For Love of Fridays...

I love playgroup!
I have a playgroup that I try to go to at least a few times a month, and I love meeting new people from different places and backgrounds. Sarah has a blast with all the other little kids, and Emma is doing really well playing and adjusting to new environments. It gives us all a chance to get out of the house and do something we wouldn't normally do on our own.

I love kids' words!
Emma just said her first word in the last couple weeks. She says, "Hi. Hi." It's adorable with her little limp-wristed wave. Sarah is always cracking us up with her words. I swear she learns 20 new ones every day! Her latest thing that makes me smile is that she says the word "does" like "doos." She'll say, "Don't suck the thumb. That's what baby doos." Also, she tells me that she has a baby brother in her tummy.

I love yummy scents!
I have a Scentsy candle warmer that brightens my day. I can change the scent anytime I want depending on my mood or the season. Today was the first day of my Christmas scents, and everytime I walk past it I just think how wonderful Christmas smells...

I love life.

Photo Shoot!

Every few months (or weeks) I like to take some pictures of the girls. I haven't done it in a really long time, so I thought I better get to it. We took Emma's first and she did pretty good so Sarah was really excited to get her picture taken. It was her best shoot ever - I was so pleased.

I really wanted to get some pictures of the two of them together, but it didn't quite work out! I thought I'd include some of the out-takes because they were too funny. It really turned into a giggling/tickling/wrestling match. I'm happy they had fun, even if I didn't get my pic!

Happy Turkey Day!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday filled with family and good food. We're up in Iowa with the Hunger's this year and it has been so much fun! All of Dennis's siblings and their families are here together and there are so many kids for Sarah and Emma to play with - they've loved ALMOST every minute.

I am so thankful for my wonderful little family I've been blessed with. I couldn't ask for a man more fit for me. We complement each other and challenge and bless each other. It's amazing! I have two little girls that I adore. Every day they teach me something about myself and about life. I wouldn't be who I am without them and their spirits. I am blessed to be expecting a new baby boy in less than four months, and I look forward to the new challenges and insights a boy will bring. Isn't life amazing? We are so quick to remember all the trials and hard parts of life, but are sometimes slow to think of the small (and big) blessings that are sent our way every day. Our Father in Heaven loves us and blesses us, and for that I am thankful!

New Family Pics!

Dennis and I really wanted to have a family picture taken while we were still a family of four, so we took advantage of the nice weather last weekend. It's just a snapshot that we've cropped, but I really like how it turned out. It's hard to accept the fact that we couldn't get both of the girls looking at the camera and smiling... but with a two-year-old and a ten-month-old, what's a mom to do?

For Love of Fridays...

I saw this idea on my good friend's blog, and I wanted to start doing it on my own blog. The idea is to post each week a few of the things I love, so here goes:

I love that my girls make me smile!
Sarah thinks it's fun to make silly faces lately. She's always saying, "Watch this, Mom!" I don't know where she learned it (maybe nursery?), but she's getting more faces each week to add to her repertoire.

Emma is learning how to wave. She'll use a limp wrist and wave her chubby little hand when we say "hi" or "bye-bye" to her. It's not quite working when someone else says it, but usually only if Daddy or Mommy does. She also is "cruising" with her cute little red car, and if she gets stuck she'll squawk a little until someone turns her around so she can cross the room again! I love that she's starting to explore the world on two feet.

I love to bake!

This week I've really been in the mood to bake, so we've had peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies. Plus one day I got adventurous and made really yummy beef stew (which made so much that we're still working on finishing it). There is just something therapeutic about baking that I don't quite understand. Not only do I enjoy actually making the product, but eating it isn't half bad either!

I love the fall colors!

I was beginning to think the leaves weren't going to change their beautiful colors this year, but as I looked out my front window yesterday I saw reds, oranges, and yellows. I just love the changes each season brings! (I don't have a good picture of the fall colors, so I thought I'd include a pic of the decorations on my front porch).

Happy Halloween - 2007

One of my favorite things about Halloween is making my kids' costumes. It is so fun to look for ideas and then try to see what I can do with my creativity. Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes... it really doesn't. Sarah has been a flower, Minnie Mouse (my favorite), and this year she was a dalmatian puppy dog. I thought it would be fun for the girls' costumes to coordinate, so Emma was a little kitty cat.

Sarah kind of turned out looking like a spotted cow (when she didn't have her ears up), but it was still fun and she absolutely loved her tail. She'd show it to people, and then say "Emma have a tail, too!"

Emma was so fun crawling around in her costume and looked like the cutest little kitten we'd ever seen. Too bad most people thought she was a little boy. I guess that's why we put a bow on her head most days. Note to self: use a pink boy to distinguish girl kitties from boy kitties!

Our town has trick-or-treating from business to business, so it was great for Sarah to be able to go around when it was still daylight and not too cold. She got the hang of it all and wasn't even intimidated by all the bigger and older kids around. Someone gave Emma a box of Red Hots, and she just shook them like a rattle the entire time. It was a really fun evening!