You know what i LOVE??? Friends who visit and stay for the day. Just to "catch up"

Bobbie surprised me with a visit yesterday. We both have 4 kids, we both have 3 in school....

...and we both have 3 year olds.
I also love how these girls played~

and played.

Love how they love each other, played dress up and let us mama's catch up. They gave us hours of talking time~which was priceless.

Thanks for coming to play Courtney and Bobbie. Your friendship is like a breath of fresh air.

quote of the day:
Courtney: "Ava, do you want to go find some babies?"
Bobbie: "uh, Courtney that's Suzy"
Coutney: "o.k. Suzy, you want to go?"

think green-think spring

Have you ever had a morning that you wondered how on earth your going to get through the rest of the day?

Yesterday I remained pretty positive. The kids for the most part were on the couch sick, and had no energy to fight. Today I could tell they were feeling better. They were into each others hair....and had WAY to much energy. Both Isabella and Jack were still running fevers last night so I couldn't send them to school this morning. The fevers were gone by this morning, but the rule is that you have to be fever free for 24 hours to return to the classroom. So this morning seemed very overwhelming. I thought to myself...before this day gets any older I AM going to get my hair washed. And I AM going to put make up on. It took me until 10 a.m. but I got it done, despite the many interruptions. By 10 after 10 I was working on cooking some oatmeal for breakfast when my doorbell rang. The funny thing is I didn't even hear it ring...because it was so loud in the kitchen from all the fighting. The kids all ran to the door....to find my sweet friend Jen standing there with a smile and gift for me.

I have tears just thinking of how God meets all of our needs. I hadn't even prayed for encouragement, but it came. At just the right time.

Jen had read my post from yesterday, felt sorry for me- and just wanted to stop by with a fun magazine and a chocolate/caramel bar for me. God is so good. It was the perfect pick me up and bright spot in my day!

Another bright spot I should add .....was yesterday afternoon my mother in law brought over supper for us. Homemade chicken noodle soup and orange jello. It was a perfect supper. And it was so nice to have a break in my day and a little adult interaction.

So back to our day....

St. Patrick's day....got me thinking of green and thinking of how much I love green and spring.

Some geraniums from last summer, I had in the basement. That I'm trying to bring back to green.

ahhh...spring!!! It's an unseasonably warm today-71 degrees!!! I. LOVE. IT.

A christmas gift from my hubby...my favorite perfume ever...which happens to be green.

So while the kids were outside playing....I got a project done. It was so exciting! I had been wanting a new curtain for my bathroom.

I got inspired after reading this blog about not running out on a whim to spend $. Even if have cash (Which in theory I would have had $10 for new fabric) But that's how it goes...I have a great idea and $10 here and $10 there adds up. My husband has never come down on me for this...it's just something I think I personally need to work on. Her goal and mine is to start using the principle of choosing not to spend. So I went digging in my closet and came up with this.
My old duvet cover. I had used if for 3 years on our bed. While I loved the print and the color matched our bedroom paint perfectly....it was getting bleached from the face cleaner/lotion I use at night on my face. I would try to be careful..but it was starting to show where the duvet would touch my face while I slept. And really who wants covers that can't touch your face? So...about 6 months ago I replaced our duvet cover with white and had this duvet I had no idea what to do with...because of the discoloration at the top of the fabric.

Wah-lah. My new bathroom curtain. I'm so excited. First of all that I actually finished a project. And second of all I love how it turned out. Something new out of something old.

Quote of the day:

Last night at supper, while eating Grandma's chicken noodle soup.

Jack: "Mom, can I have something for supper a little more liquid-y?"

Isabella: "Jack, Soup is about as liquid as you can get."

