Whatcha think?

Stripes better than dots? Maybe this won't remind some of you of Easter dresses. :)

TGIF

I want this, Mom.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for
1. the new Chick fil A in Fort Mill
2. silly puppies who run laps through the house
3. chocolate milk
4. great organizing ideas
5. a new stroller
6. friends to shop with
7. trash pick up
8. my girls-they are just alike
9. half price lipstick
10. my boys- they are wonderful

Better late than never

Sunday was Les' birthday, but because he was on a 3 day golfing soiree with the guys, we didn't celebrate until last night. As you can see, the girls demanded hats. Happy birthday, honey!

Pretty Girl

Today Ella got her first haircut and she did great! She is officially a big girl!

putting on the cape

snip, snip

blowing it dry

All done! Don't I look pretty!

Chillin', Ella style

With her bear, baby and blankie, what else do you need to "chill out" and watch Noggin?

Commercial Watching

Grace loves to look at the blogs I read to see the pictures. She knows how to go to favorites and knows which ones are blogs and she clicks on all of them. Yesterday, she was going through them and she came to Jen's and found a video of Maverick eating. She called to me and said, "Mom, come watch this commercial!" I just laughed! I told you my kids say the weirdest things!

The picture has nothing to do with the post, but if I don't put a picture, the Grands get upset. :)

Banana Peeling, Ella style

The other day, I came downstairs and found this. For the record, I was only gone about 5 minutes to do laundry (which in my opinion was created by Satan, but that is another post).

I asked her to smile, but she said "I don't want to smile."

Peace! Be still!

Saturday morning, Grace and I were hanging out on the bed, talking, when she said she loved the playground at the church where we play basketball. This is the exchange that followed.

Grace- "I love the playground at Sisk. I like to sneak out there."

Me - "What if there is a bad man out there?"
Grace- "I would run away from him."
Me- "What if he said, 'Little girl, you are so cute, would you like to see my new puppy in my car?'"
Grace-" I would say NO! and run away"
Me-"What if he grabbed your arm and wouldn't let you run?"
(Note: I am looking for a response like scream, call for help, etc.)
Grace- " I would say, 'Peace! Be still!'" (she even held up her fingers in a Peace sign)

I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it. She was totally serious. We then had a conversation of what to say when "peace, be still" did not work. I love my kids, they say the weirdest things!

Facelift

What do you think of the new look? Be honest. You won't hurt my feelings unless you hate it. :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

1. frozen waffles
2. Lost comes on tonight
3. a "new to us" TV
4. clearance clothes at Target for the girls
5. coupons in the mail
6. two beautiful girls with blue eyes
7. reading a new book
8. boys who love playing football in the street
9. games on Webkinz
10. my wonderful husband

Ode to the coaches

I have talked about Victory Sports before and this year's basketball is as great as ever! One of the best parts is the coaches I get to coach with. They are awesome!

Coach Hal- One word to describe Hal is intense. Before the season started, he and I said we wanted to coach together and everyone laughed because they thought we would spend most of our time arguing (like brother and sister), but they were wrong. Not to toot our horn, but we make a great team. He has the drills and basketball coaching knowledge and I can speak "kid". We have only argued once or twice, I think. :)

Coach Chris- I joke and call Chris "Safety Patrol" because he is the best at making sure everyone is safe. I know it is safe to heckle a call when he is referee, because he is one of the best guys I know. It doesn't hurt that his wife is one of my good friends and his daughter is Ella's BFF, Julianne. :)

Coach Mike- Mike is cool. He has to be, he has 4 daughters and 3 of them play for us. He told the girls at practice that we (the female coaches) were like the Moms at basketball and if the girls didn't listen to Mom, they would have to deal with Dad. See, I told you he was cool.

Coach Cathy- Cathy is awesome! Even though we are different (I am tall, she is not; I haven't had a normal voice since the 1st game, she sings like a bird), we love helping teach the game of basketball and investing in the lives of these girls.

Coach Derrick and Coach Kelly- Derrick is one of the nicest guys I have met and Kelly always makes me laugh.

God is so good to put so many wonderful people in my life! If I forget to say it at the end of the season- Thanks! You all are amazing!

BIG Day!

Saturday Ella traded in her toddler bed (actually it was on loan from Ms. Cindy) to a big girl bed. She was so excited, until it came time to turn out the light and she said "I don't like this big bed!", but she finally decided it was okay and has been fine since.

"Do you see my new bed? It is "tallll"."

" See how big I am in my big bed!"

" I love my new bed!"

"The best thing about a new bed is the jumping! Catch me Bubba!"

Miss Grace, Basketball Superstar!

This past Saturday, we had more basketball. Jonathon did not have a game, so Grace was the star of the day.

Leading the teams in prayer before the game. Notice who is attached to my hip!

Taking a shot- she tried and tried, but wasn't able to score. Maybe next week!

Taking a break on the bench with Cabe, Sully and big Ben.

Check out #3 going for that rebound! Kinda reminds me of her mommy!

Focused on playing defense! You go girl!

Bedtime

Snug as three bugs in a rug! Ella, Charlotte and Grace all ready for bed.

Happy LOVE Day!

On Thursdays, I usually give you a list of the things I am thankful for, but since today is Valentine's Day, I am going to change things a little. Today's list is of things I love. Some are trivial, others are deep, but they all are true.

