that :)

A FEW OF MIA'S FAVORITE THINGS....
1. This little girl loves everything asian...rice, noodles, chopsticks...and even wants mommy and daddy's sushi!!
2. All day everyday......SITA , SITA, SITA!!! Which is code for soda.....so we make a trip to the fridge to show her we have none, its all gone and then the quest for SITA...begins again!! Oh My!!! ...but I love how she says it....
3. She is talking in full sentences telling mommy and daddy what she wants. Sometimes it feels so surreal that she is actually communicating with us like any other person would. John and I just look at each other and wonder...how did we get here so fast??
4. Mia's bed.....she has a love for blankets or "covers" as she likes to call them (she is definitely her Daddy's girl) any blanket she can find in her nursery goes in her bed as demanded and not quietly I might add :) so mommy has to sneak in late at night to remove many of them so that I can sleep better!

Birthday Party Celebration Part 1

I'm still sitting here in disbelief that my babies are going to be 2 tomorrow!! It just doesnt seem real, how can time go by so quickly and at the same time feel like they have been with me forever?? I feel like I blink and have yet to wrap my mind around the fact that my itty bitty babies are little people now...laughing, talking in sentences, playing games, comprehending my directions and blossoming into their own special purpose that God has planned for them. My heart aches at how fast they are growing up right before me however my cup of JOY runs over at the blessing they have brought into our lives!!


Enjoy the slideshow of their special day today and tomorrow morning were headed down to have breakfast with Mickey and all his friends!!