a DOG-gone good time!

Yesterday our friends Jonah and Javan invited us to their “Dog House” for their  fourth birthday party!  Their mommy had every detail of the party planned out to doggie perfection! 

Marikka sent out little outfits (she hand made) for all the kids to wear to the party!

Here is one of our little puppies. :)

Such cute ideas. There was a dog story, a dog bone hunt, hot dogs for dinner, a dog “biscuit” cake, dog cookies and lots of other puppy treats! Such a fun idea. 

Here is our other little puppy, sniffing out her “dog bone” candy. And we already know that Anna is almost canine when it comes to sniffing out sugar, so this game was right up her alley.

Rebekah and her friend Kate.

Anna and her buddy Luke. Dare I say … could this be “puppy love?”

   The fabulous cookies they had!

 

 

 

 

Anna and the cookie.

And the girls coloring, what else but, dog pictures.

Such a fun party with wonderful attention to every detail! Thanks for inviting us to your party Javan and Jonah! Happy 4th birthday!

Working Side By Side By Side

My girls love being outdoors and even more so… they LOVE being with their daddy. When he is home he has two extra shadows following his every move. Saturday they did a little work clearing out our side yard.

Rebekah took more of a supervisory position while Anna dug right in. :)

Puzzled

Bekah delights in doing puzzles. She has always enjoyed them even as a baby. She is getting better and better at them and the level of puzzles are getting more and more complicated. She seems to have a some of Daddy’s engineer genes in her, as she has a great eye for what fits together. 

Today she completed her first 100 piece-r. And was quite proud of it. 

Here is a 30 piece one she received from Grandpa and Grandma when they came back from Canada. 

 

I just purchased a 250 piece one for her and she is not at all intimidated by the challenge. :)

While I was away….

It will never be said that Josh Nelson is a “lazy guy.” I can attest to his constant “doing”. And this weekend was no exception. While I was away Joshua was………

bringing walls down. And while this wasn’t exactly the wall of Jericho, it was still quite a feat.

Here are some pictures of the before:

The living room side of the wall.

The dining room side of the wall.

Josh’s dad, Luthor, with the girls before they brought the wall down.

Josh’s Dad and Mom both helped him/us out GREATLY this weekend. Luthor with man power and know-how and Susie with entertaining of the girls. :)

Here is the after:

The house feels like we got an extra 20 feet of space. There is obviously still some patching a painting that needs to take place but it is very near completion.  Some would think tearing out a wall would be enough home improvement for a weekend. However, Josh did not. He and his dad spent Saturday and Sunday installing inset lighting and also….. (if you know Josh you can probably already guess what I am about to say)……. surround sound speakers.

I was amazed to come home and not only find the project almost done but they also managed to keep a pretty clean house at the same time! I’m in awe!

Here is a picture of the lighting:

This project has been on my list of home improvement wishes for a couple years and I am so blessed that I have a husband who is capable, willing and skilled. I can’t thank Luthor and Susie enough for their help and know-how this weekend. I love my new “great room”. I’m thrilled!!!

A Real-TREAT!

Isn’t God good?

I was reminded of our God’s greatness and faithfulness this past weekend through fellowship, meditation, worship and the majesty of HIS creation! 

A weekend away was just what I needed to refresh my spirit and give me renewed motivation. Our churches women’s retreat took me (and some wonderful friends) to Twin Peaks, CA. We ate well, shopped a little, but mostly we were encouraged in our faith, challenged by God’s word and reminded of HIS love and mercy.

Here are some of the girls on our little shopping excursion in Arrowhead.

( It is amazing what a little (kid-free) shopping can do to rejuvenate one’s spirit! ) 

 

Some of us after our evening session on Saturday night. I am not pointing any fingers but as soon as this picture was taken, somehow I ended up with my bottom sinking into the snow! 

Sunday morning.

They actually had to cut our retreat short as there was a storm quickly coming and to ensure that we were not snowed in another night we had to skip our final session. A little sad, but the pictures in the snow might have made up for it. ;)

And here is my friend Rebekah scraping snow off of the car.

Such a fun weekend!

For the Bride to Be

I think I have mentioned before that my sister, Donna, is getting married in July and  we are so excited! Last night she had her first shower hosted by her future in-laws. Our family rejoices, not only for Donna’s wonderful  choice in a husband but we also rejoice in the fact that he comes from a wonderful family. It makes my heart glad to see Donna welcomed with open arms into Philip’s family.

My parents are out of  town (actually the country) right now and as a result my mom was not able to be at the shower so this blog post is partially for her benefit. :) We missed you mom!