1. diet coke with Sonic ice- crunch, crunch
2. watching Lost and the week long discussion that follows as me and my friends try to figure out what in the world is going to happen next.
3. long walks with Abby (Crazy Puppy) and her nap after we get home
4. no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, especially if they are made by my mom and I can eat them while teasing my brother on the phone that he doesn't have any (usually it is him teasing me because he lives 10 minutes from my parents and I live 2 1/2 hours away)
5. worship music at church- some weeks it moves me to tears and other weeks it make me want to dance in the aisles
6. Jonathon- how he loves to give hugs, how if he wasn't so big he would curl up in my lap, how he is concerned about others, how he asked his dad if he needed to help "talk" to the boys who are going to date his sisters, how he is just who God made him to be.
7. Grace- how she KNOWS how she wants her hair, how she loves her daddy, how she likes to be with her friends, how she just wants spend time together, how she wants to be like mom.
8. Ella- how she is just so cute, how she has to have things HER way, how she negotiates nap time (I will just rest on the couch), how she runs to the door when daddy comes home, how she gets excited over the little things(stickers, talking to a friend on the phone or seeing her picture on the digital camera), how I could just eat her up!
9. Les- how he smells, how safe I feel in his arms, how he makes me laugh, when I hear the door and know he is home, when I see him playing with our kids, how he has let God turn him into the man he is today.
10. Jesus, my Lord and Savior- how He died for me and saved me and how He loves me eventhough I mess up every day.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope it is full of love!

Happy B-day!

Today is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!

G- giving to everyone
R- right, most of the time
A- always there when I need you
N- never stops
D- driver extrodianare
Y- young at heart

Thank you for being you and always being there for me. I will never be able to put in words how much you mean to me. I love you!

What's your name?

I look at the counter on the side of my blog and think who in Sri Lanka could be reading about me and my family? So I want to know, and this is how I hope to find out. In the comments, leave your name, city, and something funny about yourself. I will start:

Amanda
Fort Mill, SC
I got married in a church, but wore no shoes, all day!

I can't wait to meet everyone!

Friday Funny

Tuesday night we went to Open House at the kids school. As we were visiting Grace's classroom, she grabbed my hand and started dragging me out into the hall. She said, "I want you to meet Nick!" When we got out in the hall, Nick's mom said, "You are Grace, so you are the one who is marrying my son." I looked at Grace for an explanation, but she just shrugged. Nick's mom filled me in. She said Monday at lunch, Grace proposed to Nick. I asked her what Nick said, and she said he just fell out of his chair being a boy. I warned Nick that Grace was "high maintenance" so he might want to think about his answer.

Well today, I talked to Grace's teacher about a library book that Abby aka Psycho Puppy chewed up, and she told me that on Wednesday, Grace brought her Cinderella and Prince Charming dolls for Share Day. She was telling all about them, when she said,"I named them. This one is Grace and the prince is Nick." Poor Nick's face turned a different color and one of the other boys asked if Grace was his girlfriend. The incident started a discussion on if Kindergarteners should have boyfriends.

What am I going to do with this child!!

The only consolation is her teacher told me she picked the best behaved boy in the class. I guess that means she has pretty good taste. :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:


1. little girls who fall asleep in wagons on walks with their mom
2. puppies who enjoy walks
3. neighbors with kids the same age as mine
4. the scale is still going down
5. 100 calorie packs of cookies
6. sunny days
7. big girls who love their hair cut
8. a clean playroom
9. boys who want to smell like Dad
10. my wonderful husband

Random Thoughts

The other day, as I was driving, I realized that in 2 & 1/2 years, I would have a teenager. I almost cried. I am way to young to have a child that old. And then my friend, who will remain nameless, Chris, pointed out that in 7 years, my son would be going to college. That made me way sad. Then I realized that Ella would still be in elementary school when Jonathon went to college and it made my head hurt. When I was young, I had my life all planned out. I would go to college, get married, have 2 kids- a boy and a girl, 2 years apart, work full time as a teacher and we would all live happily ever after. I was wrong about most of it. I did go to college, but I quit in my second year because I was homesick and lonely and broke. I did get married, but at a younger age than I planned- 19. I did have 2 kids, a boy and a girl, but neither were come by easily and they were 4 & 1/2 years apart and then we had another 3 & 1/2 years later. I did try the full time thing, but hated it, so I am a full time mom and part time preschool teacher, which works rather well for our family. We are living happily, but not every day is perfect, some are not even close and a few are not even good, but most are happy. It just blows me away that my plans and God's plans were pretty different. I am so glad that He knows best and things weren't left to me. I think of all the people I would not have met or the experiences I would not have had if I had been in charge. Don't get me wrong, I am not whining, just pondering. I am so thankful for the family God has given to me. I know I mess up more than my share, but He is a God of grace, so I get to start over every morning. I think I will start tomorrow morning with hugs and "I love you".

Ohh! Miss Grace!

BEFORE

AFTER

To quote Grace, "Now I look like a fashion lady!" I guess that says it all!

Friday Funny!

Sometimes I think I need to change the name of my blog to Living with Ella. Everyday she does something that makes me shake my head. One of her new things is getting what she wants out of the pantry. As you can see, I figured out how.

She took the stool out of the powder room and climbed on a little 3 drawer cart so she could reach the cookies. She called me and said "Mommy, I can't get down." When I went in and saw this I had to get the camera. Well, needless to say, leaving the room to get the camera didn't go over too well.The pictures say it all. Total meltdown! I guess getting the picture wasn't the most important thing at the moment. I know better now. :)