Late Nights

I thought that I was going to put Chloe to bed early (9:00p is early on a Wednesday) and then have a little time to myself- WRONG!!! Last night I was putting away laundry when Chloe came up to me with really sticky, messy hands. "They're not bad, Mommy. They're really, really good. My belly likes them! They're not yucky." Then she holds out her hands so we can wash them. After washing her hands off I had her show me what she was talking about. I knew she had been in something she shouldn't have but I couldn't figure out what it was. She took me over to the trash can and held up a now empty box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Then Max came running over- he had icing on his mouth and the top of his head! "Max likes them, too!" Last weekend I bought Jeremy and Geoff a box of doughnuts. They ate most of them but there were about 4-5 left. Yesterday I finally threw the box away. Apparently, Max and Chloe found them and then ate every single doughnut left in the box. As hard as I tried, I still ended up laughing. I tried explaining that things in the trash were yucky, but she didn't believe me because she had tasted the doughnuts. My time for myself was then spent chasing my sugar-loaded 3 year old and dog! But "my" time that was lost was replaced with even better memories!

Just Funny

I took Chloe to see Curious George today. Another great adventure at the theater! We met my friend, Elaine, there with her 2 girls, Halle & Arria. Chloe is pretty loud but Arria was louder! They were so cute to watch! They would hug at random, start giggling at silly parts of the movie and they all danced during any songs that came on. I would have taken pictures if there hadn't been other people in the theater! But at least I have this great memory. Before we left the house, I told Chloe to go put her shoes on and get Max's leash (he is becoming a car dog and goes everywhere with us). When I returned from getting my shoes on, I found her playing with Max (no leash) and these gorgeous red boots! It was so funny- she had her pants pulled up so she could wear the boots. After a few negotiations, we settled on a pair of pink cowgirl boots, under her pants.

Grandma, I tried to get some pictures of Max that would show how much he has grown, but he just doesn't hold still. This is the best I've got right now. I'll work on getting better ones- or maybe a new family picture with him in it.

Valentine's Day

I know it has been a few days since Valentine's Day, but whatever! This year's V-Day was very fun. The night before, Chloe and I made chocolate covered strawberries for her teachers and some of our friends. That was eventful! I'm such a perfectionist and she just wants to help/eat them. But they turned out beautifully. I found some of the largest strawberries I've ever seen and bought about 4 lbs! But the 4 lbs only had about 24 strawberries. Of course we saved some for ourselves!!! They went great with sparkling cider :)

Here is Chloe "helping" with the strawberries

Almost finished...

And viola... They're done!

We make a great team in the kitchen- I make them, she eats them!

We had a sitter for Chloe Tuesday night (Thanks, Lisa!) and went out for a nice evening alone. Jeremy started the night out right with beautiful flowers that he picked out himself- white roses, daisies and beautiful gerbera daisies (my absolute favorite!!!). Then he took me out for a delicious dinner. We ended our evening with our usual "date tradition." We got coffee and walked around the mall, holding hands and just enjoying each other's company.

Guess Who's 3!!!

I guess it's official. My "baby" is not a baby anymore! Where did the time go? How did she grow up so fast? I still look at her in amazement and think, "She's really a little kid, she's not a baby, she's not a toddler, but she really is a kid." Don't let her small stature fool you! This child is full of life and everything she does is BIG! She definately lives up to the saying, Large and In Charge! Her personality and vibrance is LARGE and her attitude is to be IN CHARGE! (Don't worry, we don't have a child-centered home! We still rule and reign!) Chloe has been such a blessing in our lives. Until the day I found out I was pregnant I always thought kids were great but I wasn't sure they were for me. My mind has been changed!!! Now I can't imagine what my life would be like without her! I love being a mother- especially to this spunky girl! Chloe has brought so much joy to Jeremy & me and to our families. God has some big plans for this one! She is so sensitive to others, caring and compassionate; so full of life and love! She is isn't afaid of anything or anyone, willing to toe the line, take a risk. Even at a young age, she is has the persistance and tenacity to do great things for God. I wish all people could have childlike faith. With her limited understanding of God, she already has a great love for Him & His house. She takes God's word as truth and believes that God can do anything! How awesome our lives would be if we always took God at His word and didn't talk or reason ourselves out of the great things He has for us! I thank God every day for blessing us with Chloe. She is a peacemaker, a light, one that can soften hard hearts, a joy, a love, a mover and a shaker!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future- Jeremiah 29:11

For Chloe's birthday, we took a bunch of kids to The Odyssey in Tacoma. It is a huge indoor playground (think McDonald's playland times 20). They played for hours, going through the maze of tunnels, jumping on the bouncers, climbing ropes, jumping through ball pits, you name it, they did it! I love coming to this place! It is much better than a Chuckie Cheese for kids this size. And the best part? I didn't have to decorate or clean up!!!! We got there around 10:30am and didn't leave until 2pm! Even then, Chloe wasn't ready to leave! One thing that Chloe LOVES and does do well is play! The blogs posted below contain some pictures of our Birthday Outing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHLOE. WE LOVE YOU!