Here are a few pictures:

A fun little necklace Donna got to wear for the evening.

Donna and our Aunt Becky.

Donna and her future mother-in-law and sisters-in law.

(A little side note: Sharon, Philip’s mom, was also our second grade teacher. So we have known them for a long time. ) 

The bride to be. Such a fun time in life.

A day with Grandpa.

Since it was my dad’s birthday yesterday, the girls and I joined him at “The Magic Kingdom” for a few hours in the afternoon. This “get in free on your birthday” deal has allowed us to have a lot of people go with us to Disneyland. It’s been fun!

Our day with grandpa was great! And Bekah got to try some “big girl rides” that she doesn’t usually get to go on when she is just with Mommy and Anna. She is now a “rollercoaster” fan. Seeing as her idea of a rollercoaster is “big thunder mountain” and “star tours”, I am not sure she’ll register for any thrill seeker clubs just yet. :) She, DID, however get in line (willingly) to go on Space Mountain, but was given a relieving pass out of it when the ride had technical difficulties. 

Grandpa and Bekah on Big Thunder Mountain.

Grandpa and Anna on the Carousel. Anna is trying not to smile.

 

And a final picture to document the day.

Happy Birthday Grandpa! We LOVED helping you celebrate your special day and we LOVE you!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I thank the Lord ,daily,for allowing me to have a father who is a man of honor and integrity.  My dad can make, pretty much, anyone roll in laughter (and often does) but, at the same time, has a heart that aches for those who are hurting. He cherishes my mom, adores his children and swoons over his grandchildren.  He has modeled  humility, strength,humor, love, reverence and worship. He has pointed us towards the Lord  and there is no mistaking that my dad’s best friend is Jesus Christ. I am enamored with my father and KNOW that one of my greatest blessings is being able to call this man “dad.”

 

Thank you Lord, for my dad.

Thank you for allowing me to feel your loving arms, your encouraging words and your assuring peace through a man who loves you more than anything else.

Amen

Happy Birthday Dad!

We love you!

A clean day gone dirty!

This is for all you stay at home moms…….

Ever feel like your every accomplishment is being erased? Ever feel like cleaning up is pointless because it will only need to be “re-cleaned” in a matter of minutes?

I certainly do! And  have captured on photo how a perfectly clean day can go completely dirty!

Approximately 10:15 am yesterday:

The girls, bathed, groomed, fed and content, play with their dollhouse for an hour or so of peace.

A moment of harmony.

And then……

approximately 5:45 pm

The girls go outside while mommy fixes dinner. I come out to find this………….

They obviously decided to take a mud bath, and then plaster random items in the backyard with  mud.

So back to the bathing, grooming, feeding, and restoring peace. This is what I do. :)

For all you moms a little prayer:

 Lord, help us to find renewed and refreshed motivation in you daily. Grace us with reasons to smile. And moment by moment shine your revealing light on the many reasons (great and small) for which you have called us to this …

“mission  of motherhood.”

Amen  

finished products…

Here are the finished products from Rebekah’s “color-me-five” party.

Rebekah’s green/ faceless fairy. I told her it will be a great decoration for St. Patrick’s Day.

Anna’s “handy” creation.

Honoring 90 years!

Yesterday we gathered with a portion of the Nelson clan to surprise Josh’s grandma Nelson. She is turning 90 this summer and since she is currently visiting from Minnesota it only seemed appropriate to kick off the celebrations a couple months early.

Josh’s sister and brother-in-law have a beautiful home and graciously allowed us all to invade.

This is Anna holding a baby chick (belongs to the Hoffs). Anna still needs to work on her manner of approach and holding technique but she can proudly say she is NOT afraid of animals. Poor bird. At one point Anna got into an “almost-tug-a-war” with a cousin over the bird and I had awful visions of what could possibly happen. (Gruesome)

Thankfully we left the Hoff home not having killed any innocent animals.(At least that we know of.)  

Here is Berdine (Josh’s Grandma) blowing out her candles, with a little help.

Getting ready to release 90 “doves”.

And they’re off! 

 

The girls with their cousin Annika.

The girls have such fun playing together.

Anna and the birthday girl. I think this picture is going in the baby book. 

Singing songs for Great Grandma Berdine.

“If I were an octopus….. I’d thank you Lord, for my good looks.”

Anna helping Grandpa Nelson play the guitar.

All of the Nelsons that were there. Believe it or not there are still about 20 members  who couldn’t be with us. And it just keeps growing.

Here is Berdine with her great grandkids.

Such a fun day. God is faithful. God is good. And we are blessed.