A Snowy Valentine's Weekend

Friday afternoon started our Winter Wonderland here in Georgia. The kids woke up very excited on Saturday to go out and play. Since Eve has been sick, Dad was elected to go out and play in the snow. Truth be told, I think he enjoyed it more than the kids!

Miriam had to warm up to playing in the snow at first.

Luke just got Morgan with a snowball in this picture.
Why are they making snowballs?

To get me! Ahhhhh....That ended my picture taking outside.

The finished snowman.

We decided to have our Valentine date on Saturday evening. We had a babysitter lined up for the older kids, but it fell through with the weather. However Plan B worked out well. Luke and Miriam enjoyed Happy Meals while watching Wall-E in their room. We had a semi private fondue dinner with few interruptions from the children in the kitchen. We had a seafood fondue followed by a cheese fondue. Later we enjoyed apple pie a la mode while watching "The Time Traveler's Wife" after the children were asleep.

Sunday morning we found that our snowman had made a friend. A squirrel had his breakfast with him. We love to watch the squirrels and birds from our kitchen table each meal.

We hope you all had a wonderful and loving Valentine's weekend with your loved ones. We love you!

Princess Love

Miriam desperately wants Eve to hurry and grow up so that she can have a constant play mate.

Can you tell by the crown she made Eve wear?

Eve doesn't seems so sure about this crown wearing business...but Miriam was happy to share.
Now this is how a Princess wears her crown!

Happy Birthday Miriam!

Miriam turned 3 years old on Sunday, February 7th. We celebrated on Saturday by going to Chuck-e-Cheese's with our friends the Dillons. As a word of warning: Never go to Chuck-e-Cheese's on a Saturday! It was mayhem! So many kids, so many neglectful parents (one toddler was inside the basketball shooting game) and no tables. I don't think our children minded any of this though!

The Smashing game was one of Miriam's favorites.

Landon and Miriam playing the games.

Miriam also liked the play place.

We all then headed back to our home for cake and presents.

Miriam and the Ariel cake.

Make a wish!

Landon gave Miriam a Princess Aurora bath barbie.

Miriam was delighted to have all the presents just for her. She completely understands birthdays now! We love you very much Miriam!

Laughing Eve

Eve is finding her own little laugh. This is what she's got so far:

Luke and Miriam love to find ways to make her laugh. It's such a sweet sound!

Dancing

At the end of "Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time" there was a music video. I noticed that while the kids were watching it, Miriam reached out to grab Luke's hand. He didn't fight her off, but rather held it and started to dance with her. He took the lead and Miriam actually followed. It was such a heart warming moment to see them dancing so sweetly together.

Watch out for them on Dancing with the Stars!

Luke's Preaching

Today was a half day at preschool. When I picked Luke up, the teacher's aide, Ms. Cepia told me about how Luke preaches to them during lunch time. She told me that Luke tells them all about Daniel in the lion's den and how God shut the lions' mouths. Luke also has told them that God is very powerful and that He shines. He has shared the story of David and Goliath with them and how David protected his sheep with his slingshot. He went on to tell them that they needed to say a blessing on their lunch. She said that Luke was their "angel boy." Ms. Cepia and Ms. Brenda were just saying "Hallelujah" as they told me these things. I felt like I was in a revival for just a small moment.

When Ms. Cepia was telling me this, my heart tripled in size with love for Luke. Some days I wonder if the children are picking up anything positive from the things we do with them. I always feel that they are learning more from my impatience rather than from the good things I try to do with them. It felt wonderful to know that some things have made an impression in Luke's mind and that he wanted to share it with others. Luke is already such a good example and missionary!

Update on Miriam

Over the 3-day Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, we went to North Carolina to visit my family. During the family Sunday dinner, the kids were running down the hallway when Miriam fell and hurt her mouth. She had pushed one of her front teeth up higher into her gums as well as cut her bottom lip with her teeth when she fell. Luckily, Morgan's Uncle Greg is a dentist, and offered some good advice. Now we are just waiting for the intruded tooth to come back down. Apparently it will take a few months. The cuts in her lip are all healed and now we are just waiting to see what the tooth will do. Hopefully all will be well and the tooth will be healthy. I don't really want to think about the alternatives. So if you have been wondering what happened to her tooth in some of the pictures, now you know.

Also as a bit of good news, Miriam is now POTTY TRAINED! Once we moved to Georgia we told Miriam that we didn't pack any more pull-ups and that she needed to wear big girl underwear. There were several accidents at first, but it is safe to say now that she is done! I am so proud of her for making this transition!

Our Lilburn Home

On December 29th we moved into our new home in Lilburn, Georgia. Morgan is currently working on his clinical rotations and will spend the majority of his remaining time in medical school in the Atlanta area. He is scheduled to graduate in June 2011. Then residency will take us to another exciting part of the country for a few more years. Yes, one day we will settle down and plant roots I promise! Believe me, I cannot wait for the day either. Until then, we love our home here and would like to invite any of you to come and visit us. Come join me on a tour of our home:

Screened in back porch
Fenced back yard

More yard and the possible site of our garden this spring

Morgan needed a car and happened to find a sweet deal on this 1999 Mazda Miata. He loves it when the weather is 55 degrees so he can take the top off and cruise.

Front entry

Living Room

Dining Room

Family Room

Kitchen

Luke & Miriam's Room

There is a bathroom off of this hallway, but I forgot to upload the picture...

Hallway

Eve's Room

Our Room

Our Master Bathroom

There is also a Laundry Room and a Basement. The Basement is great for holding all the boxes we won't unpack and once it gets warm, the kids can ride their bikes down there too.

Home Sweet Home! (for now)

Luke's M&M Catapult

Luke has been studying African American inventors to help celebrate Black History month at school. He was given the task of inventing something and then to bring it to school and share with the class. This was the perfect project for Morgan and Luke. Morgan can build just about anything and Luke loves to help Daddy with power tools. They invented an M&M Catapult.

Please watch to see the Catapult in motion: