Week Nineteen

Posted on May 21, 2012 by sarabethgrace

Geez, I feel behind in many areas right now, we have been busy! This blog is one of the areas that I feel behind in. I often have great thoughts I want to post, but then something happens and the opportunity just isn’t there is sit down and share. I hope to get a little better at that with the hope that I can be encouraging and help others through my words here.

I am still taking lots of pictures and staying up with Project 366, but getting the pictures up is a bit delayed. Oh, well, here is week nineteen

5/6: Big sisters and I went on an impromptu walk this evening. L headed up the back of our yard into the neighbors yard wanting to see a bird that was in the grass. I walked to get her and then J followed and since we were near the sidewalk we took the opportunity and kept on going. Joe was staining the deck and keeping on eye on the littlest one. The sun was just beginning to set nicely between the trees. The iPhone is pretty handing to quickly capture moments.

5/7: Well, this is the only picture I took today. Usually I have a few to choose from, and sometimes it is a very tricky choice. I am glad I have this one of my silly girl in my sunglasses though. She is quite a character and such a blessing to our family.

5/8: We made crayons today! Aiden was over this morning and little hands we kept busy for a bit peeling paper off crayons and breaking them into smaller pieces to put in the mold. We made butterfly, flower, and ladybug shapes. They turned out super cute!

5/9: I have been trying to put out different toys each morning inviting the girls to play with things they might not usually play with or to mix things up a bit. I follow The Imagination Tree on Facebook, which is where the idea came from. They post lots of great examples of “invitations to play.” I haven’t used one of their examples yet, but they are good ones and the concept is great! J built this awesome tower with pegs. Isn’t she so cute?

5/10: Miss M is eating some food now. We started with applesauce and she is enjoying it! She is seriously the most laid back, happy baby I know!

5/11: Say what?! Joe and I went on a date!? My brother came over to watch the big girls and baby sister tagged along on our date. She was pretty well behaved. It was so great to get out and have a quiet dinner. We went to Steve Dakota’s Grill and had a wonderful first experience! Our food came out just as we had ordered it, it tasted great and we took home a huge piece of orange creamsicle cake. DELICIOUS!

5/12: Today was a busy day. J and I attended a bridal shower in the morning. J is going to be one of the flower girls in Miss Becky’s wedding this summer. The afternoon seemed to fly by and then we had a birthday party. Happy third birthday to our friend Des! Des had the coolest cupcakes ever at his party! They were mini burgers (cupcake split with a brownie in the middle) with a side of fries (angle food cake). Joe thoroughly enjoyed his cupcake

Week Seventeen

Posted on May 6, 2012 by sarabethgrace

Alas, the post for week 17, but definitely not my favorite page ever. I got the photos set, but just couldn’t seem to find the right background. But the week got captured, and for that I am glad

April 22: Sunday afternoons will mean church meetings for awhile. Those that will be at the Medina campus are beginning to meet on a regular basis. Tonight was a vision meeting for the campus and it was fun and very encouraging! I am thankful that God has brought us to this point and am exciting to be a part of all that is happening. God is moving in big ways.

April 23: Mr. Aiden came over this morning. J and A are good buddies.

April 24: We broke open the party favors from Clay’s party and discovered juice boxes! The girls were thrilled. Loading up on some sugar.

April 25: I had a lovely, quiet morning while the big girls were with my good friend Ally. This photo was sent while I was having my quiet morning with M. I did take a couple other pictures today, but this one best reflects our day. The girls had a great time digging in the dirt! It is great to get out for some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine.

April 26: L and I went to a musical that one of the boys I work with was in. It was called ARF! and was about dogs. Since L LOVES dogs it seemed appropriate that she get to come along. It was nice to spend some one on one time with her, we don’t get to do that all that often. She really watched the show and was very well behaved!

April 27: The girls and I went to visit Ally and Aiden this morning. It was a cool morning, but we bundled up a bit to enjoy the sunshine. L at times is fearless and has decided that holding worms is pretty cool. J on the other had keeps her distance, but is interested in observing bugs and other crawling things.

April 28: This morning J and I got up before everyone else and made pancakes. I got out a cookie cutter and poured batter in for heart-shaped pancakes. The girls got a kick out of this. Maybe we will try more fun shapes in the future. I think a flower or princess castle seem fitting.

Week Sixteen

Posted on April 28, 2012 by sarabethgrace

Well, I am not entirely sure where the week went. I feel way behind on some things, one of them being this blog. Oh, well, here is week sixteen, although, week seventeen is just about over. I guess I will be making another page this weekend for Project 366 and hopefully several other pages to capture some of this year’s fun times.

There was definitely not a dull moment this week:

4/15: Today was Jessica’s baby sprinkle. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I think everyone had a nice time. There was tons of food, thanks to Jessica’s dad who just kept making things and putting them out on the counter. It was great to be able to bless this family in this way as they anticipate the arrival of their little girl.

