Happy Father's Day!

Ben,

I love watching you grow as a person,husband and father. Each year it gets better and better.

You're an amazing father and I couldn't ask for more!I love you!

Happy Father's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring + Sunny Weather = Moomers

Moomers is one our favorites places to go. Its also really convenient since its just down the road from our house. The girls and Ben have been begging to go and when my mom and Jennie (aka Princess Jen) invited us to go, I couldn't tell them no. This trip was special not only because its the first trip of the season but because Aubrey is big enough for her own bowl. I won't tell you she has never had ice cream but we would share with her which is not a fun time. For those who know my darling daughter also knows she loves food. Aubrey is known to make the rounds at family parties with her mouth open, like a little bird, waiting to be fed.When she doesn't get any she screams. So it was nice to be able to enjoy my own ice cream until she finished her bowl. Then she made the rounds between Ben and myself. Here are some pictures from our trip. Hope you enjoy them!

Gotta make sure to get every last drop!

An Ant?

That is what Riley wants her next pet to be. The funny thing about this is she is the first person to start screaming when a bug is near. I will admit she does come by it honestly. Not that I scream every time I see one but I am not a big fan of anything with six legs. So on Sunday afternoon she tells me there where two ants down in the bathroom and she wants to keep them for pets. I had to ask her "An Ant? Really? " I see her blond head bob up and down. "Yes Mama, but I got a paper towel and squished them. So then I had to throw them out. "It was really hard to keep a straight face. What do you say to that? I sympathized with her and told her maybe an ant wasn't the best pet for her. I can see her thinking about this. She puts her hand up to her chin,slightly rubs it and says "Maybe we can get a Unicorn then." I smile down at my wonderfully sweet child and tell her to go ask her dad.

Happy Easter Everyone!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter weekend!

Happy 5th Birthday Riley!

The minute I looked into her curiosity filled blue eyes, it was love at first sight. I may not have believed in love at first sight before then, but at that very minute I knew it was possible. And so our journey began. Its been five years full of an endless supply of love,lots of giggles, and a few tears. As parents we watch you grow,help you to learn what you need to know to survive in life and somewhere along that journey you've taught us a few things and helped us to become better people in the process. My Riley-Love, Happy Birthday! We look forward to the years to come and seeing how bright you will shine!

Randomness

I'm listening to the sound naptime brings. The only sound you hear is the soft clicking of the keyboard. I'm enjoying every minute of it. The last couple of months have been insane! Its nice to be able to just sit. We aren't going anywhere or nothing needs to be painted. Yes, we are done! Its pure bliss. Which explains why I haven't been blogging as much. Plus I think I'm suffering from a creative block too. The girls are getting bigger and larger then life. Riley is really getting excited about kindergarten. I sometimes find myself looking at her in amazement. Gone is the baby, there are traces of toddler but she really is turning into a big kid. It seems like yesterday I was trying to convince her to talk. Now I have to try to convince her to be quiet. She is a star! This is what I hear from her quite a bit. Plus the Tinkerbell theme or any new song she has picked up. I swear I hear Tinkerbell in my sleep! Piper keeps me on my toes. She is such a contrast from Riley. She knows what she wants and you can't compromise with her. Her honesty never fails to amuse me even if there are times, I want to crawl under the table. She also has a new dance . The dinosaur dance. She stomps her foot and says "Its not fair!' I have a feeling this may carry over to the pre-teen years. And little Aubrey. She has learned to climb. She loves to climb into the girls' chairs that are by the computer and play with the mouse. She always looks at us with this big smile as if to say " Look how big I am." She is talking so much sooner then the other too. Its funny to hear her walk around the house and call for 'ILEY! ' Not interested in saying Piper yet. Now that Aubrey is in her own room, Piper and Aubrey seem to be playing a little more together. Only time can tell with those two. I will try to get better about updating and upload more pictures! I seem to be forever uploading......

Yes, We are Painting...Again!

I know. I've been really bad about keeping my blog updated. Its been a couple of crazy weeks.
We are in the middle of painting four out of the six rooms in our house. I don't recommend it. It tends to get a little stressful. Through all of this, Ben told me that he is glad we decided when we do move, we weren't going to build a house but if we do, He would hire someone to do it.
I'm thinking there is a hidden message somewhere in there. But in all fairness if he would quit telling me it won't take that long, I think I would quit tweaking the to-do list. Oh well. It is keeping life interesting. We finally made a trip down to see Ben's family. That was a blast! We
haven't been down since last May, so it was nice to get to see everyone. I did include pictures. The twins are getting so big. Its hard to believe they will be one next month! Time is flying.
I did include some pictures of the girls playing outside. We don't get outside as much since its been really cold this winter. Riley and Piper love the snow! Aubrey is like her Mama and doesn't care for it. If you look closely at the picture of Riley, you see see she is taller then the swing set in our yard. Yes, we have really gotten that much snow. Spring anyone?