Chloe's Birthday Pictures

Zi, Jazmin & Chloe - they were amazed that their balls stayed up there!Sonja- She was always on the go and I never got a picture of her face
Hannah in the tunnels
Halle coming out of one of the ball pits
Halle & Chloe (Arria fell down) jumping on the bouncer
Chloe going through the tunnels
Paige & Chloe in a ball pit
Jazmin in the tunnels
Chloe and IsabelleOf course, it's not a party without the "girls"! Shannon (front), Elaine, Me, Jen, Leah, Sandra. We were missing Cherise- then it would be complete. Me with my friend Lisa

I just want to give a special thanks to our friends that came and endured through the party! This place was packed with kids ranging in ages from 2-8. That's a lot of kids and a lot of noise! But I want you to know how much I love each of you and how much it meant to me that you were here.

Chloe's Birthday Continued!

Saige & Jen

Fun in the playground

Chloe, Grandma and Paige
Blowing out candles
Hannah & Emily Smith, Chloe (Paige in the background)
Jazmin & Chloe- aren't they so sweet?!
Opening gifts
At the grandparents driving around
Grandpa & Grandma

Ephesians 2:4-5

I know I usually put things about what is going on in our lives. God's Word is very much a part of what goes on in our lives and I just wanted to share this with you!

Ephesians 2:4-5 - “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),...”

“I know God loves me, but I can’t understand it ....”, “I would like to live differently, but I have this problem...” Most of us have a reason why we think we cannot be what God wants us to be. We express our reasons with the little word “but” placed after whatever it is that we desire from God. But God says things differently. He sees all of our problems and all of our sin and says to us, in Christ, “You may not love me, But I love you”... “You may be dead, unable to change, But I made you alive together with Christ”!

The “Good News” is not about how good you are, or what you’ve done for God because of your great love for Him, but it is rather how good God is and what He’s done for you because of His great love for you! No one can love you the way God loves you! Not only does He love you just like you are, He loves you too much to leave you like you are! Who He is changes who you are!It is not empty talk; it is God, being and acting like God. His love for us is wrapped up in unending mercy and saving grace.

God’s attitude toward those who are dead in sin is rich, exhaustless, mercy! It is “well-timed help” at the very point of your need. It is because of, the reason for, and in order to satisfy the great and intense love that He has for us. It is because of God’s mercy that we do not receive what we deserve, and because of His Grace, we receive what we don’t deserve! Mercy for our sin and Grace for our salvation - what a package of redemption! Signed, sealed, delivered by Jesus Christ - it’s yours!

Sunday Fun

We had a huge Superbowl party at the Church and it was so much fun!!!! Even Chloe had a great time- even though she could care less about football! There were between 250-300 people there, with a good portion being the young adults! Of course, when you advertise "Free Pizza & Pop".... It also didn't hurt that the game was being shown on 3 big screen tvs and 2 massive projector screens! While I'm not a huge sports fanatic, I do enjoy watching football. Almost everyone wore their Seahawks attire (ok, there were about 10 Steelers fans- and no, they were not injured!). Jeremy had one of the coolest shirts- it was very Jeremy and very different from anyone else's. It had a grim reaper and a firey slogan at the bottom that read, "Send the Steelers to the furnace." I wasn't planning on getting something unless I could find it in pink. Lo and behold, the last store I went to, there was a pink sweatshirt. It was meant to be! We didn't find any pink kids' shirts and Chloe wouldn't wear anything else (go figure) so she opted for a Seahawks flag. But she was just as happy with that.

With so many people in one side of the sanctuary, there was a LOT of noise! Everytime Shaun came on the screens, the whole building would erupt with cheers. And you should have heard everyone when our first touchdown was taken away!!!! Unhappy, unhappy!

Despite the unpleasant ending, everyone had a great time. Because it was geared more towards our young adults, they were already at the church when the game ended- just in time for our Alternative service!

This lady was a true fan- and a not-so-happy one, either!

Cheese and I in our "non-traditional" fanware.