The Ones I Love

What comes to mind when I think of the LOVE I have for each of these guys??!!??

Alan~

L ~ lover
O ~ optimist
V ~ very best friend
E ~ everyday... I wish we could spend even more time together
R ~ responsible, respectful
B ~ believer, belonging (to us)
O ~ "okie" (whether he likes it or not)
Y ~ yielding, young at heart


Selah~

K ~ kind, keen
I ~ inquisitive, introspective
S ~ sweet baby girl! sometimes silly
S ~ sensitive, spiritual


Bryson~

H ~ handsome, helpful
U ~ u-dorable!
G ~ giving, "gamer"
S ~ sweet, smart


Charis~

L ~ lively, laughing, lives out loud!
O ~ optimist, observant
V ~ vibrant
E ~ encourager, enjoyable

I heart Alan!

We had another fun holiday. I love the festivities, no matter which holiday it is (well, Arbor Day is a bit of a bore). Valentine's Day is one of my favorites. Alan had flowers sent to us girls (via. the "brown guy" (UPS)). And he brought home a Jenga game for Bryce. Selah got tulips, Charis got lily's and purple somethin', and I got 2 doz. roses. They were all beautiful!
Alan and I celebrated with a heart shaped pizza at Andolini's. It was so yummy, and very romantic. On Saturday for lunch we made heart shaped pizza's for the kids for lunch. I used Grand's biscuits, rolled them out, and let the kids cut a heart shaped "crust" with a cookie cutter. Then they eached topped their pizzas. Super cute! But each kid only took maybe 2 bites. Okay, so that was a flop. But the cupcakes were a hit! You can see in the picture below... by the end of their day, the kids were worn out.
Alan and I ended the evening with a late-night snuggling on the couch, watching a chick-flick, enjoying the fire in the fireplace, and nibbling on (uh.hum. no! come on! not that!) a mongo-size Reece's chocolate heart. Happy Valentine's Day! I love my Babe, my Babies, my family, and all of my friends.

Flowers From Daddy

Sittin' in the dining room opening the big boxes of flowers. And a Jenga game for Bryson.

Selah's Valentine Party

Selah's kindergarten Valentine's Day party was today. All the little girls looked adorable in their red and pink get-up! I'm happy to say we'll have enough candy to last until Easter Baskets! (Hehh, hehh. Can you hear the excitement in my voice?)

Flashback Friday 2005

Grandma Vicki brought over Valentine's goodies for Bryson (13 mo.) and Selah (2 1/2 yrs.).

"Not Gonna Beat Me!"

I just love my little Honey-Baby. She is the sweetest, most tender-hearted, strong (and strong-willed) little girl! She talks all the time about when she's a mommy someday...

Just now she finished eating her helpings of smoked pork tenderloin and BBQ sauce. She said "Mommy! Look at my muscles!" (my kids think when they eat healthy food, it instantly makes them just a little bit stronger and taller). Then Charis said "someday if I get a Daddy (which means a "husband")... he won't be able to beat me!" (meaning that he won't be stronger... not the other kind of beat ;)

I love it! That's right girl! You are a strong purposeful little girl, full of life! I hope you stay that way all the way through!

Fun with Friends

We had our good friends Eric and Stephanie over last night. Our kids love playing together, and we always have so much fun hanging out with them. I think we became friends because our girls were in dance and a couple other activitities together, and Stephanie and I enjoyed talking, etc. Plus they live in our neighborhood. (and Steph's mom is so friendly, I just can't help but love her!). Now our kids are in the same dance class, soccer team, and the same kindergarten class at school. We see each other often!
Eric and Alan both like to brew their own beer, play poker, eat good food, and just hangout. And of course Stephanie and I have a great time together. We have alot in common. Last night we grilled burgers, Eric brought over sushi (which only he and I really liked! Alan and Stephanie aren't so "adventurous" ~ but Alan did try it!), we sat by the fire in the outdoor fireplace, and the kids played. It was fun.

The best part... Stephanie's mom made her awesome sugar cookies AND she made Steph promise to leave the left-overs with us! Mmmmmmmmmm.

And He's Off!

Friday afternoon Bryson decided that since he's 5 years old now, he's ready to ride his bike without training wheels. Once Alan got home from work, we only had about 5 minutes before we had to leave for the evening, but Alan took the training wheels off and they ran down the sidewalk 5 or 6 times. Bryson didn't take off on his own, but we had to leave, so we told him we would "try again tomorrow."

Well, Saturday was another busy day... Selah's cheerleading game, Selah's soccer practice, etc. Alan had run to Lowes in the morning, and I was upstairs probaby checking e-mail or something. Bryson and Selah came running and yelling up the stairs to tell me that Selah had taught Bryson to ride his bike. Sure enough, I went out and he jumped on it and took off. So in about 5 more minutes, Selah helped him on the bike, explained to him where to put his foot and the position of the pedal, and away he went. He got it down quick that time. In fact, Alan, Selah, and Bryson went on a bike ride that evening through our neighborhood and the adjoining one as well. Good job little man! And what a cool story to be able to say that your big sister (only 1 1/2 years older than you) taught you how to ride your bike.

We should give Daddy credit too for all that running up and down the sidewalk on the other attempts ;)

She Can't Get Enough

You would think the tutu's, make-up, nail polish, princess dresses, curlers, jewelry, and dress up shoes would be enough. Oh no. She has been asking me for about a year to get her ears pierced. Originally I had wanted her to wait until she was 5 like Selah did. I want her to remember and appreciate the special event! But after one more morning of "Mommy, when can I get earrings?" I decided that this little girly girl wants them so bad, she WILL remember it. So, after picking up Selah from school we went to Claire's and did the deed.
She picked purple, of course. Well, she kept going back and forth between pink and purple, but settled on purple.

I prepared her for the pain, and she did fine. The lady pierced the first ear. Charis just looked at me with a straight face. She waited for the other one, and then she reached for me to hold her. No tears. No smiles. Just a straight "don't show any sign of pain" expression on her face. After a few minutes, she was elated! We told her she has to keep them in until we go to the beach (May). I want them to have several months to get the holes healed before we start changing earrings.

I think she was most excited about showing her new earrings to Daddy when he got home from work.