We also had a impromptu cookout at the Voller’s along with the Andrews family this evening. Always a good time to hang out with awesome friends. We are blessed.

4/16: We decided to take a walk this evening since it was so nice. It ended up being a little more breezy then Joe or I thought, but we made it to McDonald’s and back. It is nice to live in walking distance to things and be able to take quick little adventures. However, I wouldn’t mind moving to a place where the girls have more running space and there isn’t as much traffic.

4/17: This morning I watched my friend’s son. He was SO good! He didn’t know me at all really, but came on over and played without any trouble at all. He left earlier than expected and unfortunately didn’t get to help us make cookies. The girls had a blast mixing and being silly together. They adore each other! The cookies turned out great-mmm oatmeal raisin!

4/18: We ventured to the library and met up with Lindsey and her girls. We hadn’t seen them in quite some time. We had a very nice time hanging out. I look forward to doing it again soon!

4/19: I had some errands to run today. It can be somewhat of a challenge to load and unload three children several times, most of our stops were to make a return or grab one or two items. The girls were outstanding! Their wonderful behavior was rewarded with a bouncy ball. They were very pleased, and it only cost 25 cents. I am glad Old Navy has a super cool bouncy ball machine.

4/20: Ta-da! Pink princess shoes. I went shopping Wednesday night and found these adorable shoes for J and L. When I showed them the shoes Thursday morning they were super excited. The shoes have not left their feet since then, with the exception of sleeping.

4/21: We took it easy this morning and into this afternoon as I anticipated a busy evening. We had two birthday parties and I knew we would get home late. First, Mr. Clay turned one and we went to celebrate him. He had a mustache party-decorations, cookies, stick on mustaches-everything mustaches, so fun! Second, my step sister turned 18 and we had a nice get together at my dad and Sharon’s house. Good times had by all.

Week Fifteen

Posted on April 18, 2012 by sarabethgrace

…and, here we go, week fifteen…FINALLY had a few minutes to get this page together. A simple page, but nevertheless it captures our week.

April 8: HAPPY EASTER! Christ has risen indeed! Today was the last Sunday for Shepherd’s Grace Church. I feel like I should have taken more pictures. After service we went out and took a few pictures, first of Hannah and Becky, they were flower girls in Luke and Hannah’s wedding, with Jilli and Leah, and then with all the wonderful young ladies that came out in the chilly weather with us. Look at all those beautiful faces! We had a busy afternoon filled with dinner at my grandparent’s house, Easter baskets, and egg hunt.

April 9: Story time with Daddy is always fun. Joe does the best voices while reading. He is a good dad.

April 10: Our sweet babes is almost rolling over. She make it to her side, and then sometimes falls asleep like that She is also a thumb sucker.

April 11: Well, changes are ahead for this family. Joe accepted a new position with AdvizeX Technologies. He will be doing consulting work. He is excited for this new challenge, and it will be challenging! I like seeing him excited about his work and ready to jump in.

April 12: J built this tower for her daddy. Of course I had to take a picture and send it to him right away. She was quite proud of her block creation.

April 13: Movie on the deck, say what?!? Oh yeah, Luke called Joe with a great idea. We combined forces and the end result was fantastic. Andrews’ deck, ready with speakers+ our projector=VERY HAPPY CHILDREN! We foresee many more movie nights in the future.

April 14: Shepherd’s Grace Family, Welcome to Grace Church! We decided to attend church Saturday night and we were warmly welcomed to Grace Church. We will be at the Bath Campus for awhile, not sure how long. Tonight’s sermon was convicting. Being challenged and reflecting on God’s word are good things.

Week Fourteen

Posted on April 10, 2012 by sarabethgrace

…a new month, another week, lots of fun…

April 1: Today was my last time serving in the nursery at Shepherd’s Grace Church. Easter Sunday will be our last service at SGC. Exciting and challenging times ahead. During nursery we talked about Jesus entering Jerusalem and painted palm leaves. It is so great to see my girls excited about Jesus and hear J talking about the Bible.

April 2: Today is World Autism Awareness Day. There is a campaign to ‘Light it Up Blue’ to spread awareness. We have a blue light on our front porch and I made a wreath with puzzle pieces to show our support. You can learn more about autism at www.autismspeaks.org

April 3: We got together with Ally and Aiden to color eggs. The kids attention span for this fun activity lasted around 3 mins. So, Ally and I finished the task at hand and enjoyed our time together while the kids played.

April 4: We ventured out to get a dehumidifier for the basement. Good news, L LOVES it and it is working well.

April 5: Storytime! I lost count of how many books I read. Everyone kept handing me a book and wanting a turn picking a story.

April 6: Same Kind of Different as Me= best book I have read in a long time! Seriously, get this book and read it, it is an incredible true story.

April 7: Joe had worship practice this morning, so the girls and I went with my dad, Sharon and grandma to an Easter egg hunt. It wasn’t much of a hunt, but rather a roped off area with eggs strewn about. It was fun though. We spent some time at my dad’s house afterward and then came home for naps and had some family time. I then stayed up way too late to finish reading Same Kind of Different as Me. I just couldn’t put it down.

Week Thirteen

Posted on April 4, 2012 by sarabethgrace

A quarter of 2012 has gone by!

March 25: We had a little party for Jillian. Yeah, her birthday was over a month ago, but weekends kept getting filled up and this was the first day that worked. We had a few friends over that we see most often. It was low key and the kids had fun, especially when Joe brought out his remote control helicopter.

March 26: I finally got M’s 3 month pictures today. She was ALL smiles! Her expressions were absolutely hilarious. It was hard to just pick one photo for today, but I plan to make another page just of her 3 month pictures.

March 27: Today was a CRAZY day at home. Lots of whining, and nothing seemed to please both big girls at the same time. I looked forward to en evening out with Ally, Julie and Hannah all day! It was great to visit and catch up. Miss M came along so I wouldn’t feel rushed or have to leave early to go home and feed her. She was fascinated with the Panera logo on the cup I had, it was hilarious.

March 28: Sunny days are great! We came home after the girls had been over at Ally’s for the morning and got some more time outside with the water table. Now we just need a fence in the backyard so we can better utilize and enjoy our yard without fear of the street.

March 29: Today we met Laura and her boys at Chick-fil-A for some playtime and lunch. Everyone got along great and Laura and I were able to actually have a conversation since the kids were climbing around in the play area. The girls were completely zonked after all the climbing and running around!

March 30: I so enjoy making things and being creative. Today I put together baby sprinkle invites for my friend Jessica. We get together often with her and her son, the kids get along so well, and soon there will be another little one in the mix! I look forward to meeting baby Charlotte soon!

March 31: I whipped out the easel today! We have had this for several months and I was saving it for a time that the girls seemed bored and we were in need of a dash of something new. They got a kick out of drawing with chalk and erasing and starting over. I need to get a roll of paper for the other side. I imagine there will be lots of beautiful artwork created on this easel.

Week Twelve

Posted on March 28, 2012 by sarabethgrace

March 18: Sundays are always busy! The big girls spent the morning and part of the afternoon with Grandma, Pa, and Great Grandma. They went to breakfast and to Toys R Us to celebrate J’s birthday. J is going to start thinking her birthday lasts for a month J and L got these cute sock monkeys. They have not let go of them since they got home, and of course they went to bed with them. I think they might need names, they are becoming the favored stuffed animal.

March 19: I finally completed and hung our spring banner on the mantle. Pieces and parts sat on the kitchen counter for days, maybe weeks, until I finally found more than 5 mins on which I could focus on get it completed. I adore it! It makes me happy each time I look at it.

March 20: Scraping away here! Rarely do I find time during the day to scrap, but today I got a few moments on got to work on lasts weeks page and finished it up after the girls went to bed. I so enjoy capturing our moments and then being able to creatively showcase them.

March 21: It is warm enough for flip flops…and we all have some! Surprisingly enough J’s still fit her (barely) and they also fit L. I should have put M’s on and got her in this picture, bummer for not thinking of that then! I guess I’ll just have to one with M soon.

March 22: We spent some time visiting our friends this morning. The weather is still great and we enjoyed some time on the swing set and blowing bubbles.

March 23: We went to the mall today with my mom, walked around for a bit and then enjoyed lunch at Chick-fil-A. Yum! The girls get really excited to go to Chick-fil-A. We don’t go very often considering there isn’t one extremely close, which is probably a good thing. Though, I wish there was one in Medina. The girls had lots of fun in the play area, it is the perfect size for their age in my opinion. It was a good day.

March 24: I got out and about by myself this morning! Crazy! However, it was only to go grocery shopping, but I got these lovely flowers while out. Aren’t they so pretty? I love me some daisies!

Week Eleven

Posted on March 20, 2012 by sarabethgrace

March 11: Beautiful day for a walk! We walked up to Petsmart (Does anyone really know whether it is Pets mart or Pet smart?) and got Kingsley’s nails trimmed. This dog is a riot getting his nails trimmed. He is all nervous and it usually takes a least two people to get the job done. We also looked at the other animals, and if it were up to the girls we would have come home with a fish, but I say nay to a pet fish. Honestly, I just don’t want to clean the water, just another thing on the to do list.

March 12: J decided to try to brush her own hair without asking, here is the end result. She used a round brush and got it severely tangled. She was patient in letting me get it out, my guess is this won’t be the last time this happens.