Unfortunately for Jack he is not a fan of chicken noodle soup. However it's one of my favorites!!

changes that have happened in the last 10 years

I told Donovan this week, If we don't go on a date this weekend...you will need to commit me into a mental institution. It was one of those weeks. I needed one on one, with my hubby. I needed uninterrupted conversation. I needed to remember why we got got married in the first place.

on our date

We've been so caught up in the day to day. The laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, packing lunches, groceries. You know how it is, I know. We haven't been on a date in a very long time...And I desperately needed to be with my husband, to be taken out of the role of mama. I know you know, Right? And I really wanted to see the new movie that came out on Friday, FIREPROOF. I'm sure you've heard all the hype on Fireproof. Let me promise you that all the excitement is for a very good reason. It is the best movie ticket you will ever buy. I hardly ever cry at movies. Donovan never does. We both cried, it was moving. It was drama, it was romance, and even a little action. It was clean. A clean movie, with morals - what a concept. What an eye-opener to where your marriage can go when you don't put your spouse 1st before others, and things in a marriage. It is so easy for me to let everything crowd out my relationship with Donovan. There are so many things to do that are good things to do. And most of those are family related things we do. But if you don't take time to connect with your husband/wife, you are putting yourself at risk. I have done that. I don't take time to really be with Donovan. We are together a lot. We are with the kids a lot, that is our season of life. But to be engaged in one on one time with each other is far and few between. It's so easy for me to let all the other things consume me or to get so caught up in this place we are with our 4 kids. It's so hard for me to say no to others. It's so hard to fight for time for just Donovan and I. But oh, when we do, I am better for it always!

So Saturday night we went for a shared chicken burrito at Chipotle, and then went to the movie. It was such a great reminder to make time for each other. We talked all the way home on ways that we need to work harder at our marriage, and not let this season of life force us to put our marriage on the back burner. I Do NOT want to get to Suzy's graduation and not even know my own husbands dreams, and passions in life. And then finally take the time to work at strengthening our marriage when the kids are all grown up. What a great reminder that our marriage is not Fireproof....it needs to worked on so that when the fire comes....we stay committed to each other and our promise to God.

I have not arrived. I am work in progress.

This is one of the many areas in my life I'm still working on. A huge thanks to Donovan's brother Jon and his wife Arlene for braving our 4 kids in addition to their newborn, so that we could enjoy this night out at the movies.

So I'm off my soapbox for now...but please go and see the movie. It is awesome!!

In other news....We got to go to the MCC Relief Sale again this year. Not before taking a loan out at the bank on the way there....because is it just me, or did everything get more expensive? Or is it just that my kids eat SO MUCH?? I know, I know...it's a good cause, you're right.

And the homemade ice cream was totally worth it....we are enjoying some in the picture here.

And that brings me to tonight's festivities....We were in the ol' stompin' grounds again. Sigh from all the faithful readers I know. A friend of mine from Sturgis had an open house celebrating the new home they moved into.

Any of you that have known me for the past 10 years or so will remember 2 little girls that I spent a lot of time with. Nicholette & Dannette. Before I was married I worked with their mom, Nann. She is pictured above. And her and her husband were also involved with Amway. They needed a babysitter on a weekly basis in the evenings so that they could be at functions. That's where I came in. Nann was even sweet enough to feed me and let me do my laundry at her house, while babysitting. It was a sweet deal for us both. I absolutely fell in love with these girls. I often wish I could've kept them for my own.

Esp. after I got married. We had them in our wedding, as flower girls, I kept thinking it would be fun to keep these little sweeties for our own.

Well now, look how much we all have changed in 10 1/2 years.....

Yes, Nicholette is taller then I am, absolutely amazing!

In Nann's new kitchen she tried several different colors of paints on her kitchen soffit.... until she finally had a suggestion from one of her daughters to use chalkboard paint. So how cool! All her guests signed her kitchen.

It's so fun to be with friends when time does not diminish any part of your friendship.

This was a picture I snapped just before we left tonight....looking like fall, isn't it???

Quote of the day:

William: "Mom, I said, if I didn't cry I wasn't going to have to take a nap."

Me: "William, YOU are not the boss."

William: "How about you, daddy, and me can be in charge?"