3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Friday, December 5, 2014

Special pictures

Of course the trip wouldn't be complete without silly pictures and some special ones as well

Aunt Chelsea taught both the girls all about silly putty!

<3 Miss her already :(

So cute!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

The girls' crazy gift....

So you were wondering what was in those white boxes?

Oh My Goodness! These things provided us with a ton of laughs!

Lucky for you, I recorded it just for you:)

SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!!!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Best Gift EVER!

I'm so thankful Doug had the camera and was able to catch my reaction on this one!

My sister is going to be a MOMMY!

I'm so excited for Chelsea and Jeremy! They are going to make amazing parents!

The girls have their guesses in on their new cousin. Madalyn says boy, Marissa says girl and whoever is right gets to hold the new baby first AFTER Mommy gets him/her :)

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Christmas early with Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Jeremy :)

Chelsea and Jeremy drove all night to get to our place Friday night. They made great time and were here a couple hours early! We all had such a great time and I'm so thankful to them for stopping in. It was amazing! Since they won't be back for Christmas, we did Christmas early!

The girls both made things for either Aunt Chelsea or Uncle Jeremy...

Molly wanted to be a part! She loved them both ;)

The girls' turn!

Silly Putty was taped on top...the girls didn't know what it was ;)

The girls have been asking for beads that you melt on molds with an iron. Aunt Chelsea had no idea, so when the girls opened this gift they were both beyond thrilled!

They had a tough time getting into this one...

Madalyn gave up with the flap and just tore the box up!

I'll explain more on this gift in a later post ;)

My turn! This year we drew names for the siblings and spouses. Jeremy drew my name and he did a great job :)

Each letter and part of the cross are horse shoes!

I LOVE it and already have found a place for them in the house!

Doug had Jeremy :)

He loved it! Chelsea might hate us the first time she has to wash this thing, but it was so cute!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the best gift of the season!

Monday, December 1, 2014

1st real snow :)

While Buffalo was getting buried, we got about 2 foot of snow. (All of which is gone now and we are back to green grass) The kids took full advantage of it while we had it though! It was Molly's first snow that she remembers and she LOVED it! I thought she was going to be a baby about it, but we had to force her to come in. For that matter I had to force all 4 of them in ;)

Friday, November 28, 2014

Taking the day off...

This morning the girls and I, all 5 of us, are headed to my parents for the day for round 2 of Thanksgiving dinner ;) My sister and brother in law, my twin brother and sister in law, and Daniel are all up there so we are going to join them. I already have a ton of pictures to edit and I'm sure I'll be adding a few more to the bunch so stay tuned on Monday for a catch up post!

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are spending the day with Doug's family.... watching the parade and the dog show and eating yummy food :) Take the day and enjoy some time with your family!

We all have a lot to be thankful for!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Little Junior Church Class

These kids have worked SOOOOO hard on this verse and song! I'm so proud of each and ever one of them. The little girl on the right has only been coming to church for 3 weeks so she didn't have the verse down yet, but she knows the song so good and was such a big help!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Is it enough?

I ran across this on Facebook and it hit me hard...I thought I would share it and challenge you to join me in giving Christians a fresh start from whatever past they may have...If God isn't tossing them away as garbage, why should we?

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church.

She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children.

It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.

This is when the problem began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son.

The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting.

As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand.

The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past.

As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this:

My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?

The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters.

Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely, then it cannot cleanse us completely.

If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Psalms 55:23 1 John 1:9

Original link can be found here.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Much needed time....

My sister and brother in law live in South Carolina. Because of that, we don't get to see each other very often. Usually they will come up once or twice a year and we meet at Mom and Dad's house to see them. This trip, they decided to swing into our place first and spend some time with just us. It was so nice! We got to do some catching up, Chelsea and I did a ton of talking and we got two hands of hand and foot in. The fellowship was awesome! It was sad when goodbye's came, but we are going to drive up to my parents on Friday to see them again. I'm so thankful for time. So many people take that for granted. I'm guilty of that as well as guilty of taking my family for granted. We get so busy in our own lives, its so hard! I'm so grateful for the times that make me stop and enjoy, exactly what God has blessed me with! I have a bunch of pictures from our visit, but I need to get some time to edit them. So it might be a bit! :)

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!