March 13: We got out in our yard today and played on the swing set. L LOVES the swing, and J LOVES being a big sister.

March 14: Back outside for more fresh air and playing! I like that we can all swing at the same time. I am in the middle and can give the big girls a push when they need it. I like enjoying small moments like this with my girls.

March 15: The second dilemma for J this week. She thought she needed a bandaid for this teeny tiny scratch on her arm, so I gave her one. The problem: she wouldn’t let me or Joe or anyone for that matter remove the bandaid later on. She screamed, covered it with her hand, ran away. It was pretty humorous listening to and watching her get so upset over removing a bandaid. I even put one on myself and let her take it off, that didn’t help. Alas, the next day it started to fall off and I was able to get it the rest of the way off without much of a fight.

March 16: Our sweet Meggers (one of her many nicknames). Her smile is contagious. It doesn’t matter what I have going on or what might be on my mind, she smiles, and I can’t help but smile.

March 17: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Slow going morning with some errands, I went to Capernaum in the afternoon, and then we all went to our friend’s house for a little St. Patty’s Day get together. It was great visiting with friends, we had a lovely dinner, and there was never a dull moment with 11 kids around! Everyone got along, and no one got hurt. It was a WIN of a day.

Week Nine

Posted on March 4, 2012 by sarabethgrace

Hold up, wait a minute! This past week’s post is actually up in a timely fashion!

February 26- My dear friend Melissa sent J a birthday present. It was a scrapbook for little girls. Lots of pages to document this year of her life, places for photos, for her to draw and put birthday cards. I think Melissa knows me all to well. J is super excited to start her first scrapbook!

February 27- Mr. Aiden was over this morning. We made race cars out of tp rolls. Aiden wanted to be number two, so naturally it made sense to have the big girls be one and three.

February 28- We went out to dinner, thanks for the gift cards Aunt Mich! This was the last day to use the cards and I was not at all upset that I didn’t have to make dinner. Unfortunately, my food didn’t come out completely cooked and it took awhile to get it all taken care of, but it ended well and we got some cupcakes! The girls were especially excited about this.

February 29- Happy Leap Day! Daddy left a surprise on the kitchen table this morning- DONUTS! Yum, yum! It was a real treat. Usually we just have cereal.

March 1- Today marks the first day of a bit of a weight loss challenge for Joe. He has decided to make strides in watching what he eats and getting in shape. Today was weigh in. I am proud of his positive attitude and his desire to make changes.

March 2- Well, M isn’t showing off her cute smile in this picture, but they do all have matching PJs! We had a quiet evening at home, which included a movie. Good times.

March 3- J is wearing one of my tutus from when I took ballet when I was little. She is WAY, WAY TOO CUTE in this tutu. She absolutely loves dressing up and pretending she is a princess.

Happy Third, Baby Girl

Posted on February 24, 2012 by sarabethgrace

Our baby girl is three, yes, THREE! Already! Three just seems so much older to me, not sure why, but it does. J is such a sweet, smart, happy, caring, curious, loving, silly, and sometimes a bit unkind (mostly to L) little girl. I know that last one is hard to believe She has been such a blessing to our lives. I treasure the three years we have already had with her and look forward to watching her grow and learn more and more.

I saw these fun 20 questions to ask your child each year starting at 3 years old, so here it is, J’s answers (she answered on her birthday, might ask again in 6 months and see what has changed):

1. What is your favorite color? PINK

2. What is your favorite toy? PINK DOGGIE <–I don’t know that we have a toy like that, but that was her answer.

3. What is your favorite fruit? GRAPES

4. What is your favorite tv show? THOMAS

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? SALAMI, BANANA, AND GRAPES

6. What is your favorite outfit? BLUE FLOWER DRESS

7. What is your favorite game? SLOBBY, I then asked, “What is ‘Slobby’?” Answer: “An old game that as whole houses.” I have no further response to this

8. What is your favorite snack? BANANA

9. What is your favorite animal? ELEPHANTS

10. What is your favorite song? THE HORSEY ONE <–I don’t know this song, but maybe Aunt Ally knows, since I hear that there is a dance party from time to time when the girls are over there.

11. What is your favorite book? GIRL ONES

12. Who is your best friend? LEAH

13. What is your favorite cereal? FRUIT LOOPS

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? BE COLD

15. What is your favorite drink? LEMONADE

16. What is your favorite holiday? PUMPKIN DAY <–I was surprised by this. I guessed she would have said her birthday or Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? NEMO (her favorite stuffed animal)

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? CEREAL

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? DIARY QUEEN <–And yes, we did take her to Dairy Queen

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? THREE! (This was said with great excitement)

(Daddy also answered the same questions, I’ll save those answers for another post)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Jilli!

the c-five

Family of 5 daily trying to seek the Lord and trust in His plan for us

Category Archives: Family