A Perfect Anniversary

I couldn't of asked for a more perfect night on Saturday. It was so nice to be able to have a night out to ourselves. ( Thanks Mom!) It was great not to have to pull a child out from under the table or trying to convince them they needed to eat. We could have a real conversation that didn't include, you need to use your inside voice or are you sure you don't need to go potty?We could respond to a question right away or hear what the other person was saying. Don't get me wrong. I love my girls to pieces and we always have fun together but its nice to be Ben and Amanda every now and then, instead of being Mama and Daddy. Ben surprised me by taking me to Stella's. We've been wanting to try it out it out for the last couple years and finally Ben was able to get us a reservation. It was fantastic. He then took me to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. I've read the books and really wanted to see the movie. I highly recommend both! They are great! He did a really did a good job at planning the evening and keeping things a secret. Little did he know, I had an ace up my sleeve. After hearing for the last few years of him regretting not going to Michigan International Speedway to see a Nascar race with his buddies, I decided to surprise him with tickets to one of the races. I made him a card full of clues and at the end it told him where we were going this August. He has not been this speechless since I told him I was pregnant with Riley! All through the night he kept asking me "Are you sure?" he was too cute. I think this is one anniversary we will never forget!

This is Ben's surprised look

Ben with his card

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I love this holiday! My reasons are a little different. We were married on this day seven years ago. I posted our wedding picture in honor of today. I'm always amazed when I look at our album. We both had stars in our eyes and all we needed was love to
survive. Getting married on Valentine's Day seem to symbolize our relationship. Full of romance,passion,hearts and promises. Over the years we learned you do need more then love to survive. We have had our ups and downs like anyone else but we have learned it works better when you put God first and you need to work as a team. I do have to admit when I look at him, I still see stars. ;) Happy Anniversary Ben! These last seven years have been the best of my life and I look forward to the next hundred years!

Where Did January Go?

Okay, so I'm a little behind in my blogging. It has been a couple of crazy weeks. I am hoping this
cold cycle will end soon. I have discovered with three little ones it is ten times worse when it comes to getting sick. They just keep passing it around. I'm hoping we will see an end to it pretty soon. I will post pictures of Christmas and Aubrey's birthday in the next post. Its really hard to believe she is one. She has been keeping me busy. She is now walking all over the place and is very much glued to my hip a good majority of the time. Her vocabulary is growing even faster
then the other two. We just got word that Piper is at the top of the list for school this fall. Ben and me are breathing a sigh of relief. Piper really wants to go to school and I don't think she would be very happy to stay at home another year. We are looking at schools for Riley for
kindergarten this fall. I couldn't believe enrollment starts this soon! I'm in disbelief
that she will be five this year but to think she will be in kindergarten by this time next year
is killing me. Where did the time go? Wasn't it just yesterday we had brought her home from the hospital? I'm really glad I have this opportunity to be at home for at least a little while. They're growing up so fast and I don't want to miss a minute of it. I'm going to go and work on uploading a slide show plus maybe take the Christmas music off my blog since we are now into February.......

Happy 1ST Birthday Aubrey!

Its hard to believe Aubrey is one today. It seems like yesterday Ben and me were weighing the pros and cons of adding another child into our crazy duo.I'm glad we did. I can't remember what life was like before her. I look forward to watching her grow and seeing her personality develop more. In honor of her birthday, here are some of the things I love about Aubrey.

1. I love her smile.

2. The way she snuggles under my chin

3. Her laugh

4. How proud she is of her accomplishments

5. Her adoration for her big sisters

6. The way she giggles when she plays with the dog

7. She is the head of the welcoming committee when Daddy walks in the door

8. Her love of food. (Its nice after two picky eaters. She gets her from Daddy)

9. Her Frankenstein walk

10.When she calls for Mama

An Unexpected Christmas Blessing

As I've said in previous posts, God has been good to us this year. I will admit it alot of things have happened this year that have been really crummy but God has seen our family through
the tough times. Which brings me to share this story with you. We had decided this Christmas, we were going to scale back a bit. Not only for financial reasons but we really want to make sure as the girls grow up to instill the true meaning of Christmas. I will admit there were several things I wanted to get the girls for Christmas. I had wanted to get them this really cool kitchen that they played with at Sam's Club every time we went there. I wanted to get them new pajamas and slippers for Christmas Eve. Random stuff they really didn't need but it was stuff I thought would be fun to buy. Ben and me went a different route with their presents. Last night I was on the phone with my mom when call waiting beeped. I decided to ignore the call and call whoever it was back later. To be honest our family doesn't answer the beeps unless we think it may be important. I come by it honestly. (I love you Mom:) ) Anyway it happened to be our neighbor. Ben called her back and apparently one of her friends is having a giving Christmas with her teenagers. Her kids were to pick out a family and buy gifts for them instead of receiving gifts this year. She asked my neighbor if she knew of anyone who could use any help this year. Our name came up due to the fact I'd lost my job and Ben has helped her with many things over the last year. Ben bundled up the girls and went over to her house to pick up the presents.She also had wanted to meet the girls. ( I didn't go because of this nasty cold that won't go away.) When the girls came back they were so excited! They opened gifts there. They received coloring books,a Bible,new dress-up shoes,pajamas,slippers and a new play kitchen. Does God work in mysterious ways or what?! They may have been little things but it does proves that no prayer is too little, unimportant, or even unspoken, God is listening at all times and He does answer is awesome ways!